and clarification of certain matters, but only rarely, and concerning obvious matters that can almost be grasped before delving deeply into the discipline of speculative theology.”

He said:

“Rather, it has only one benefit: safeguarding the creed we have set out for ordinary people and protecting it from the confusion introduced by innovators through various forms of disputation. An ordinary person is unsettled by an innovator’s argument, even when it is unsound, and countering an unsound argument with another unsound argument is beneficial. People are religiously bound to adhere to the creed we have presented, since revealed law has prescribed it for the good of their religious and worldly affairs, and the early generations agreed upon it. Scholars are religiously charged with preserving it among ordinary people against the deceptive arguments of innovators, just as rulers are charged with protecting people’s property from the incursions of usurpers and oppressors.”

He said:

“Once its harm and benefit are fully understood, one should be