Is NeoPlatonism Acceptable to Believe as a Catholic?

[Startingcatholic]

My Friend recently recommended to me platinus’s enneads and I looked into it a little and was wondering if this group of thought I’d compatible and okay to have as a Catholic?

 

[Wesrock]

It may be of interest but Plotinus had some non-Christian conclusions in regards to the Godhead.

 

[Startingcatholic]

But what I’m asking is would it be detrimental to my faith to practice NeoPlatonism but come to my own conclusions about the Godhead?

 

[snarflemike]

NeoPlatonism

What would “practice NeoPlatonism” actually look like? Give specifics.

 

[Wesrock]

Practice it?

Yeah, that seems counter productive to your faith.

 

[tafan2]

What does “practicing” a philosophy entail?

 

[TechieGuy]

How far have you gotten into loving your neighbor as you do yourself? Maybe start with that.

 

[CTBcin]

Neo-Platonism sprung up in the early centuries AD as a revival and evolution of the once-dead thought of Plato. Many ideas of neo-Platonism were seen as very compatible with Christianity and as a result, many early Church Fathers picked up on neo-Platonic ideas.

St. Augustine was a neo-Platonist, as well as most of the medieval Catholic philosophers. It was Aquinas who first fully integrated Aristotelianism into Catholicism, but even he is greatly indebted to neo-Platonic thought.

While the hard-hitting Catholic philosophy promoted throughout the past few centuries has been Thomism/ Aristotelianism, there is nothing to say that you can’t be a neo-Platonist. I’d certainly recommend it over the thought of Rahner or de Chardin any day of the week.

 

[Startingcatholic]

I mean like practice the school of thought and actually put time into understanding it deeply.

 

[CTBcin]

Practice it?

Yeah, that seems counter productive to your faith.

Nothing wrong with practicing a philosophy. We use that terminology all the time in seminary. A philosophical system provides a framework with which to view the world and understand reality. Practicing a good philosophy will help us to know God better and practice our faith more fully. Bad philosophy, on the other hand, can potentially lead to catastrophic consequences (think the Holacaust or Communism).

 

[Wesrock]

Wesrock:

Practice it?

Yeah, that seems counter productive to your faith.

Nothing wrong with practicing a philosophy. We use that terminology all the time in seminary. A philosophical system provides a framework with which to view the world and understand reality. Practicing a good philosophy will help us to know God better and practice our faith more fully. Bad philosophy, on the other hand, can potentially lead to catastrophic consequences (think the Holacaust or Communism).

Ah, but neoplatonism is not just a philosophy. It’s also a religious system. Which is why alarm bells went off in my head when he mentioned practicing it.