Reddit mentions: The best medieval thought philosophy books

God bless you! :) I love how you have shared your testimony.

I'm a young Christian guy and, unfortunately, struggle with porn and masturbation as well. So I do relate to your troubles there.

As someone who is new to the Christian faith, you might find this book REALLY helpful:

https://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473987989&sr=8-1&keywords=mere+christianity

It is called "Mere Christianity" by C.S Lewis, who, fun fact, is also the auther of the "Chronicals of Narnia" fiction series.

C.S Lewis was a devout Christian and has wrote many great books on the Christian faith. I would also reccomend his book "the Screwtape Letters" which is a book about demons. And it might help you with temptation, as you shall realise the spiritual reality of what happens whan you go through that tempation.

You also mentioned that your parents are Catholic, so they might appreciate that you learn Theology from the renowned Theologian,

Thomas Aquinas: https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Aquinas-Selected-Writings-Classics/dp/0140436324/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473988742&sr=1-1&keywords=thomas+aquinas

https://www.amazon.com/Aquinass-Shorter-Summa-Thomass-Theologica/dp/1928832431/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473989822&sr=1-7&keywords=thomas+aquinas

https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Aquinas-50-Pages-Laymans/dp/0988442515/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473989867&sr=1-3&keywords=thomism

https://www.amazon.com/Aquinas-Beginners-Guide-Edward-Feser/dp/1851686908/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473989924&sr=1-6&keywords=thomism

Thomos Aquinas is not only one of the greatest philosophers of Christianity, but one of the greatest philosophers PERIOD.

Just by reading, you can really learn a lot about the nature of God, what it means to

pray, how to properly interpret Scripture, understanding your

sexuality, the proper use of meditation etc.

Just reading one book can inform you a LOT.

I say this because, a lot of times, new Christians ask how or where

they can learn more about Christianity. Which is funny because the

answer is right in front of them. :) You learn more about religion

just as you learn more about everything else iln life. Through books.

)

Anyways. God bless you in your newfound relationship with Him.
May you grow in faith and find righteous abstinence from sin.
Pray for me as I shall pray for you.

Deo Gratias! +++

Discipline, perseverance, and patience are helpful. Start small then go from there...something as simple as getting out of bed on time will become over time a good habit and sort-of "second nature". Don't forget that this is the work of a lifetime.

If you want a primer, check out Dr. Taylor Marshall's Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages. (You can also get a free PDF online...Dr. Marshall purposely made it as a free e-book.) You will find the basics of virtue ethics spelled out there. If that's not enough, look at the resources it offers at the end.

Remember that the key to getting yourself to do something is to fall in love with it. If you love it, you will do it. But to love something, you've got to know it, and you've got to know it really well. So spend more time learning about virtue and then meditating upon it. Once you fall in love with the beauty of virtue you will pursue it. Good luck!

Well, it depends on what you want to study. If you want to go for religious experience, phenomenology, and epistemology, Yandell's "The Epistemology of Religious Experience", Otto's "The Idea of the Holy", James' "Varieties ...", and Alston's "Perceiving God" would be good.

For Medieval philosophy you really can't beat Aquinas. Since the SCG and ST are pretty hefty, it'd be good to start with Aristotle's metaphysica and physica (late late late edit: not just that, but read his works on souls as well as his other works). McKeon's "The Basic works of Aristotle" is an okay translation. There's a better one, but the name eludes me. After that, Aquinas' "On Being and Essence" is a must-read for metaphysics. Then either flip through the SCG or ST, or even better, find a companion for the two works (Peter Kreeft, Feser, and Sir A. Kenny are all decent). Beyond Aquinas, and a bit earlier than him, are Augustine and the Church fathers. I can't really say much on them because I'm not too familiar-- I fell in love with the Medieval philosopher-theologians before I converted, I didn't really pay much mind to those earlier than them in the Christian tradition. However, Augustine is usually the man I've heard recommended.

Beyond the books, philosophy papers between, say, Bergmann, Pruss, Almeida, et al. are wonderful. Almeida's "On Vague Eschatology", "A New Cosmological Argument Undone" (in response to Pruss), Almeida's refutation of Rowe's new evidentialist argument from evil, and his reply to Alston's skeptical theist response to Rowe's new evidentialist argument. Usually these will be followed by a response, and counter-response, etc.

For Oderberg, and in general for the Neo-Aristotelians, Tahko's collection of essays by varying neo-Aristotelians in "Contemporary Aristotelian Metaphysics", Oderberg's "Whatever is Changing...", and Oderberg's "Real Essentialism" are not explicitly Christian or related to the philosophy of religion (except the second, that is explicitly about the First Way of St. Thomas Aquinas) but implicitly related via the essentialists (particularly the Aristotelians) in the Christian tradition.

edit: Question for you: Which works of Plantinga? Also, by Zacharias, you mean Ravi Zacharias? I've never read much on him but I've heard he's okay. What is your take on him?

joseph Pieper's Guide to Thomas Aquinas and Joseph Pieper's Silence of Thomas Aquinas were recommended to me by someone studying him as a good intro. I haven't had the time to read them yet, but I trust the persons judgement.

I reccomend Feser's book "Aquinas" for a gentle introduction

Etienne Gilson "Thomism" is a must read to understand the thought of Thomas Aquinas.

Other great writers are Peter Geach, John Haldane, Eleonore Stump, and others.

The line between philosophy (as we think of it now) and theology around the time of Aquinas was a bit blurred. To understand the 'philosophy' that Aquinas did, however (not his biblical exegesis), I would say that it is best to have an understanding of the platonized Aristotelianism which Aquinas received.

A good anthology/introduction book is: https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Middle-Ages-Christian-Traditions/dp/160384208X

EDIT: Verb tense

Highly recommend this anthology, Dr. Williams is one of my professors and his translations are quite well done.

The only other modern religious thinkers that I’m familiar with are Jewish ones such as:

Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935), an orthodox Jewish rabbi, thinker, and Kabbalist, one of the earliest religious Zionists. You may want to check out his work The Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems.

Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903-1993), who was a major Jewish existentialist philosopher and rabbi in the modern orthodox tradition. He wrote some very interesting works such as The Lonely Man of Faith, Halakhic Man, and The Halakhic Mind.

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), a Jewish rabbi and theologian who published some works in the Jewish existentialism tradition such as Man Is Not Alone and God in Search of Man.

If you want to read some of the philosophical foundations for Abrahamic religious thought, then I highly recommend the anthology Philosophy in the Middle Ages: The Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Traditions.

Dr. Taylor Marshall's Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages is really quick and is a good start.

Get this book. I pray it helps. It helped me. The antidote to modernism is Thomism.


Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages: A Layman's Quick Guide to Thomism https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988442515/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_A3mVDbPXGHSEE