Pope Says Science Can Unite Humans With God

By Francis X. Rocca
Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI told scientists that their research can lead to knowledge of God by revealing the natural order of the universe.

The pope made his remarks on Thursday (Oct. 28) before a plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican.

The evident logic governing the universe "leads us to admit the existence of an all-powerful Reason, which is other than that of man, and which sustains the world," Benedict said.

"This is the meeting point between the natural sciences and religion," the pope said. "As a result, science becomes a place of dialogue, a meeting between man and nature and, potentially, even
between man and his Creator."

The academy is a group of 80 eminent scientists, including more than two dozen Nobel laureates, who promote research into natural science and related philosophical issues. Membership is without regard to religious affiliation.

One of the academy's most famous members, British physicist Stephen Hawking, provoked controversy last month by arguing in a new book that the existence of the universe provides no evidence of the existence of God.

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing," Hawking wrote. "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going."

Comments

[Ricky Barnes]

03:55 AM on 12/23/2010

If this is the Pope's take on science, it reveals he little understands science.

[Weirdo]

09:45 PM on 11/03/2010

From Galileo to suggestions that science can lead us to god. Not bad for 400 years work. Just a little more now.

[paleoimage]

07:47 PM on 11/03/2010

Look, the celibate old man with the fancy dress and hat claims science can unite humans with mythological relics of the bronze age - HOW? Once again, all that is offered is a mere rephrasing of classic creationism - "the logic of the universe must mean that there's a mysterious logician in the heavens"

[Weirdo]

09:46 PM on 11/03/2010

F&F

[DCDave]

04:49 PM on 11/04/2010

Thats not what he is arguing. He is working from the assumption that god exists. Not trying to prove gods existence from natural science. If you think god exists, it makes sense that you can know god through understanding the natural world.

[turfkiller]

12:00 PM on 11/05/2010

Until science discovers that what we thought we knew about the natural world was in fact wrong. So therefore we can conclude that science not relgion changes God. I am not arguing against the existence of God just that you've like the Catholic Church have put belief and faith where it does not belong.

"Upon this rock" well, science and technology have just crushed that rock and it's gravel under someone's driveway. It why they are wrong on sex, conception, nature as natural law, creation, sprituality, and on and on. This is what Vatican II was meant to change. Since then most of the popes have been elected to stomp out of existence that reform.

Most revealing is your impoverishment of seeing God in the natural world. Vatican II tried to take an authentic spiritual path by starting to relating to people as people and not as catechismically given definitions.

Christians are called on to 'see' themselves and Christ in others. "Seeing" is a verb and implies an active real relationship. You over look that Jesus continually stressed the importance of seeing people as they actually are, not as some defined group or behavior defined nonsense like eathing Fish on friday but seeing people as they actually are and sceicne illuminates the nature of people and our world, not the nature of God. This is where the current radical conservatives in control of the Vatican fail and have always caused harm by their willingness to crucify and discriminate against others.

[Ricky Barnes]

04:57 AM on 12/23/2010

Yes, and if you think the forest is full of fairies, it makes sense you'll see fairies every time something moves there.

[thundermummy]

05:09 PM on 11/03/2010

I give this "man" no credence.

[G R]

02:50 AM on 11/03/2010

The Roman Catholic Church and science? What an oxymoron. Consider that it wasn't until 1992 that the Roman Catholic Church acknowledged that Galileo was right after all, that the earth does revolve around the sun: (300 years late!) Yes, what a model of progress is the Church!

[Linda Williams]

07:51 PM on 11/02/2010

Hey, Pope-ey, you are a few centuries late.

[DCDave]

11:08 PM on 11/02/2010

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

[Linda Williams]

12:38 AM on 11/03/2010

And glass Pope-mobiles. We all have our beliefs. It is America. And, the pope is farcical to me. He should sell one of the Vatican relics and feed some hungry children.

[Ricky Barnes]

05:00 AM on 12/23/2010

Not all glass is vulnerable to stones, bub.

[gutteringdawn]

01:04 PM on 11/02/2010

On the contrary, science can save you from your religion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6w2M50_Xdk&feature=player_embedded

This is one of the best videos ever put on YouTube.

[ConfuciusSay-]

10:13 PM on 11/03/2010

That was really good.

[Vern58]

08:53 AM on 11/02/2010

Think it is well past time Herman the German cleaned his own house up before dispensing advice.

[AtheistUS]

06:20 PM on 11/01/2010

Can religion bring something to the table?
Say, can we find from those ancient religious scripts how and which molecules can assemble on cosmic dust particles?

[alterego55]

08:38 PM on 11/01/2010

F&F. Two answer your second question - they go in pairs, seven pairs of clean molecules and one pair of dirty molecules. They all get aboard a quark and ride out the great decay.

[DCDave]

07:13 PM on 11/02/2010

Why should it, things like that don't matter.

[AtheistUS]

07:18 PM on 11/02/2010

Origins of life do not matter? - Indeed, for theology and demonology they probably do not matter.

[turfkiller]

09:41 PM on 11/02/2010

Then why is the Church against use of science based health care for women?

[DCDave]

02:56 PM on 11/01/2010

Most of you seem to be confused about the Popes beliefs and the tenets of the Catholic church in general. Here are some facts.

1, The pope doesn't speak the word of god directly, and the pope is not infallible in most of his public speech. The pope is only infallible when he speaks 'ex cathedra' which he has done 7 times from 449 AD to 1950.

2, The catholic church does not interpret the bible literally, here most of you are confusing catholocism with protestant churches. No one believes for instance that god made the earth in 7 days. In fact the church believes in evolution and sees the 7 day story as a metaphor.

3, The pope here is arguing from the assumption of gods existence, not trying to prove gods existence. For catholics either you either know god, and so believe in his existence or you do not. Its not something that can be proven or disproven because it is a matter of faith. What the pope is arguing is that given that god exists we can come to understand god through viewing his creation.

Hope this clears things up for some of you. I know it won't help the trolls but at least educate yourselves a little bit before you criticize.

[Angie Tyne 1]

03:12 PM on 11/01/2010

Hey, DC,
Here is a link you may want to pass along to anyone you think may be confused regarding catholic teachings: http://www.catholic.com/

1. http://www.catholic.com/library/Papal_Infallibility.asp

“…infallibility also belongs to the body of bishops as a whole, when, in doctrinal unity with the pope, they solemnly teach a doctrine as true. We have this from Jesus himself, who promised the apostles and their successors the bishops, the magisterium of the Church: "He who hears you hears me" (Luke 10:16), and "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" (Matt. 18:18).”

“Vatican II explained the doctrine of infallibility as follows: "Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly. This is so, even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively. This authority is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church. Their definitions must then be adhered to with the submission of faith" (Lumen Gentium 25).”

[iLdoRight]

06:05 PM on 11/02/2010

There is a verse that says God's ways are as far above man's ways as the Heavens are above the Earth. If there is any human that is infallible what does that say about God or the honesty of the Scripture and if different top individuals both with infallibility claim differences on a Biblical subject like Hell what does that say? If one wants to look up all the verses in the Bible that have a word that was translated to read "Hell" it is an easy task, truechristianityevangelism.org has a list that can be easily printed out so one can see in their own Bible what they might want to know.

[Angie Tyne 1]

03:13 PM on 11/01/2010

2. http://www.catholic.com/library/Adam_Eve_and_Evolution.asp
"The question may never be finally settled, but there are definite parameters to what is acceptable Catholic belief.

Concerning cosmological evolution, the Church has infallibly defined that the universe was specially created out of nothing. Vatican I solemnly defined that everyone must "confess the world and all things which are contained in it, both spiritual and material, as regards their whole substance, have been produced by God from nothing" (Canons on God the Creator of All Things, canon 5). "
"While the Church permits belief in either special creation or developmental creation on certain questions, it in no circumstances permits belief in atheistic evolution."

[alterego55]

01:00 PM on 11/01/2010

The Pope promoting Science is akin to a Republican promoting Obama's political agenda. Sure, he may be saying the words, but none is so blind as the Catholic Church when it comes to recognizing new found facts that contradict the church's teachings.

[DCDave]

02:35 PM on 11/01/2010

But there are actually no scientific facts that contradict the churches teachings because theology is not based on science. Also did you see how many nobel laureates are on the church's science council?

[alterego55]

04:38 PM on 11/01/2010

Fairytales aren't base on science either, but the're representations can certainly be contradicted. The church once considered it blasphemous to think that the Earth revolved around the Sun. Science contradicted the popular belief at the time and it took the church 100 years to admit its fallacy.

Yes, I saw that, so what? Stephen Hawking is in the Academy and we know what his position is.

[turfkiller]

08:06 PM on 11/01/2010

So what is the nature of the relationships between the Pope, the magesterium, natural law, nature, science and scripture?

[rationaljimmy]

11:03 AM on 11/01/2010

Oh, um, sorry we roasted all those scientists and rationalists for centuries. I really don't know what we were thinking. I mean, I don't know what "god" was thinking when he told us to do it. And I realize we still do everything we can to ignore science, and condemn reason. But just to make sure this whole science thing doesn't take over, we proclaim all of science to be just another indication of god's greatness. Any questions?

[DCDave]

02:36 PM on 11/01/2010

This is pretty much a load of hogwash. Name some scientists and rationalists that were roasted. And no Gallileo does not count.

[rationaljimmy]

05:14 PM on 11/01/2010

Every charge of heresy, and every trial of heresy, were acts against rationality. Every accused heretic would have argued against the accusations using reason and rationality, though, of course, they were not given the chance to defend themselves. Even the assumption that an accused person should be given the chance to defend himself is an act of rationality against which the churches have fought for centuries. According to the best estimates, upward of 5000 human beings were burned at the stake - their mute rational arguments unheard. Giordano Bruno's heresy was science, and his ashes were dumped in a river.

"Roasted" is a metaphor for 'persecuted'. And 'persecuted' includes exile, condemnation, and suppression of books and research. The popes have made news for apologizing for long lists of wrongs against science, reason and humanity. On this evidence I'd say it would be irrational to listen to anything they say now, about anything.

[Linda Williams]

07:56 PM on 11/02/2010

Why not? What about everyone that went to hell for eating meat on Friday?

[bud812]

09:23 AM on 11/01/2010

Here come the Aliens!

[SaraSH]

11:51 PM on 10/31/2010

But science is the most objective truth we have out there, no scientist with the right mind would want to advocate something he or she has NO REAL PROOF or EVIDENCE for. The job of a scientist is not to tell people what to believe or not to believe, it is to PROVIDE FACTS and results based on FACTS. That is the job of religion to preach, not science.

[DCDave]

02:37 PM on 11/01/2010

Science doesn't have anything to say about most important theological issues and vice versa.

[SaraSH]

03:34 PM on 11/01/2010

such as? Science has provided EVERYTHING for me as a scientist, I do not need religion for ANY good use in my life or in life of my family. I have found true peace and that happened as soon as I abandoned religion, remarkable coincidence. I never advocate this though, coming to such a degree of peace requires scientific and social/historical education and a great sense of common sense and wisdom, not possible for all. It took me many yrs and many conversations and research to reach this. This is what I share with those who think alike.

[SaraSH]

03:37 PM on 11/01/2010

and most important theological issues are what? Abortion? Murder? Social Justice? War? Treatment of elderly and disabled?
Actually, science provides answer to all of these, and in a MUCH MORE peaceful way. All through survival of the fittest rule of nature, that's all, nothing written by some elite holy men in some ancient time and place, quite irrelevant to 21st century in many ways ( such as POPE). If you care, I can explain.

[From the Raft]

08:59 PM on 10/31/2010

First, tea baggers start talking about cutting taxes to balance the budget, now, this Pope says science can unite humans with God science.

The Pope knows less about science than tea baggers know about taxes!

[Americulchie]

03:21 PM on 11/01/2010

Let's not forget that Der Pabst is a little bit confused as he is in fact a reactionary of epic proportions.

[alterego55]

05:28 PM on 11/01/2010

"Pope" Blue Ribbon Beer. Ha!