Kreeft issues a clear call to all Christians to get back to their active pursuit of real virtue in their daily lives. This in-depth analysis of the meaning of the virtues and their connection with the Beatitudes also summarizes a scriptural and theological wisdom on leading a holy life. Includes the accumulated wisdom of St. Paul, C.S. Lewis, and many others.
Back To Virtue
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--------- AUDIO LECTURES --------- $1 each (MP3)
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Peter Kreeft MP3
RECORDED LECTURES:
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---"Beauty" -- The branch of philosophy dealing with aesthetics.
---"C. S. Lewis and Mere Christianity" -- C.S. Lewis' masterpiece
---"Christianity in Lord of the Rings" -- The cleverly disguised role of God
---"Culture War" -- A call to arms, mapping key enemies and battlefields
---"Existence of God" -- A magnificent overview of the arguments
---"Good, True, Beautiful" -- C.S. Lewis on three great transcendentals
---"Happiness" -- How do you get it? Christ's version vs. the world's
---"Heaven" -- The heart's deepest longing
---"Hollywood Screenwriting" -- Encouragement to film's creative storytellers
---"If Einstein Had Been a Surfer" -- Rediscovering intuitive thinking
---"Lord, Liar, or Lunatic" -- The famous argument for Christ's identity
---"Problem of Pain" -- C.S. Lewis's brilliant exposition on suffering and evil
---"Sex in Heaven" -- Imaging the fire of God's love
---"Sexual Reconnection" -- Healing the link between sex & love
---"Shocking Beauty" -- The live character of Christ
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Lecture scheduling and more info:
http://www.peterkreeft.com
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
82 of 82 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Peter Kreeft's new book, Back to Virtue, is the best introduction to the topic that I have ever read. Kreeft makes the subject matter appealing, accessible, and understandable.
In the book, Kreeft explains how our civilization has rejected the idea of virtue and why we desparately need to recover this moral vision in order to know true blessedness inwardly and good relationships outwardly. As Thomas Merton wrote, "We are not peace with others because we are not peace with ourselves, and we are not peace with ourselves because we are not peace with God."
Kreeft argues that we need a clear roadmap concerning right and wrong--and that roadmap is clearly discovered in God's Word. "The most striking feature of God's roadmap is the stark fact of the Two Roads. There is the road that leads to Life, and there is the road that leads to Death. There is Good, and there is Evil. There is Right and there is Wrong" (11). We must regain the wisdom of those who have gone before us in order to meet the challenges of the present and the future. C. S. Lewis concisely presents the modern problem: "For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem of human life was how to conform the soul to objective reality, and the solution was wisdom, self-discipline, and virtue. For the modern, the cardinal problem is how to conform reality to the wishes of man, and the solution is a technique." Kreeft argues that we must return to a historic understanding of virtue and vice in order to confront the moral turmoil that surrounds us. "In an age of relativism, orthodoxy is the only possible rebellion left" (189).
With this historical backdrop in place, Kreeft introduces his readers to the four cardinal virtues of justice, wisdom, courage, and moderation.
... Read more ›48 of 48 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I had to read this book for a freshman seminar at college, and I absolutely devoured it. Kreeft is very much a traditionalist - he uses sources ranging from the early Church Fathers to modern philosphers, yet all of them fit together seamlessly to make the point he wants you to get. I have re-read this book several times, and each time I find more helpful information on how to live the type of life Christ calls for. Whether for personal devotion or a study of Christian morality, I would highly recommend this book.
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By K.H.
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Philosopher and Cultural Critic Peter Kreeft has written an outstanding book discussing virture in Western Culture. He opens the book by asking "Is Virtue Out of Date?". This sets the tone as he spends the next couple of chapters on how Western Culture got to the point in the lack of virtue we now see before us.
The middle of his book discusses the "Cardinal Virtues" and "Theological Virtues" and their importance. He then does a comparison and contrast between the "Beatitudes" and the "Seven Deadley Sins." His conculsion is a little too short for such a profound work, yet rating this important book four stars would not do it justice. Four and a half would be more appropiate, so I'm rounding it off at five stars.
A Must read for all Christians in Western Culture, and others who are concern about the decline of virtue in our culture.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Do you believe that life today is so confusing? And do you believe that the modern world is morally confused? If you do, you will find Peter Kreeft's "Back to Virtue" stimulating and enlightening. Kreeft examines modern civilization and why it is at risk. He poses the question, "What ever became of virtue?" and proceeds to examine the absence of virtue in today's world and why it's absence has led to moral confusion.
"Back to Virtue" begins with review of spiritual history and how we got to this state of confusion. In modern life, life flows from the modern world view that there is no God; therefore we play God to the world. As a result, we do not have any shared principles (virtues) as each person can decide what is virtuous and what is not. There is no notion of any universal and objective morality, no meeting place.
The rest of Kreeft's work (most of the book) examines the key to eliminating confusion, personal virtue. He goes into great detail examining each - the four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues - and the role each plays in an ordered world. He ends with a beautiful discussion of the Beatitudes and their role in confronting the seven deadly sins. You will be stimulated, enlightened, and motivated by each of these discussions.
"The patient, Western civilization, may indeed die soon and will certainly die some day, for everything human is mortal. But it need not die now. Though we are sliding towards the abyss...we can (still) turn back the clock which keeps false time." All we need to do is grab onto the footholds presented in this book - the cardinal virtues, the theological virutes, and the Beatitudes. "We are the slaves of time and the masters of morality rather than vice versa. We can return."
"Back to Virtue" begins with review of spiritual history and how we got to this state of confusion. In modern life, life flows from the modern world view that there is no God; therefore we play God to the world. As a result, we do not have any shared principles (virtues) as each person can decide what is virtuous and what is not. There is no notion of any universal and objective morality, no meeting place.
The rest of Kreeft's work (most of the book) examines the key to eliminating confusion, personal virtue. He goes into great detail examining each - the four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues - and the role each plays in an ordered world. He ends with a beautiful discussion of the Beatitudes and their role in confronting the seven deadly sins. You will be stimulated, enlightened, and motivated by each of these discussions.
"The patient, Western civilization, may indeed die soon and will certainly die some day, for everything human is mortal. But it need not die now. Though we are sliding towards the abyss...we can (still) turn back the clock which keeps false time." All we need to do is grab onto the footholds presented in this book - the cardinal virtues, the theological virutes, and the Beatitudes. "We are the slaves of time and the masters of morality rather than vice versa. We can return."
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A.C.D.
Format:Paperback
This book sat on our bookshelf for several years before I picked it up one day out of boredom. What a wonderful suprise to discover Peter Kreeft. This book gave me pause to step back from our modern world in which anything goes to see that we do live in a world of good and evil--sin and virtue. These distinctions are not to be ignored, because, as he writes, they are of "life and death" proportions.
Peter Kreeft is the modern day G.K. Chesterton. Don't miss him.
Peter Kreeft is the modern day G.K. Chesterton. Don't miss him.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for Book Group Discussions
Without being condescending this book is easy to read, readily accessible to the ordinary (not philosophy professor type) reader, and very sound. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Shannon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Virtue Rules!
This book helps the reader see the crucial importance of virtue in building better individual lives and a healthier/saner culture. It's great for Lent, too!
Published 3 months ago by heynow
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Example of Faith Seeking Knowledge
Peter Kreeft is one of the rare writers and philosophers that can share an in-depth knowledge of Thomism in a way that inspires and moves the reader to Christian action. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Steve Graves
5.0 out of 5 stars
Accurate description
I'd already read portions of the book, elsewhere, so the only remaining factor was what condition the used book was in. I needn't have worried, it came looking almost new.
Published on November 5, 2010 by Cheryl
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lot of good advice (Kindle edition)
While I'm glad I read Prof. Kreeft's "Back to Virtue," I had a tough time getting through it. At one point, I set it aside and was almost certain I wouldn't return to it. Read more
Published on November 28, 2009 by Zeldock
2.0 out of 5 stars
Virtue light with revolting analogies
While Peter Kreeft does provide a very accessible introduction to the traditional virtues and their corollaries, he certainly does not probe their actual depths. Read more
Published on April 9, 2006 by Elisa Sophia
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not the logical analysis I expected
Peter Kreeft does show that the reformist where misguided in rejecting the cardinal virtues of Plato and Aristotle, just as we would be misguided by rejecting Newtonian Physics... Read more
Published on February 27, 2006 by Wil Roese
5.0 out of 5 stars
A concise, enthralling road map for life.
Back to Virtue is a concise, enthalling roadmap for living for The Good. Hard facts which may eliminate present self satisfaction but can pull you up to a higher level of living.
Published on September 1, 1998
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 34
books:
See all 34 books this book cites
3
books
cite this book:
- The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis on page 13, page 98, and page 116
- The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis on page 21, and page 22
- Fear and Trembling (Penguin Classics) by Soren Kierkegaard on page 71
- The Man Who was Thursday by Gilbert Chesterton on page 66
- Flight From Woman by Karl Stern on page 21
See all 34 books this book cites
- Employee Assistance Programs: What Works and What Doesn't by Lawrence Mannion in Back Matter
- Souls, Bodies, Spirits by Kerry N. Jacoby in Back Matter
- Get Off My Honor!: The Assault on the Boy Scouts of America by Hans Zeiger in Back Matter
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