Karl Giberson, Ph.D: Pope Benedict Was a Friend of Science

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Karl Giberson, Ph.DProfessor, Stonehill College

GET UPDATES FROM Karl Giberson, Ph.D   Pope Benedict Was a Friend of Science Posted: 02/17/2013 5:09 pm Follow   The Pope ,   The Pope ,   Religion and Science , Ken Ham , Pierre Teilhard De Chardin , The Big Bang Theory , Anti-Evolution , Catholicism And Science , Creation Museum , Lemaitre , Pope Benedict Resignation , Pope Benedict Science , Religion News
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The complicated and ancient drama of selecting a new pope will soon begin with the departure of Pope Benedict, our planet's most important spiritual leader. His successor will embrace a tumultuous set of challenges at a critical time in the history of Christianity.

An underappreciated achievement of Pope Benedict has been his consistent support for science. At time when the gulf between science and Christianity is widening in the United States -- polls show support for young earth creationism is on the rise -- Benedict was a quiet and powerful voice calling for Christians to embrace science.

Just over a year ago Benedict even founded a new organization -- The Science and Faith Foundation -- at the Vatican to continue and enlarge the task of building bridges between science and theology, and to ease concerns of Christians that their faith demands the rejection of science. The executive director Father Tomasz Trafny describes the mission as the search for a "coherent vision of society, culture and the human being," arguably the most important quest we confront today.

The new Foundation launched by Benedict continues the work of the Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest project (STOQ), created by Pope John Paul II. The STOQ project promoted high-level dialog between leading scientists -- without regard to their faith commitments -- and Catholic leaders. The project informed Catholic leadership on everything from stem cells to the Big Bang to anti-evolutionism in the United States. The organization played a lead role in the Vatican's decision to form a commercial partnership to explore ethical stem cell research with Neostem, an American pharmaceutical company.

The Foundation represents an expansion and consolidation of more diffuse explorations of science and religion, but is best understood as part of the ongoing commitment of the Church to engage with science on its own terms. In dramatic contrast to much of conservative Protestantism in the United States, the Catholic church has a long history of meaningful interaction with science on many levels. Many of the first serious efforts to integrate evolution into the Christian doctrine of Creation were Catholic efforts, with Teilhard des Chardin being the most significant. The Big Bang Theory was first proposed by a physicist named Georges LeMaitre, who was also a Catholic priest. And Benedict, like his predecessors, consistently endorsed the Big Bang Theory and never called on Christians to reject it or the 14 billion year old universe that comes with it.

The Vatican also houses the The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the world's first exclusively scientific academy. A forerunner to the academy appeared in 1603, a few years before Galileo, the most famous Catholic scientist, pointed his telescope at the heavens. Galileo, a loyal Catholic until his death in 1642, was also one of its first presidents. Today the organization consists of some 80 members, all leading scientists from every race and religion, including the agnostic Stephen Hawking.

Addressing the Pontifical Academy last year Benedict spoke of the "greatness of contemporary science" and its "repercussions for human beings." He called for man to "constantly expand his knowledge of truth and order it wisely for his good and that of his environment." The Academy will explore evolution later this year. And far from insisting that Christians reject it, it will ask the tough questions and wrestle with the implications for Christian faith.

In April 2006 I was privileged to be invited to the Vatican to participate in one its many conversations on science and religion. One of the few Americans on the program, my task was to explain "American hostility to evolution." I was humbled to realize I was a part of a long conversation that had once included the controversial idea that the earth moved about the sun -- a conversation the Church would like to forget. I was also dismayed to realize just how many evangelicals, America's largest religious group, had simply abandoned this conversation, diverting their energies to opposing science and convincing Christians to reject it, with projects like Ken Ham's Creation Museum.

The Vatican conference was in April and most of us attended Easter Mass at St. Peter's where Benedict spoke to thousands of faithful Christians. As special guests we sat on the platform from where we could observe an ocean of worshipers in the world's most famous square. Benedict read from the book of Mark, switching smoothly from one language to the next as he spoke directly to the many tribes gathered in Rome to worship on Christianity's most important day. Each responded with a cheer, as they heard their leader speak to them in their language.

Benedict's message is much broader than science, of course. But it is encouraging to realize that the man who would learn to read the Bible in the many languages of his fellow Catholics, would also make the effort to speak the language of science with its many dialects.

In addressing the Pontifical Academy Benedict offered the following vision for the important conversation between science and religion. It's a vision we must hope and anticipate his successor will share, and one that must become much larger within Christianity.

"In the great human enterprise of striving to unlock the mysteries of man and the universe, I am convinced of the urgent need for continued dialogue and cooperation between the worlds of science and of faith in the building of a culture of respect for man, for human dignity and freedom, for the future of our human family and for the long-term sustainable development of our planet. Without this necessary interplay, the great questions of humanity leave the domain of reason and truth, and are abandoned to the irrational, to myth, or to indifference, with great damage to humanity itself, to world peace and to our ultimate destiny."

  This Blogger's Books from The Wonder of the Universe: Hints of God in Our Fine-Tuned World
by Karl W. GibersonSeven Glorious Days: A Scientist Retells the Genesis Creation Story
by Giberson W. Karl    

Follow Karl Giberson, Ph.D on Twitter:www.twitter.com/gibersok

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of our newest badge: Community Curator. View All Recency |  Popularity This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program BOBinPSReally?198 Fans 45 minutes ago ( 7:36 PM)Uh huh! An old phart in a dress thinks he can make human flesh from flour and water by incantation. The same old phart has a grand poobah of exorcism to cast out devils. And you have the audacity to declare this ignorant old phart pro science? Get a clue.......BOBinPS: Uh huh! An old phart in a dress thinks hehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/BOBinPS/pope-benedict-science_b_2679021_230700745.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… pallejer0 Fans 3 hours ago ( 5:29 PM)Great column Karl. And Benedict's defense of reason extended to the social sciences as well. This is why he co-published books on philosophy and culture with Jurgen Habermas and Marcello Pera, two Europeans, one a philosopher, the other, a politican. Too bad that most of what North Americans hear of Benedict has been through the prism of the anti-reason mantras of 'gay rights' and the postmodern relativism of the New York Times. Science and relativism are no partners, for similar reasons as Christianity and relativism are opposites.pallejer: Great column Karl. And Benedict's defense of reason extended tohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/pallejer/pope-benedict-science_b_2679021_230677938.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USERMagicManDoneItWhen facts are lacking. Just say...254 Fans 38 minutes ago ( 7:43 PM)If you're looking for antithetical worldviews there's no better example than reason and religion.MagicManDoneIt: If you're looking for antithetical worldviews there's no better examplehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/MagicManDoneIt/pope-benedict-science_b_2679021_230702026.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments…This comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments…    new comment(s) on this entry — Click to refreshLoading comments… Most Popular Madonna's Ex-Boyfriend And Producer Dies At 57 REPORT: Pistorius Attempted To Revive Girlfriend After Shooting Republican Politician Wants To Criminalize Nip Slips WATCH: Extreme Close-Up Of Meteor Explosion Former 'Monty Python' Star Sparks Outrage With Tweet WATCH: Meteorite Streaks Across Russian Urals PHOTOS: Kim Kardashian Takes Flight In Actual Maternity Blouse Hugh Grant Welcomes Second Child Kim Kardashian's Breasts Need A New Bra Brendan Fraser Tries To Reduce Child Support Payment Sports Illustrated Called Racist For Using 'Exotic' People In Swimsuit Issue Wall Street Whines Over Elizabeth Warren's Tough Questions WATCH: Meteorite Shower In Russia Sparks UFO Fears Is Harrison Ford Back For 'Star Wars'? Tearful Pistorius Formally Charged 5th Graders Accused Of Plotting To Kill Classmate DUH! Medijal Marijuana Legal In Czech Republic How Did Beyonce Get Her Name? Follow HuffPost Email Facebook Twitter Google Plus RSS Mobile HuffPost Daily Brief Religion Get top stories and blogs posts emailed to you each day.

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