Pope John Paul II, Fides

Pope John Paul II, Fides et Ratio Book Review

Pope John Paul II delivered Fides et Ratio in his twentieth year as the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church, and the United States Catholic Conference published it in English a month later. Fides et Ratio follows closely upon the heels of the late Pope's third encyclical letter, Tertio Millenio Adveniente in 1997. In Fides et Ratio, the Magisterial experience provides a long view of the challenge of theology and philosophy.

According to the encyclical's argument, faith and reason are relevant only through mutual harmony. Though data from many books of the Bible contribute to the central argument, the Wisdom literature provides (27) the most substantial evidence of philosophy and faith unified in Scripture. The first half of the encyclical states the background Magesterial case -- leading up to a general appeal -- and from Chapter V onwards, the argument flows to the specific appeal to modern theologians, philosophers, scientists, and the lay to arrive at "new evangalization" in the third Millenium.

The origins of the Gospel confronting philosophy start in the Bible, and appear in the early centuries of the Church. In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Paul discourses with Athenian Stoics. These ancient Greek philosophers had broken the path of rationalism in developing their own religion -- which Paul uses as an inroad to "proclaiming and understanding the God of Jesus Christ" (55). The Saints' lives situate the problem of faith and reason in history: Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Augustine, and others used the universal claims of philosophy to counterbalance the deeply personal sentiment of redemption. The encyclical describes the early accomplishments of the Fathers of the Church as "the culture [of reason] perhaps succumbing to the fascination of the other" culture of Revelation (62).

Modern movements that have set themselves against Revelation include atheistic humanism in philosophy, positivism in science, techoncracy in economics, and finally nihilism in society overall. These cultural and intellectual practices are short-sighted. Rather than helping people's eternal soul, these modern trends make this short life seem all-important (70-1). Strangely, they also give you a feeling of emptiness too (128-32). The encyclical says that the quest for knowledge is a natural quality of people, and people should use faith instead of lose sight of recta ratio, or doing the right thing.

What I find most interesting in the late Pope's letter are the disapproval of "utilitarianism," which means the greatest good for the greatest number, but he calls it dangerous. Also, one focus of Catholic evangelization is in India, and the Pope wants to enrich the Church with the combination of that culture with the natural Graeco-Roman tradition of itself. I wonder what other religions have to offer the Church.