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September 25, 2006

Pope Benedict!  Did he blow it? 

His illustration last week in a lecture at the University of Regensburg, Germany,  where he quoted a 1392 dialogue between the Christian Byzantine emperor and an erudite Moslem leader, caused riots, murder and consternation in the Islamic world.  What was he thinking?

If you read through his theological lecture (click here to read the full text yourself), you see that he was pointing out that violence exhibited by EITHER Christian or Moslem is contrary to the nature of God.   The Islamic tinder box was ignited because there are many in the Islamic world who do adhere to violence (just as there are  and have been such sects in the Christian community at times). 

Pope Benedict followed his introductory illustration with a discourse on God's nature as revealed in the prologue of John (John 1:1-14) and in the opening chapters of Genesis (Genesis 1-2).  God created what is out of what is not by his Word, his breath, his spirit.  God is creative love, not destructive hate. 

The Pope, it seems, quite rightly and boldly called for all faith communities to re-think their actions.  Do they accentuate the nature of God, or have we compromised God's nature with a human desire? 

Unfortunately for Islam, Mohammad's later writing departed from his earlier and pure angelic visitation from Gabriel.  It is these later writing that the Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologus, saw as evil.   It is the violence that emerges from such "teachings" that Pope Benedict was speaking against, and warning Christians to likewise be cautious of in our own traditions and tendencies to add to God's truth that which appeases our personal agendas.  It is troublesome that some of those to whom he was speaking chose to responded with the very behavior God reviles: more violence, or threats of violence. 

Notice also that the Pope's apologies were expressing his sorrow for the misunderstanding, not for his comments.  We see something here in Benedict.  He does not compromise the nature of God, even if that nature offends.  Violence is contrary to the nature of God.  Even when we get swept into war, it is only out of necessity to play the devil's game on his own terms because all else has failed and inaction would only sanction the satanic ills (as I saw in Beirut in 1983).  It is all damnable.  

Benedict would not buckle under the pressures of extremists to retract this truth.  To have done so would have done violence to the nature of our Lord.  Benedict stood firm in the face of the pressure and has let the world contemplate the nature of a loving God, not the fear that accompanies self-righteous violence.  It wouldn't hurt us to do the same.

Blessing and Peace,

John Mark

Updated: 09/29/08