I'm not sure about Aristotle postulating a Universal Mind consciously operating in all living things. That would be, it seems to me, a form of pantheism (or at least panentheism)--- and a serious error. But he did distinguish between that which merely lives and grows, that which lives and senses, and that which lives, reasons and chooses.
You can rightly say that everything the pagan philosophers taught must be examined critically, but not everything they taught is wrong. Some of them made good use of that intellective faculty by which we know true things, even about God. For instnance, there are non-Christian philosophers who will argue that the rational soul is immortal.
And the honest intellect can reason that the Universe was created by a Supreme Being of surpassing knowledge and power. That's a truth worth having, found even amongst the pagans.
Well, gee, there was this Christian guy what was named, like, St. Thomas Aquinas, who not only didn't reject it, but made Aristotle's investigative method the foundation of his Summa Theologiae.
He's going to be so embarrassed when he finds this out!