Research On Religion » Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Michael Rota on Pascal’s Wager

tonygill — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 08:00:14 +0000

Is it a “good bet” to believe in God and Christianity? In the 17th century, this was a question examined by mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal. To give us modern insights into Pascal’s Wager, we invite Prof. Michael Rota, a philosopher at St. Thomas University, to examine Pascal’s life, the nature of his famous “gambling” proposition, and his own personal insights into how answers to these questions have changed over time. Dr. Rota’s previous studies in mathematics and game theory provides him with a unique perspective on this fascinating theological question. We start by reviewing Blaise Pascal’s life and why he generated this wager. Tony learns that there was actually several variants of the wager that were never published and that one of them was sewn into Pascal’s coat! Mike then lays out the basics of the wager and its different variations and explains why he prefers to look at the gamble that sets the odds of Christianity of being true at 50%. We further discuss some of the issues of probability, costs, and benefits associated with the wager, eventually leading Mike into a discussion of how — even if there is not an afterlife to confer immense benefits on an individual — that living as if there were can be beneficial nonetheless. Various objections to the wager are brought up, including ones from theologians who consider such calculations to be distasteful and by Calvinists who adhere to unconditional election. Prof. Rota provides his rebuttals to each of these objections. We finish off with Mike explaining why he thinks the odds of Christianity being true are better than 50/50 and also covering some of the examples of lives well-lived by Christians under extremely difficult circumstances (e.g., Jean Vanier, Imaculeé Ilibagiza). Recorded: May 25, 2016.

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Ron Mock on Pacifism, War, and Terrorism

tonygill — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:00:02 +0000

In light of the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, and with an eye towards more recent assaults on US diplomatic missions overseas, we explore the topic of Christian pacifism in the face of war and terrorism with Prof. Ron Mock, associate professor of political science at George Fox University and the director of GFU’s Center for Peace & Justice. Our interview begins, though, with Tony posing a questions he has asked several other guests in the past: As a Christian, would you have fought in the American War of Independence in the 1770s? We offer up this question early in the podcast as a means of exploring the dimensions of Prof. Mock’s own pacifism. In the process of this discussion, Ron talks about his background growing up in the Church of God and why he joined the Religious Society of Friends (i.e., Quakers). The conversation then returns to whether or not Ron sees the War of Independence as a just war and what the colonists could have done differently at that time. We then fast forward to the contemporary era and Tony asks Ron where he was on the morning of September 11, 2001 and how he reacted to the news of those terrorist attacks. We use this discussion to set the table for our discussion of pacifism by realizing that there is a natural, perhaps innate, tendency for humans to react to such events with anger and a desire to strike back. This leads Ron, who is a self-identified pacifist, to offer up an intriguing critique of pacifism wherein he notes that pacifists have rarely struggled with the dual Christian mandate of loving both your enemy and your neighbor. Sometimes, as we note with a couple hypothetical scenarios, can be difficult. If an enemy is attacking your neighbor, can you sit by idly or be so forgiving of the aggressor that you neglect your duty to the victim? This prompts us to look at the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who during World War II faced a difficult choice as a Christian pacifist. We then turn to the issue of terrorism in the contemporary world and Prof. Mock offers us his five-part definition of terrorism as a means for understanding how to respond to this threat. He proceeds to offer a critique of contemporary US foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in particular the use of unmanned drones. Ron is concerned with the process that many militaries (or terrorists) have to dehumanize their enemies and drone attacks only augment this problem even more. He then offers up his solution from a pacifist perspective on how to deal with such threats. Recorded: September 14, 2012.

James Felak on Pope Pius XII, the Wartime Pontiff

tonygill — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:00:24 +0000

Imagine that you were just appointed the head of the Catholic Church at the outset of the most devastating war ever known to mankind. Further imagine that this war was raging on the continent in which you were headquartered and that you were living in the capital city of one of the primary belligerents of this war. How would you respond knowing that millions of innocent civilians — both Catholic and Jewish — were being slaughtered outright? We take up the life and times of Pope Pius XII, who ascended to the papacy on the eve of Germany’s invation of Czechoslovakia and Poland, with Prof. James Felak, professor of history at the University of Washington. We start out with a brief examination of how popes choose their names and then dive into the nature of the controversy surrounding Pius XII. Interestingly, Prof. Felak notes that Pius XII was widely lauded for his courageous actions during World War II and that the controversy over his seeming “inaction” only emerged in 1963 following the release of Rolf Hocchuth’s play The Deputy. It was reawakened again in 1999 following another book accusing Pius XII of being “Hitler’s pope.” We roll back history a bit to examine the early life of Eugenio Pacelli and his pathway to the “Throne of St. Peter.” We then spend significant time examining the wartime context in which Pius XII found himself in so as to better understand the diplomatic manuevering of the Vatican at this time. Prof. Felak notes how the pope tended to keep his criticism of war attrocities at a general level so as not to endanger the Church in various nations, nor to threaten some of the activities of grassroots Catholic activists in places such as Germany and Poland. This discussion also entails an examination of how the Church functions institutionally with a realization that clergy, religious orders and lay members have a certain degree of autonomy from the Holy See. Following this discussion, we then look at the other proclamations and activities of Pius XII on issues such as medical ethics and how he laid the foundation for the Second Vatican Council. Prof. Felak finishes with some general observations about the legacy of Pius XII and what we can take away from his tenure to better understand our contemporary times. Recorded: July 3, 2012.