[Avodah] "Copying from Christian Thinkers"

[Yitzchak Schaffer]

From: Shalom Carmy
Sent: 09/27/11 05:34 PM
> 1. If the Rav is being accused of plagiarism, how account for the fact
> that these same Christian thinkers, and many others, are repeatedly
> mentioned in the Rav's major works, and several of them are discussed
> in Lonely Man? There is a secret here only for those who are ignorant
> of the entire current of 20th century religious thought.

Your points are valid and quite beautifully and compellingly stated;
however, I don't think it's fair to assume that all the list readers are
familiar with religious thought even at this level. I certainly wasn't
until a couple of years ago. In fact I would wager that this list itself
provides first exposure for many of us.

As is well known, some Orthodox leaders opposed open-ended religious
thought in general, and RYBS in particular; so it should come as neither
a surprise nor unwarranted when one of our number is unfamiliar with
the Rav's place in this picture.

-- 
Yitzchak Schaffer