Beginning now my subsection on Jewish philosophy, there is a great temptation to start our discussion with nothing less than the Holy Bible, which is undoubtedly a collection of the most Jewish books ever written.
There is a customary talk among the lovers of philosophy, and also among those for whom philosophy is not a dirty word, that the Bible is a deeply philosophical book. I must take issue with this pronouncement, I am afraid, as, to me, philosophy is a human search for truth, whereas the Bible to the Christians, and the Torah to the religious Jews, is the Word of God, a postulation of truth, and thus a different quality from philosophy as all philosophers and philosophizers define it.
I will agree, of course, that the Bible must be a fountain of philosophy for any outsider who is not obligated to see it as the Word of God, and I do believe that all Christians are at a disadvantage in this respect, but the fact still remains that there is a radical difference between, say, a St. Augustine philosophizing about the Bible, and the Bible itself.
It is, therefore, inappropriate, in my opinion, for any Christian to consider the Bible from the philosophical point of view, and this is it, as far as I am concerned.
There is a customary talk among the lovers of philosophy, and also among those for whom philosophy is not a dirty word, that the Bible is a deeply philosophical book. I must take issue with this pronouncement, I am afraid, as, to me, philosophy is a human search for truth, whereas the Bible to the Christians, and the Torah to the religious Jews, is the Word of God, a postulation of truth, and thus a different quality from philosophy as all philosophers and philosophizers define it.
I will agree, of course, that the Bible must be a fountain of philosophy for any outsider who is not obligated to see it as the Word of God, and I do believe that all Christians are at a disadvantage in this respect, but the fact still remains that there is a radical difference between, say, a St. Augustine philosophizing about the Bible, and the Bible itself.
It is, therefore, inappropriate, in my opinion, for any Christian to consider the Bible from the philosophical point of view, and this is it, as far as I am concerned.
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