The difference between religion and philosophy…

From Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man:

Not only are the problems of philosophy not identical with the problems of religion; their status is not the same. Philosophy is, in a sense, a kind of thinking that has a beginning but no end. In it, the awareness of the problem outlives all solutions. Its answers are questions in disguise; every answer giving rise to new questions. In religion, on the other hand, the mystery of the answer hovers over all questions.

Heschel is one of the most readable and beloved Jewish intellectuals of modern times. In my thinking, he is in Judaism what Lewis is in Christianity. They lived at the same time and in some ways dealt with the same questions.

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About Derek Leman

IT guy working in the associations industry. Formerly a congregational rabbi. Dad of 8. Nerd.
This entry was posted in Abraham Joshua Heschel, Mysticism, Philosophy. Bookmark the permalink.

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