What the Hell Is Religion?

Last Monday, Gerald Urban, professor of physics, talked about Religion, was zum Teufel ist das eigentlich? at the Freiburger Museumsgesellschaft. 

The announcement of this talk reminded me of a statement by one of my directors at CERN. When young hopefuls in high-energy physics complained about the lack of university chairs, he said: A physicist can do anything ... almost. In fact, only a few could expect to become high-energy physics professors, but there were ample openings in information technology during that time. These are nowadays taken by people with special education in IT. So, a physicist talking about religion?

Professor Urban told the audience that he had been personally interested in understanding what religion really is. He has tried to address the question using a scientific approach and blamed the Church Fathers for successfully hindering the development of science for centuries. 

For Augustine, science is just an ancillary discipline, and faith surpasses knowledge, whereas Jerome (Hieronymus) regards philology as necessary only when reading and translating the Bible. While the Latin version of the New Testament, the Vulgate, is the basis of Christianity, the historical development of the Church was more influenced by the writings of the Church Fathers. The Reformation did not change this, for Erasmus and Luther relied heavily on them.

While Wikipedia tries to define "religion" as either substantial (the transcendent holiness, the religious feeling) or functionalist (the community), these two definitions are not exclusive.

In one of his slides, Professor Urban presented a collection of material with two main categories: "religion" and "religiosity."

Religion originates in observing our environment when the amazement about its incomprehensibility reaches our brains. Explanation attempts lead to "world models" aiming to answer the meaning or purpose of our existence. This process is by no means static but of a burning dynamic.

At this point, Einstein's "definition" of religion may be helpful:

The most beautiful experience we can have is the MYSTERY.
This fundamental emotion stands at the cradle of true ART and true SCIENCE.

Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder,
no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed.

The experience of mystery — even if mixed with fear — engendered RELIGION.
Knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate,
our perceptions of the most profound reason and the most radiant beauty,
which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds:
It is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute genuine religiosity.
In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man.

Other quotations from Einstein deepen his conviction: Every scientist becomes convinced that nature's laws manifest the existence of a spirit vastly superior to that of men. Behind all the discernible concatenations, something subtle, intangible, and inexplicable remains. Veneration for this force is my religion. To that extent, I am, point of fact, religious.

This firm belief in a superior mind that reveals itself in the world of experience represents my conception of God. My God created laws … His universe is not ruled by wishful thinking but by immutable laws. The divine reveals itself in the physical world.

There is harmony in the cosmos, which I can recognize with my limited human mind, yet some people say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me to support such views ... I am not an atheist. I don't think I can call myself a pantheist ... but there are the fanatical atheists whose intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics and comes from the same source.

Professor Urban placed a "complete" overview on his last slide. Religions eventually arrive at "closed" world models pointing to their "last" mysteries. Religious groups close themselves off and fight other groups in bloody wars: Templars against Saracens, Catholics against Lutherans and both against Calvinists and Anabaptists, Shiites against Sunnites. Where do brotherly love or even the Christian love of the enemy come in?

What makes me sick is that while only a few are fanatic in their religious practice and belief, many (mis)use their religion as an instrument of power either to suppress their people or as a pretext for "holy" wars. No war ever was, is, or will be holy. 

Let me finish by congratulating Professor Urban on his efforts, ending with a conciliatory quote by our eminent physicist:

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The Winner Is ...

Freiburg. 

Last Monday, the Badische Zeitung proudly presented data showing that Freiburg has Germany's youngest population. Even Red Baron is not old enough to spoil the average figure of 39.8 years. The map clearly shows that older people live in the rural districts of the eastern part of Germany, i.e., in the former GDR. Young people move into the cities (e.g., Berlin, Dresden, and Leipzig) where the action is and where they find jobs.

©BZ

Coming back to Freiburg. With 5,338 births in 2016, the city is approaching the record figures of the baby boomer years 1966 (5,396) and 1967 (5,348). At the current rate, Freiburg will most likely surpass the previous record numbers in 2017.

The following photo illustrates the facts. Young mothers and even fathers invade Freiburg's streetcars with their strollers and sometimes twin buggies, for the city counted 124 twin births in 2016. 

Also, this number is increasing with the years for more and more young men evidence low sperm count, so couples are seeking help in in vitro insemination. To be on the safe side, doctors tend to implant more than one fertilized oocyte.

Three boys

Another fact is that more boys (2729) than girls (2609) were born in 2016. In my youth, I was told that Mother Nature considers men are the weaker sex and that more baby boys die during their first year. With modern medical care, this is no longer true. So 25 years from now, I expect those young men to fight for the "rare" girls.

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Erasmus's Translation of the New Testament and the Reformation

This morning, Red Baron was at the university listening to a lecture by Professor Henk Jan de Jonge of the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. His topic, Erasmus's Translation of the New Testament and the Reformation, is highly relevant when Lutherans worldwide commemorate 500 years of the Reformation.

In 1516 Johann Froben at Basel published the Novum Instrumentum omne diligenter ab Erasmo Roterdamo recognitum & emendatum, non solum ad graecam veritatem, verumetiam ad multorum utrisque linguae codicum ... emendationem & interpretationem ... by Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus.

The renowned expert in the field, Professor Jan de Jonge, told the audience that the initial purpose of Erasmus was to write a Latin text that was more elegant than the Vulgata. His translation of the New Testament from the hand-written Greek urtext is based on classical Latin, written by Cicero, Caesar, Sallust, Livius, and Quintilian. Erasmus went back to the Greek roots (ad fontes). He did not want to replace the Latin Vulgata that dates back to the 4th century but rather eliminate corrupt text passages and correct mistranslations.

According to Erasmus, one should translate not ad verbum (word-for-word) but ad sensum (sinngemäß or meaning-based). Any translation is just a recommendation and does not determine the meaning. Erasmus hoped that during his time of religious turmoil, the Reformation, his new translation would contribute to the renewal of Christianity.

Martin Luther used Erasmus's "best" Latin version to translate the New Testament into German. Still, with the help of many new German words he invented, the interpretation was all his. In fact, the significance of Erasmus's work is not so much the better Latin of the Novum Instrumentum to be used by theologists and educated people but the opening for other, additional, and newer translations and interpretations. This is why Catholics were not allowed to read Bibles other than those authorized by Rome for centuries. In the 19th century, ironically, Protestant theologists started scrutinizing and questioning Luther's text, returning to the roots (ad fontes). As times change, so do translations and interpretations of the Bible.

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Freiburg First

Yesterday the Madison Symphony Chorus (MSC) was in town. Before they gave their concert in the evening, they had to rehearse Ein Deutsches Requiem together with a local orchestra and a local choir in the morning.

In the afternoon, the Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft (FMG) organized a reception at the Greiffenegg-Schlössle. The weather was somewhat cold but sunny, so we met outside in a corner of the Schlössle's famous Kastanien-Biergarten (chestnut beer garden) for a glass of sparkling wine and Flammkuchen (tarte flambée). As Bing Crosby put it in the movie High Society, it wasn't French champagne but domestic.

Our guests arrived slowly ...

... delayed by a farmers' demonstration (©BZ/Thomas Kunz)

Farmers' tractors were blocking the streets to protest a new quarter the city of Freiburg would like to build partly on farmland. Freiburg has a severe housing shortage, and the new quarter called Dietenbach is an absolute must. Too many people are moving to Freiburg, Germany's number one Wohlfühlstadt (feel-good city).

Smiling red meets smiling green or
FMG's Vicepresident Frauke Feix meets the Director of the MSC Beverly Taylor

Spirits soon were high.

A few singers were tired ...

... but all were attentively listening to Frauke's witty welcome address.

Before the Concert began in the evening, I had been asked to welcome the musicians and the public at the Konrad und Elisabeth Kirche. Here is what I said:

Good evening everybody.

My name is Manfred Höfert, and I am the spokesperson of the Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft, the Freiburg sister city committee.

On behalf of our Gesellschaft, the Carl-Schurz-Haus, and the City of Freiburg, I would like to welcome the Madison Symphony Chorus, die Junge Kammerphilharmonie Freiburg und das Vocalensemble Breisach.

It is an honor that the Chorus first came to Madison's sister city on its first visit to Europe. May I say "Freiburg first"? On tour in Germany, the Chorus will perform next in Leipzig and Berlin. I wish you for tonight and for your upcoming concerts all the best.

The Konrad und Elisabeth Kirche we are in is a historical landmark. It was built in the late 1920s and is one of the first churches constructed in exposed concrete. St. Konrad and Elisabeth was consecrated in 1930. May I say this church is as venerable as the Madison Symphony Chorus?

Meine Damen und Herren,

Ich hatte gehofft, die Badische Zeitung werde einen Bericht über dieses Konzert veröffentlichen, doch las ich in der Freitagsausgabe lediglich eine dürre Notiz über diesen Abend.

Lassen Sie mich also mit dem vorgesehenen doch ungedruckten Text das Konzert einleiten:

Der Madison Symphony Chorus wurde im Jahre 1927 gegründet. Mehr als 125 Sänger - heute sind es über 90, die den Weg nach Freiburg gefunden haben - treffen sich aus Freude am gemeinsamen Gesang, üben anspruchsvolle Musikstücke und Chorwerke und führen sie allein oder gemeinsam mit dem Madison Symphony Orchestra auf. Zu den Aufführungen vergangener Jahre zählten unter anderem:

-          Beethovens 9. Sinfonie
-          Mahlers 2. und 8. Sinfonie
-          Orffs Carmina Burana
-          die Requien von Mozart und Verdi
-          Auszüge aus Händels Oratorium Solomon.

Der langjährige Leiter des Madison Symphony Orchestras John DeMain schwärmt von "seinem" Chor: "Ohne die künstlerische Reife des Symphony Chorus unter seiner Leiterin Beverly Taylor könnte das Madison Sinfonieorchester niemals so großartige Werke darbieten. Talent und Hingabe des Chors lassen uns die aufregendsten Aufführungen verwirklichen."

Heute Abend führt der Madison Symphony Chorus zusammen mit der Jungen Kammerphilharmonie Freiburg und dem Vocalensemble Breisach Ein deutsches Requiem von Johannes Brahms auf. Chorleiterin ist Frau Beverly Taylor, die Solosänger sind Frau Anna Polum, Sopran, und Herr James Held, Bariton.

Der protestantische Hamburger Brahms folgt mit seinem Deutschen Requiem nicht der Liturgie der katholischen Totenmesse, sondern reiht hier tröstende Texte aus dem Alten und dem Neuen Testament aneinander. Mit diesem Werk für zwei Solisten, Chor und Orchester gelang dem damals 35-jährigen Brahms der Durchbruch als Komponist.

Wir sind gespannt. Enjoy the concert.

The church choir of the Konrad and Elisabeth Kirche
was fully packed with musicians.

Director Beverly Taylor masters them all.

Beautiful Soprano Anna Polum impresses the audience

Handsome Baritone James Held masters Brahms perfectly.

In the end, Director Beverly Taylor bows to the audience ...

... which is frenetically applauding the fantastic performance.
Most impressive is the angry: Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras
and the conciliatory ending: Selig sind die Toten.

Beverly Taylor gives her thanks to the Junge Philharmonie.
Bravo, with only one rehearsal chorus and orchestra,
sounded like they had been playing together for years.

Exhausted but happy. Thank you again for the memorable performance.
Brahms would have been pleased.

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Vive la France !

Last Sunday, Red Baron followed the live-streamed inauguration of France's newly elected President, Emmanuel Macron, on Facebook. While watching, I took some screenshots I would like to share with you.

Macron arrived in a relatively small car and was greeted by President François Hollande at the steps of the Élysée Palace while dignitaries were waiting inside a hall.

Hollande and Macron disappeared, apparently to attend a session of the French government that is always presided over by the President of the Republic. This time it was presided over by the old and the new; was this the reason why the meeting took nearly an hour?

In the meantime, the cameras showed some interesting scenes while people were waiting.

The guard of honor waiting in the courtyard of the Élysée Palace

La Tricolore is always on top

Dignitaries are waiting inside

Two well-known faces. In the middle: Lionel Jospin, socialist prime minister in 1997,
failed in 2002 to become Président de la République. On the right: His eternal rival
Laurent Fabius, socialist, now president of the Constitutional Council.

The two attractive daughters of the president's wife and one of the grandchildren waiting.

Soldiers of the Foreign Legion waiting.
In the background, men of the Republican Guard waiting.

Citizens greeting their new neighbors are waiting too.

The waiting dignitaries are entertained by Mozart's music.

Is he coming?

But he disappears again to say goodbye to François Hollande.

François bids adieu to Emmanuel's wife, Brigitte,
while the new president is watching the scene.

Both men are descending the stairs.

The car in which Emmanuel arrived is waiting for François at the end of the red carpet.

Is Hollande hesitating to leave the Élysée, or is he eager to go?

Macron watches the parting president entering the car.

A last waving of the hand

The presidential couple united again, smiling at the crowd.

The president of the Constitutional Council gives Macron a lesson about his duties and rights

Laurant Fabius impresses the crowd by speaking without a manuscript or teleprompter.

The Grand Chancellor of the Order of the National Legion of Honor
offers Macron the insignia of a Grandmaster

A close-up of the cross of the Legion of Honor

The Grand Chancellor signs the bestowal document first.

The bestowal document of the Legion of Honor

Macron signed the document too

In his inaugural speech, la France d'abord (France first)
defending the traditional values de la Républic: liberté, égalité, fraternité ...

... although Europe is important too

The presidential couple leaves the reception

Brigitte in small talk with some dignitaries ...

... while her husband is leaving the building to inspect the guards.

Macron on the red carpet face to face with ...

... the commanding officer

The new president is on his way to inspect the guard of honor.

Saluting the tricolore

Playing la Marseillaise

President Emmanuel Macron listening

On Monday, President Macron was in Berlin. Traditionally the first foreign trip of a newly elected French president is to Germany, while a freshly elected chancellor visits Paris first. Both leaders agreed to advance the European Union.

Angela and Emmanuel are bosom buddies already (©AFP)

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