/lit/ - Literature

>>17632093
>>17632571
these, you drop plotinus real quick once you realize that it wasn't that long ago that nephilim walked the earth and people were sacrificing their children to moloch
>>17632291
Also this, although it should a
be stated that the reason Church theology resembles neoplatonism isn't because it was "inspired" by it. Rather the early Church Fathers had to be in conversation with the neoplatonists who were notable for the times. Saying christianity is wholy neoplatonic because of figures like dionysius and origen is like saying christianity is gnostic because of iranaeus (although former weren't necessarily refutations of neoplatonism, which was appreciated and discussed more seriously in the early Church). You can't look at the influences and dialogue of the early Church dialectically, they simply were trying the express, comprehend, and teach the Truth which of course would have shared similarities with the many distinct metaphysical notions of antiquity.

>>17625154
The only way to avoid pseudoanthropology and the weird layer of post-enlightenment occultism and new age bull shit is to read primary sources. I highly recommend learning a source language and chugging the texts of whatever culture you're interested in. But keep in mind, as other anon said, almost all texts that didn't come from the near east or antiquity were written down by chritsian scholastics and ethnographers. I really enjoy algonquin and taino ethnography, but also focus a lot on PIE studies and things like the nibelungenlied, eddas, and sagas. If you don't want to learn a language (or draw from the interpretations of abrahamists) then you're just going to fall into the trap laid by weird 19th century aristocrats who just wanted to wear masks and have orgies. At its core shamanistic and "old-belief" systems are really cool from a research standpoint, but neopaganism is incredibly laughable.
>>17625794
this