Creation and Evolution: A Conference with Pope Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo

by Stephan Otto Horn (Editor), Siegfried Wiedenhofer (Editor), Michael J. Miller (Translator)

In 2005 the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Sch

Genres: Science, Catholic, Philosophy, Theology, Religion, Christianity, Evolution

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The endorsement by Michael J. Behe on the back of the book makes it sound more dramatic than it is; the discussion recorded in the book gets rather technical. The word "clash" might be misplaced. It is thought-provoking, however. Some familiarity with philosophy is needed for sections of it. For example, it helps to know how Kant and others use the term "transcendental." Wikipedia helped me a bit with this. Some of the most important takeaways from this book are the following:
(1) Catholics aren't "creationists" in the commonly-used sense; the science of evolution is accepted
(2) The most fundamental question is whether there is any rationality inherent in the universe
(3) Those who conclude that there is Reason behind the universe recognize that the development of the universe and life includes lots of suffering and catastrophe. They point to the theology of soteriology as the place to seek answers.

[Davis Haguma]

Good although technical read.

[Lorenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really hard to read, Ratzinger is a theologian, and he sure writes like one, but once you adapt to his way and read carefully, you get everything.

This book makes creation look so great, he explains about the "images" of the genesis, what they mean, how the bible is a religious book not a science book, and the mistakes that have been made when its taken the other way (like with galileo galilei).

He explains the truth about the Creator in a way that looks logical and reasonable.

[Brett Salkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting format for a book. One ends up being very thankful for the presence of a real scientist as the conversation develops. Some good insights, but also some dead-ends, as one might expect in such a format.
Also, the title leads one to expect more of Benedict than actually shows up which is too bad since, as is clear from some references in the introduction, he is better equipped to deal with this issue than anyone else there (at least from the theological side).

[Karlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

CRO:
Ima dijelova koji su više udžbenički, kao i onih pronicljivih, no dajem knjizi pet zvjezdica prvenstveno jer mi je pomogla i navela me na razmišljanje o nekim stvarima koje prije nisam primjećivao.

ENG:
Sometimes it was like a manual, sometimes insightful, but I'm giving it five stars primarily because it helped me and made me think of some things I wasn't aware of.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me 4 days to get through the Forward. Very "scientifical"