Why should we be interested in the wisdom of other religions?

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I recently came across a quote by Father Thomas Keating shared by a friend on social media that said, “Finding out what particular insights mean to people in other religions enables us not only to respect but to love the wisdom of other religions.” I do not know anything about Father Thomas Keating so I am not judging the quote based on a pre-existing bias towards him. However, this quote made me wonder why we should be concerned with the wisdom contained in other religions. If the Catholic Church contains the fullness of truth, there should be no need for us to learn to love and respect the wisdom in other religions. We should learn about other religions for proselytizing purposes and can acknowledge the truth in false religions, but those truths are inherently Catholic truths, right? Is it unjust to hate false religions and ideologies? Thoughts?
 
There is nothing wrong with respecting aspects of other faiths.

Look around the world. Religion impacts so much, and is relevant in so many ways. We should all learn and try to respect the beliefs of others.

I wrote this in another thread a while back:
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I like learning about other faiths! How about you? Non-Catholic Religions
It allows you to learn and understand other people. To understand the world as it is, why conflict exists between and within religions. It gives you insight into why others live as they do. It allows you to make informed choices about your own religion. It lets you assess and evaluate your thinking against that of others. It means you can see the world with more clarity and less judgement.
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Thanks for sharing, I have to say I learn a lot from other religions, I also think it helps me to find a greater understanding of my own Catholic Faith.

If you were to reflect on the 99 names of Allah, his mercy, compassion, justice, righteous and the name for forgiving is mentioned three times.
 
Eric_Hyom said:
Thanks for sharing, I have to say I learn a lot from other religions, I also think it helps me to find a greater understanding of my own Catholic Faith.
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I have to agree 100%. Wisdom is universal. It can be found anywhere. But exploring other faiths and world views with respect helps to see our Catholic views in new and sometimes deeper ways.
 
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They might happen to have a belief that aligns with the Catholic Church and give an orthodox insight.
 
Though the Catholic Church contains the fullness of truth, not every truth that she contains has been fully expounded on or looked at. There are plenty of truths implicit to Catholicism on which the last enlightening word hasn’t been said, and probably never will be. Other religions–though lacking the fullness of truth–are capable of teaching things that Catholics could have come up with, but haven’t yet. Q.E.D.
 
I started taking the Lord ‘a day seriously after reading a book about an orthodox Jewish family and how they arranged their chores to be able to worship and family time on the Sabbath.
The description was so lovely and peaceful, I was inspired to do similar, and I really like my not-hectic Sunday’s.
 
CRUSADER_KING said:
If the Catholic Church contains the fullness of truth
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If your true mum loves you more than anyone else in the world but you are adopted how does that help you?

If your dad is the font of all knowledge but doesnt talk much how does that help you?

Flow is just as important as containment.
Surely it would be better to belong to a Church that has only 50% of the truth/love but shares it 100% than a Church which claims to contain 100% but only effectively shares 10%?

Which possibly explains why God is happy with so many religions in a fallen world. Life is messy and for every crooked pot there is a crooked lid. One size fits all doesnt actually hold true in practise.
If we follow the Holy Spirit we will be led to the place that is best for us given our unique needs and background.
 
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I would rather spend time reading the lives of the saints and scripture than reading something else that could try to steer me down a wrong path. It’s plenty to be bombarded by all the messages the world is firing out at us, I don’t need to spend my prayer/reading time on something that would conflict with my faith. I like the Rock that Christ established after being out in the ocean treading for my life.
 
Christianity, including Catholicism, doesn’t delve into the Jewish Holy days. The Holy Ghost was given on Pentecost or the Feast of Shavuot. The Crucifixion happened on the Passover. Jesus birth most likely happened on Yom Kipper. (just my guess, no proof.) Thanks to my involvement with the synagogue I was able to study these Holydays and find significant connections which Christianity, including Catholicism overlook.
 
I found a Confucius saying to be close to what Jesus said. The part about the plank in the eye compared to complaining about a neighbor having snow on their roof when there’s snow on yours. There are parables Jesus said that are comparable to other religions.
 
Hi! For me we must respect them .I am a Catholic but I think that there are Religions who pray for our safety,there are Jews and Islam .We know that knowing each other would bring peace.We must love everyone even our enemies because they are God’s Creation.We do not want to hurt God and we want to love what He creates for us.He creates many people so we can feel Love in times of Despair.You can chat with me at my Facebook Account , please search for me: 告尤金 Thank you!
 
Sometimes, it’s difficult to appreciate what you have, if you don’t have anything to contrast it with. You take certain things for granted when you don’t know of alternate ways of perceiving an aspect of Reality… but when you encounter the same wisdom or truth from another angle, sometimes you say, “Ahh…!”
 
This thread exemplifies why we need to continue to unpack Vatican 11.
 
No? Not the Hebrew sacrifices that prefigured the Mass, or the whole book of the Quran devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary?
 
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