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Top 10 Reasons Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics

Intro/Reason 1: Architecture
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-christians-should-read-pagan-classics-reason-1/

Reason 2: Virtue
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-should-christians-read-pagan-classics-reason-2/

Reason 3: Science
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-should-christians-read-pagan-classics-reason-3/

Reason 4: Education
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-should-christians-read-pagan-classics-reason-4/

Reason 5: Natural Law
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-should-christians-read-pagan-classics-reason-5/

Reason 6: Government
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-should-christians-read-pagan-classics-reason-6/

Reason 7: Religion
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-should-christians-read-pagan-classics-reason-7/

Reason 8: Philosophy
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-should-christians-read-pagan-classics-reason-8/

Reason 9: The Human Condition
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-should-christians-read-pagan-classics-reason-9/

Reason 10: Literature
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-should-christians-read-pagan-classics-reason-10/

One of the most important things that result from studying the classics is that it causes you, obliges you, to step outside your own time and culture. You are shaped by your own time and culture, which makes it difficult to judge it, something like using the ship you are on for a compass. You have no way of seeing that its going off course.

The writers of the classics were not superhuman by no means, they were also limited by their time and place. But by engaging with them, we step outside our own. And we engage in discussions more basic than whatever are the shallow talking points of the day as broadcast on all sides of us at full blast.

So... Is it safe to assume that, whenever this endless venture into paganism ends, you'll be introducing a 10-to-15-part series on why we should read the Koran?

Not a "criticism"... Just curious...

Chesterton explained in The Everlasting Man that there were two kinds of pagans in the ancient world: the good pagans (the Greeks and Romans) who had beautiful, benevolent gods that did not require human sacrifice or temple prostitution, and the bad pagans of Baal, Tyre, Carthage, and Canaan, described so vividly in the Old Testament.

I hate to have to disagree with Chesterton but the Greek gods did indeed require human sacrifice and temple prostitution. The Roman gods were just Greek gods with some new names.

And as for benevolent? Well, if you consider rape, murder, torture, incest, bestiality and cannibalism to be benevolent then heaven defend me from what you consider malevolent.