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FAITH COMPLEX: Michael Novak
FAITH COMPLEX
By Jacques Berlinerblau
Today's interview is with the very erudite Michael Novak who, as you are about to see, was not exceedingly awed by President's Obama's speech at Notre Dame. I, by contrast, sort of liked it.
We here at Faith Complex are quite intrigued by the interaction between the White House and the nation's largest religious voting bloc. In coming episodes we are going to be closely following the Obama administration's triangular encounters with American lay Catholics (i.e., American voters), American Bishops (i.e., a group with a certain capacity to influence those voters), and the Vatican (i.e., an institution with which all Chief Executives must maintain scrupulously correct relations).
I think the big question raised by my discussion with Mr. Novak is the following: to what degree are bioethical issues the metric by which Catholics will assess the Obama administration? On abortion and human embryonic stem cell research the President is squarely in opposition to the official teachings of the Church. But on a range of other concerns such as economic justice, the environment, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan there is, in the words of one of my Vatican sources, "a lot to like."
Mr. Novak is no mere Beltway talking head and our discussion turned to his recent book "No One Sees God," a very well written and well reasoned invitation to dialogue with non-believers. I published a positive review of this work in the now defunct Washington Post Book World, my one major criticism being that Mr. Novak focused too much on radical anti-theism as opposed to the less belligerent developments in the thought of non-believers. In any case, I think both non-believers and believers stand to gain a lot by familiarizing themselves with Mr. Novak's arguments.
Jacques Berlinerblau is associate Professor and Director of the Program for Jewish Civilization at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is the author of several books including, "Thumpin' It: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today's Presidential Politics" (Westminster John Knox).
By Jacques Berlinerblau |
May 26, 2009; 1:54 AM ET
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Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | May 30, 2009 9:05 PM
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There is no such thing as a Catholic "atheist".
Posted by: CCNL | May 30, 2009 2:24 AM
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Are Catholic atheists allowed to join the Catholic League???? Ditto for the Nazi Party??
Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | May 30, 2009 12:45 AM
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Are Jewish atheists allowed to join the JIDF??? Ditto for the JDL??
Posted by: CCNL | May 29, 2009 10:46 PM
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PRof. B.,
In your excellent review of Novak's book you write,
"Which is not to say that I, an unrepentant Jewish atheist, am persuaded by any of his arguments in favor of God's existence."
Didn't you know that Jews are not permitted to be atheists, that there is no such thing as a Jewish atheist?
Of course, this isn't the perspective of Jews, but then who are Jews to say who they are? What they think? Etc. Isn't that rather the right of the Christians?
Of course, you are correct in what you say on invective. But it won't change, not in this period of religionsim, during which not only atheists, but believing secularists feel themselves set upon in almost every domain of civic life.
Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | May 29, 2009 7:37 PM
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Has not this subject been beaten to "death"??
BO made a speech at ND on behalf of the Immoral Majority. In the speech, he noted we need more dialogue on the killing of growing babies. No we don't!!! We need (as Jesse Jackson) would say, "More discourse before intercourse". Too bad Jesse did not follow his own advice!!!!
Posted by: CCNL | May 29, 2009 5:40 PM
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Are Catholic atheists allowed to join the Catholic League???? Ditto for the Nazi Party??