Q&A: Reading and Studying Christian Philosophy and Theology Literature — Permitted or Forbidden?
Reading and Studying Christian Philosophy and Theology Literature — Permitted or Forbidden?
Question
Hello Rabbi. For a very long time now I’ve been engaged in philosophy, with its various thinkers and schools (Aristotle, Plato, Maimonides, Kant, Hume, etc.).
And thank God, I observe Torah and commandments as best I can, and I have a good Torah background and knowledge. Right now I’m studying your Trialogue again (reading it for the second time).
In your books you mention important Christian thinkers such as Anselm (the ontological proof) and Thomas Aquinas (the cosmological proof), and I’m wondering whether, from the standpoint of Jewish law, I’m permitted to engage in Christian thought and philosophy for the sake of expanding my knowledge.
Answer
Why not? Accept the truth from whoever says it. There is no such thing as Christian thought and Jewish thought. There is correct thought and incorrect thought.