Ratzinger, voluntarism, and Islam

Nearly two decades ago, Pope Benedict XVI (formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) delivered what is often called the Regensburg lecture. Though it was meant to rekindle the relationship between faith and reason (or science and theology) in higher education, much of the world—or at least the Muslim majority world—got distracted by a brief reference he made to a fifteenth-century dialogue about Islam, its theological voluntarism, and the consequences of such a view of God.

This episode marks the beginning of a conversation on the Regensburg lecture. For the text, formally titled “Faith, Reason and the University”, click here. If you are interested in the controversy it generated, Wikipedia is a good place to start. Enjoy.

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