Customer Reviews

Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis & Aldous Huxley

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

November 22, 1963 was a day that all who were alive that day will remember. It was the day J.F. Kennedy was killed. But in the shadow of that famous death two other great men died that day, Aldous Huxley and C.S. Lewis. This book deals with those three famous men and a fictional dialog they would have sometime after life, but before a final judgment.

These three great men each believed in an afterlife but differently. Lewis in ancient western theism, Kennedy was a humanist, and Huxley believed in ancient eastern pantheism. Each also believed or practiced different forms of Christianity. Lewis was more mainline orthodox Christianity, Kennedy was a modernist or humanistic Christianity and Huxley an Orientalized or mystical Christianity.

The three men meet in a white mist or fog, they debate where they are, what they believe and where they think they will end up. Like many of Kreeft's books it is written as a dialogue, a conversation in three parts. They each present their world views, their view of the afterlife and their understanding of what their life meant. Yet each is open to the `truth' what truth really is and if it has eternal impact.

This is one of those fun light reads, written in a unique and engaging manner that will presenting the three most common views currently accepted in Christianity, and three of the common interpretations of Christianity in today's world. If you want to understand other streams of Christianity or the Christians around you this book will give you a clear, concise and humorous presentation of the three main approaches today.

Between Heaven & Hell has a subtitle which reads, "A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis & Aldous Huxley". Yes, this is a fictional trialog in "limbo" of the most important question in human history - Who is Jesus Christ? Many people are unaware that JFK, Lewis and Huxley all died within hours of each other on November 22, 1963. It seems the assassination of President Kennedy from either the grassy knoll or from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository somehow managed to overshadow the deaths of the other two men. Go figure!

Much of the fictional discussion between these three characters revolves around their own writings although Kreeft employs a bit of literary license for the sake of argument. The fact that Kreeft is a Catholic doesn't affect the content of this book since the argument is essentially Lewis' straight, or "mere" Christianity. The position of JFK is that of a humanistic Christian in the sense of emphasizing "horizontal" social activity rather than "vertical" religious experience...religion without revelation. Kennedy portrays his view of Christ as that of a man become god. Huxley doesn't get the air time that Lewis and JFK get, but his contribution is significant. He represents the eastern pantheist position and reinterprets Christianity as a form of the universal philosophy of pantheism. In this view, Jesus was one of the great sages of history along with Buddha, Socrates, Confucius, Mohammed and the rest. Employing the Socratic method of question and answer, Kreeft slowly but surely uses Lewis' arguments to refute the views of Jesus being a lunatic, liar or just a great moral teacher. Once this is done, He argues that Jesus was God in the flesh, just as He claimed to be. Approximately the last third of the book focuses on the reliability of the gospel accounts which record the claims of Christ.

I found this book to be a very enjoyable read, especially the Socratic method that Kreeft employs. Although I don't criticize Kreeft for making the most out of the historical situation, I'll just say that the only theological disagreement I had with this book was the immediate destiny of the three men being "limbo" which I'm sure is only used by Kreeft as a setting for the discussion. The argument from Lewis was very thought-provoking and required honesty with the end result being much clearer thinking concerning the person of Christ, not to mention his inescapable conclusions which were drawn. I found it very interesting how he would ask of the opposition very pointed, yet fair questions. I was glad to find that the rabbit trails were quickly discounted so the reader can follow the arguments more easily. Throughout the discussion, Kreeft continually reminds the reader that as Christians, we don't try to win arguments for ourselves (I use "argument" in the technical sense of presenting evidence in favor of one's position). It doesn't matter who wins or loses. Truth is what we all must submit to, not someone's ability to debate.We present evidence in favor of the truth and truth must win the battle.

Three men died on the same day in November, 1963: JFK, Aldous Huxley, and CS Lewis. The book is a fictional recreation of how their meeting might take place.
I would like to write my review in the form of a pros/cons list with the following premise: I really liked this book.

Cons: I think there are fewer than the pros by far, but my own view includes-
1.) Though I actually agree with Kreeft's portrayal of Kennedy overall as a philosophical dilletante compared to Lewis and Huxley, Kreeft could have been a little more generous to JFK.
2.) Kreeft is a little more philosophically specific than Lewis who wrote to more of a "lay" crowd.

Pros:
1.) I disagree with previous reviews that say that the book misrepresented Lewis. Few people know the ins and outs of Lewis better than Kreeft. Consider these parallels as proof: A.) the aut deus aut homo malus argument is a direct recapitulation of the lunatic, liar, or Lord argument present in Mere Christianity and some of Lewis' other works.
B.) Those who say that Lewis believed that all cultures and religions were equal is not exactly correct. Lewis believed that pieces of truth were lodged in other religions, but did not believe that all religions were created equal. Again a close reading of the opening in Mere Christianity makes it clear that Lewis is an adamant Christian.
C.) The way in which Lewis believed that all people were equal was in their imperfection when confronting the holy reality of God. Huxley, on the other hand, adhered to a more pantheistic view of human nature that lumped the good and the bad in one ubiquitous whole. The glaring metaphysical differences between pantheism and theism disclose the deduction that Huxley and Lewis were proponents of two profoundly different worldviews and thus had fewer mental/philosophical "overlaps" than might appear prima facie. Reading the Lewis book, "Miracles," makes that demarcation even clearer.
Pro #2: There are times when Huxley really comes on strong. If you read some of Kreeft's other works, you'll see he has a healthy respect of Aldous;in BHAH Lewis has read "Brave New World," and in other nonfictional works Kreeft actually praises the insights in the aforementioned book. I think the critique that Huxley is misrepresented is a bit unwarranted.
Pro #3: It is a cool re-enactment of what is much like a Socratic dialogue.
Pro #4: Kreeft isn't psychic, but seems to articulate the biggest differences between the three ideological camps of Christianity, modernism, and perennial philosophy/pantheism pretty well.

I highly recommend this book.

In "Between Heaven and Hell," Peter Kreeft sets up a fictional debate between C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley, and John F. Kennedy, shortly after their deaths which, amazingly, all came on November 22nd, 1963. Kreeft uses Lewis, Kennedy, and Huxley as representatives of 3 common worldviews and their interpretation on Christianity: orthodox Christianity, modernist Christianity, and "Orientalist" Christianity, respectively.

Kreeft, an orthodox Catholic, naturally sides with the general worldview of the Anglican Lewis over the modernist Catholic Kennedy and the Buddhist Huxley, but Kreeft is fair and respectful towards Kennedy and Huxley. While the book is very short at only a little over 100 pages, in informal, conversational format, it provides a good synopsis of how the three men interpreted the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as told in the New Testament.

The first half of the book is Lewis debating Kennedy on the subject of Christianity. (Huxley agrees to listen and argue his philosophy later on, mainly against Lewis of course, which he does in the 2nd half of the book.) Kennedy's worldview is definitely the most prevalent in the present-day, Western world, and therefore, the debate between Lewis and Kennedy will be the more interesting of the two for most readers raised in a Western culture. The Lewis-Kennedy debate is basically a summation of several Lewis books, most of which were themselves an argument for orthodox Christianity versus the modernist Christian and post-Christian worldview. Lewis handles Kennedy fairly easily, and Kennedy fans or readers sharing Kennedy's worldview will probably find themselves wanting to propose several objections to Kreeft in support of their side of the debate. But this is a quick summary after all, and Kreeft is obviously aware of that.

Moving on to the pantheist Huxley, the debate becomes slightly more foreign and rare to the average Westerner used to debates between monotheists and atheists. Huxley was a brilliant man (as all three were, of course), and his philosophy was deep, well-argued, and at times, abstruse. Kreeft uses this debate to answer the question often put to Christians, phrased in one form or another, "How is Jesus different than other major religious gurus?" This debate, again being a quick summary, leaves a few pantheist arguments on the table and isn't ended as easily as the Lewis dispatching of Kennedy's case is, but it suffices.

I recommend this book as a good introduction to the believing Christian's argument against modernist Christianity and Eastern philosophy. The book is entertaining and can be read in a couple hours, if not less.

Kreeft is quite good at this ancient art of the socartic dialog!

Lewis takes the role of the classic Christian, Huxley the classic pantheist (fancy word for what we now call "newage"), and Kennedy the classic humanist.

Interesting side note: Lewis died peacefully in his sleep. Huxley died while on LSD. Kennedy was shot by a political enemy.

Bill

This is a very clever book. C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley (representing New Age thinking), and JFK (representing the basic modern humanist) meet up somewhere "between Heaven and Hell." Why these three? They all died on the same day. Huxley *was* pretty new age-y and JFK *was* basically a humanist, but these tendencies are exaggerated for effect here. Still, what they say is totally believable and not much different than what I hear on a daily basis. Of course, as might be expected, specialists and fans of both will complain, but oh well. This book is short and light and the pure dialog format makes for quick and easy reading. I read this book for the first time in High School and even now as a graduate student in Philosophy at a Big 12 school I am still using the same basic arguments only infused with years of study, experience, and meditation. I can't think of a better introduction to the art of Apologetics. The central argument is the Lord, Liar, Lunatic one from Lewis's _Mere Christianity_. However, they also discuss the nature of true religion, the historical reliability of the NT, the nature of hope and morality. Just over 100 pages, you can read this in one setting and will want to read it over and over again.

Kreeft portrays a clear, logical and exciting discussion that taught me very much about Christianity and Pantheism. First, Lewis and Kennedy discuss Lewis's argument that Jesus was either God or a bad or crazy man. Then Lewis and Huxley discuss Huxley's pantheistic objections to Lewis's beliefs. I am very familiar with C.S. Lewis's writings, and I was very impressed with how well and accurately he is portrayed here. I couldn't put this book down.

Preliminary literary comments first. Kreeft's dialogue-based books are simply great reading. Very engaging, thought-provoking, and sometimes humorous (usually because they expose the nonsense we so often think/speak). This book discusses the unavoidable "nub" of Christianity - Jesus. Since Jesus is such a popular flavor of play-doh in our ridiculous "make-your-own-religion" society, this book, and the discussion it houses, MUST be read. Unfortunately, we don't discuss Jesus publicly, b/c that wouldn't be "courteous". Instead we talk about sports, food, fashion, and pop culture. Funny how we'll discuss irrelevancies all day long, but avoid conversations about ultimate life issues like the plague. While Huxley does not appear as frequently in the discussion as Kennedy, his contribution is significant, in light of the current Eastern/New Age fad. It is serendipitous that these 3 men died on the same day, since Kreeft is able to employ them as representatives of such influential and disparate concepts of religion in general and Christianity in particular. The book must be read honestly, and near the middle of the book, this necessity is profoundly driven home. Is Jesus who he says he is? That's a serious question and one that must be faced squarely. Set aside the irrelevant and begin to consider the ultimate...

I have only recently been interested in Peter Kreeft's work. This book, was recommended to me by all people, my husband. And I'm glad I read it. It is easy to understand, while at the same time dealing with polemic issues that affect us all.

The book opens with C.S Lewis, John F. Kennedy, and Aldous Huxley meeting in a "limbo" place before going to their finale destination. This allows the three to debate the most important issue of all: Who is Jesus Christ? The dialogue is witty and the book helps to point out how one can dialogue to our more secular friends.

Further, the book is easy to read and can be read in one setting without much effort. This is the strength of this book is that Kreeft has not sacraficed teaching us for simplicity. The book works on both levels.

Completely enjoyable.

Between Heaven and Hell is the perfect book for a Christian to give to friends who are interested in the faith. In this afterlife dialogue between C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley, and John F. Kennedy we see how a Christian answers different worldviews. C.S. Lewis represents Christianity. Kennedy represents the common American view that Heaven (if it exists) is about one's personal good outweighing his bad. Huxley represents eastern religions and pantheism.

I've bought this book several times and given it to co-workers and friends. You won't care if you get it back, because you know you've put a good book in someone's hands who may need it.

The book is brief, packed with great arguments, and a very accessible read. If you enjoy sharing your faith with friends, you'll buy several.