Pope benedict's remarks on islam, why now?

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Photius

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**hello everyone, i’m new on here.
I have a question:
why did the pope have to go all the way back to the 15th century to quote an obscure byzantine emperor? why not just quote a more recent roman stateman or pope?

thanks, and all serious answers are appreciated.🙂 **
 
I think because his point was not anything about mulims in particular, but rather, to prove a point about faith, and reason, and violence.
He was trying to make a point, not cause outrage. Basically, he was trying to prove a point, that reason has a place in faith, in any religion, in any time.

Remember, it was an intellectual lecture, not a sound bite.

A lone Raven
 
Photius said:
**hello everyone, i’m new on here.
I have a question:
why did the pope have to go all the way back to the 15th century to quote an obscure byzantine emperor? why not just quote a more recent roman stateman or pope?

thanks, and all serious answers are appreciated.🙂 **
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The pope tells why he used the quote:

“I was reminded of all this recently, when I read the edition by professor Theodore Khoury (Muenster) of part of the dialogue carried on – perhaps in 1391 in the winter barracks near Ankara – by the erudite Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian on the subject of Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both.”

It seems that he “recently” read this book. In this book two men who held very different beliefs had a dialogue based on reason rather that violence.
 
**yes thanks, i understand that he was attempting to make a point about faith and violence, but my question is why he had to quote from a byzantine emperor? why not from some previous pope? didn’t any popes ever have anything to say about faith and violence?🙂 **
 
He wasn’t just quoting a 14th century emperor, he was quoting an emperor who was engaged in a dialogue with a Muslim. Pope Benedict, too, is interested in engaging in dialogue with the Muslim world. He was reading a book which he must have felt was relevant to our world today. In other words, the comments were shaped around the book. His speech seemed to be directly inspired by his having just recently read it.
 
Eden said:
He wasn’t just quoting a 14th century emperor, he was quoting an emperor who was engaged in a dialogue with a Muslim. Pope Benedict, too, is interested in engaging in dialogue with the Muslim world. He was reading a book which he must have felt was relevant to our world today. In other words, the comments were shaped around the book. His speech seemed to be directly inspired by his having just recently read it.
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Ya. It’s interesting that the Emperor and the Muslim, could dialogue like that, without, I say without, resorting to violence. The emperor made that statement to the Muslim Cleric, and the Cleric did not freak out, the same way some of the Muslim leaders are freaking out today.
 
The point was that when go about trying to covnert by the sword, you make reasoable people think the God you preach is evil.
 
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