The photo is a fake, just to let you know.
Hi Mike,
Thank you for this insightlful article. I think it complements the one I recently wrote on the Islamic understanding of history.
I am wondering if you have studied much Islamic philosophy. I have a little, but I'd love to read your thoughts on the early debates regarding rationalism advanced by the muta'azilites.
Also, am still waiting for you American Catholics to start sending us some lay misisonaries to evangelize Muslims!
Abu Daoud
It isnt only Muslims who are angry at the speech. The Here We Stand kidz and Chris Atwood have been attempting to refute the Pope. So have some atheists. At the ancient-future catholics blog, I took a look at a recent opinion article by Sam Harris on Benedict's speech.
The Pope may have just hit on the key thing - the ONE thing - that separates the Catholic religion from other ones.
Ben: So some say.
Abu Daoud: While I'd love to take you up on that invitation myself, I've already explained why I don't think it's feasible. If you find that explanation unpersuasive, I'm more than open to concrete suggestions!
Charlie: Allowing for its hyperbole, I agree with your last comment. It seems to me that only in Catholicism does one find a well-worked out account of the relationship between faith and reason, such that both are adequately respected for their difference while their full complementarity and interaction is stressed.
Best to all,
Mike
Mike L,
Seriously, it is a fake. I've seen the photo without the placard a lot around the web lately. Added to which, the 'photo' quality just screams bad photoshopping.
Doesn't disprove the point that moslems riot at the drop of a hat, though, as the context I saw the original photo in was from a 'protest' against His Holiness' comments. I would love to be able to link you to a site of the original photo, but googling for a specific photo of moslems rioting is very much like looking for a straw in a haystack...
I just read your blog and found it very insightful probably not for obvious reasons. I am writing a paper for a college class and it's about Voluntarism vs Thomas Aquinas views. After thinking long and hard about this, maybe to long my head started hurting, I came to the conclusion that Aquinas was much more right for a number of reasons. Your blog helped me in a number of ways to come to that end..... I love the last bit of your blog because it spoke the same language as my paper did, "In such a vision, God is bound by his own goodness and wisdom, which are dimly expressed in our virtues, our logic, and our science". That was the main point of my paper... Anyway thanks!
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