Benedict XVI Speech on Faith and Resaon

On September 12, 2006 Pope Benedict XVI lectured on the topic of "faith and reason". Some of the content of his speech referred to Mohammed, the founder of Islam. In response to the pope's references to Mohammed, Muslims around the world reacted with statements of condemnation, violent threats, and violence. In this article, Richard Braun and John Marion summarize the main points of the pope's speech, address its relevance to Western civilization, and comment on the Muslim reaction.

The content of Pope Benedict XVI's speech is focused on "faith and reason". He speaks to Christianized cultures about the reasonableness of considering theology in the search for truth as opposed to leaving God out and using science alone. To Islamic cultures he speaks of the unreasonableness of violence to promote religion. Although most of his speech is directed at Christianized cultures rather than Islamic cultures, the pope clearly intended to speak to the Muslim world today.

The best context for this discussion about faith and reason, the pope explains, is the university. He embraces the ideal of honest inquiry, even to the extent of dialogue with skeptics who doubt the existence of God, as he testifies about his personal experience at the university. For him, such inquiry is "accepted without question". He calls this "inquiring about the reasonableness of faith".

This inquiry into the reasonableness of faith, the pope argues, has its roots in Old Testament theology which culminates with the infusion of Greek thought and New Testament theology. The Greek word λόγος (logos), which is used by the Apostle John in his gospel account, supports the inquiry into the reasonableness of faith. The use of reason is essential to true spirituality.

To the Christian world, the pope is emphasizing the foolishness of removing spirituality from reason. The scientific process to discover truth which fails to consider the reasonableness of spirituality has been detrimental to western society. Samir Khalil Samir, a Catholic Jesuit priest writes,

The Apostle John built upon the beginning verses from the Torah of Moses to express the truth that in "in the beginning was the word (λόγος, logos), and the word was with God and the word was God" (John 1:1). As Benedict XVI explains, acting with reason (συν λόγω) is in line with God's nature. Conversely, "not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature".

To the Muslim world the pope is saying that it is unreasonable to use violence to promote religion. The battle should be a battle of ideas which reasonable people can debate. This type of honest inquiry and the intellectual test of faith is consistent with God's nature, the pope argues, so using violence to promote religion is contrary to God's nature.

This argument about the unreasonableness of violence to promote religion, was an argument which the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus had with a Persian scholar during the siege of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) sometime between 1394 and 1402. In this example, Benedict XVI quotes what Manuel II said about Mohammed. This is the part of the pope's speech which has caused so much furor among Muslims today.

It is precisely in the context of both questioning the use of violence to promote religion and advocating the use of reason to explain religion that Manuel II says, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Benedict XVI quoted Manuel II to advocate the use of reason to promote religious ideas as an alternative to using violence. The Muslim reaction to the pope's suggestion has so far been verbal condemnation at best and has also included threats of violence as well as acts of violence.

The harsh reaction to the pope's remarks demonstrates the thinking of Muslims. In the Muslim mind anything that can be perceived to bring dishonor on Mohammed should at least be rebuked if not attacked outright. The refusal to allow an honest inquiry about Mohammed and suppressing such inquiry with violence is contrary to God's nature.

There is an alternative way of viewing this though, from the geopolitical perspective of Islam. Unlike Christianity, Islamic theology is not limited to theology. It extends beyond the bound placed upon theology in the Western world. Islam merges the studies of politics, sociology, militarism, and theology and then wraps them all in religious verbiage.

Once this is understood then we can step back and look more accurately and perceptively at the Muslim reactions to the pope’s speech. In this sense, theology is only as good as its usefulness in extending the religious system of Islam. That is completely divergent from Judaic-Christianity. Within Christianity, if the theology collapses, the entire system collapses. However, the same cannot be said of Islam. Whenever the theology of Islam collapses, it does one of two things. Either it skips back to the very beginning of the inquiry while never addressing its shortcomings, or, alternatively, it shifts to another “study venue” such as sociology or history or politics.

It is here that we, as Western Christians, often get confused, agitated, or, more dangerously, led astray. When confronted with this strategy, the Western mind is caught off guard and put on the defensive. Rather than keep to the point, all too often, the Christian devolves into a defensive mindset. It is here where the “reason” of Islam is vastly superior to that of the Christian West.

Once on the defensive, the Christian ends up responding to attacks against his or her faith. It’s the old axiom of the best defense is a good offense. Rather than answer the Christian critique, the Muslim goes on the attack. When asked about the violence mandated by the Quran, the Muslim will respond that Islam is a religion of peace and it is actually Christianity that is the violent religion as seen in the Crusades and internecine wars between Christians in Europe throughout the centuries.

Alternatively, the Muslim will revert to the Old Testament and pull out of context the “bloody passages” of the Bible. The typical response of the Christian is to go on the defensive and try to respond to these allegations rather than push forward the truth already stated. In this way, Islam never has to respond to queries about the violence that is at its core.

Certainly there have been violent acts done in the name of Christianity. However, there is no theological justification for extending the faith through the sword. This is diametrically opposite of Islam which claims time and time again that spreading the faith with the sword is a duty of those Muslims who have reached a very high development of their personal faith. Only through martyrdom can a Muslim be guaranteed an entrance pass to Paradise. Not so in Christianity.

Unfortunately, this secular reasoning of a best defense being a good offense is lost on the Christian. The average Christian is not taught how to defend his or her faith from an attack and is thus left unprepared and ineffective in facing the challenge posed by not only Islam but alternative religions in general. What’s even worse is that those Christian leaders who have the knowledge seemingly do not have the ability to stand their ground and respond effectively. They fall into the reasoned trap of Islam and become defensive and apologetic. And if the church leaders, who should be best able to refute this theological gymnastic approach offered by Islam, can’t do it then it only stands to reason that the secular leaders are hopelessly overmatched.

We must remember that because most Muslims peacefully practice their religion does not make their religion a peaceful religion. The pope held his ground originally, saying that he was sorry that people were offended. But as pressure mounted, he caved and met with Muslim leaders and offered them apologies and stated that he has great respect for Islam.

How can the leader of the largest Christian sect in the world have “great respect” for a religion that denies the Christhood of Jesus, the very foundation of the religion which he professes? But we must see that this is the point of the Muslim reaction to the pope’s comments. It is to neutralize Christianity and the West thereby showing the perceived superiority of Islam. And that’s the reason and reasoning behind the violent reactions we see today. It is Islamic. It is Quranic. It is successful.

Either way, the Muslim reaction to the speech is not surprising. Benedict XVI, however, is giving intellectual Muslims a golden opportunity to demonstrate their tolerance by participating in a theological debate of ideas. If they are able, they can demonstrate the reasonableness of their faith to the modern world by embracing an open and honest inquiry about the life and teachings of Mohammed.

This "inquiring about the reasonableness of faith" is consistent with God's character, but will the Muslim leaders of today embrace such an open and honest dialogue, or will they stick with the “reasoning” that has worked so well for them so far?

Richard Braun teaches The Challenge of Islam classes and John Marion is Project Director of Truth For Muslims.

John is available for public speaking. Please fill out the form here to request a speaking engagement or schedule an interview.

[1] Samir, S.K. The Pope's speech: lending Islam a helping hand to avoid a downward spiral. Online: AsiaNews.it, http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=7224, accessed September 15, 2006.