Father Wolfgang Buchmüller, DrTheol, is a distinguished member of the venerable Abbey of the Holy Cross (Heiligenkreuz), the famous Cistercian foundation near the Austrian capital, a place highly loved and admired by all serious Catholics -- he is also a Professor at the Abbey's world-renowned Benedict XVI College of Philosophy and Theology (Philosophisch-Theologischen Hochschule Benedikt XVI).
A couple of months ago, Father Buchmüller was interviewed by the German opinion and news website Die Freie Welt on matters that should be our everyday concern -- truly matters that are never old or dependent on the interests of the moment. We are glad to be able to provide a translation of this interview.
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| Galaxy NGC 6744, a galaxy highly similar to the Milky Way |
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"Thinking Deeper -- This is What Believing Is"
Do faith and reason contradict each other? No, says Professor Wolfgang Buchmüller, O.Cist.
Freie Welt spoke to him about science and the future of Catholic intellectuals.
Freie Welt spoke to him about science and the future of Catholic intellectuals.
Pater Wolfgang Buchmüller: In sociological research the refrain is that there’s no such thing as “the Catholic intellectual” anymore -- at the very least, no one wants to "out" oneself as Catholic. That’s dismal, because the Catholic Church is the largest religious community on the planet and possesses an immense potential. My concern is to show that, now as in the past, the question of faith is the great human question, and that immersing oneself in the fullness of the Catholic Church is incredibly enriching.
FW: You have observed that in science, the question of God is obviously more frequently not regarded as completely absurd. Do you see a trend?
WB: I was surprised that a scientist [mathematician Alain Connes] presented a lecture at the Institut de France, in which he dared to assert that the boundary between science and transcendence had become permeable. His discovery, which takes its lead from a German physicist in the nineties, is rather staggering: it confirms Einstein’s thesis that, in the world of quantum physics, we come upon a second form of eternity.
Thereby is raised the question of the Big Bang—of the beginning of all things. This question necessarily has religious implications, because the origin of all things must be of a wholly different order than things themselves. It must be immaterial and eternal, outside of time — which could be God. Yet, the really surprising thing about the conference is that this question was proposed to scientists without anyone making fun of it. This shows us how these superb scientists have reached the limits of measurable reality and are therefore forced to ask philosophical and religious questions.
Thereby is raised the question of the Big Bang—of the beginning of all things. This question necessarily has religious implications, because the origin of all things must be of a wholly different order than things themselves. It must be immaterial and eternal, outside of time — which could be God. Yet, the really surprising thing about the conference is that this question was proposed to scientists without anyone making fun of it. This shows us how these superb scientists have reached the limits of measurable reality and are therefore forced to ask philosophical and religious questions.
We are allowed to think about the Big Bang
