23 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
waging the culture war, December 5, 2002
This review is from: Ecumenical Jihad: Ecumenism and the Culture War (Paperback)
The "jihad" in the title is somewhat jarring at first, especially today when Islamic fundamentalism and its physical form of holy war are at the fore of discussion and concern. And yet its deeper meaning to Kreeft's argument soon becomes clear. Jihad--an inner pursuit of truth and the outward performance of holy deeds--is pursued by people of all faiths, if not by that name. Surely some common ground must exist.
Kreeft does not advocate surrendering principles; most believers simply are not going to do so. Catholics are not going to abandon the real presence in the Eucharist; Protestants will continue to reject the infallibility of the Pope. Muslims won't abandon Mohammed. Jews are not likely to accept Christ as Messiah. But yet there remain good reasons for these faiths to unite--in an alliance, while retaining their beliefs--against the common enemy that destroys our culture, that consumes decency and morality and faith, that kills the unborn.
No, this is not a book for the weak of heart or mind (or most liberals). Kreeft pulls no punches, and isn't afraid to call a spade a spade, to say things that will no doubt garner him the "fundamentalist" or "fanatic" or "extremist" label. But this, at root, is a work of hope, of a cautious optimism, of facing adversity with a smile. With the smile of assurance only faith can offer.
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93 of 138 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bizarre, May 4, 2002
This review is from: Ecumenical Jihad: Ecumenism and the Culture War (Paperback)
Prof. Peter Kreeft teaches in the philosophy department at Boston College, an officially Roman Catholic institution. A convert to Roman Catholicism, he has written a number of books, many of which are (as is this) published by Ignatius Press, an ostensibly orthodox Roman Catholic publishing house.
Prof. Kreeft starts this strange book with a couple of points. First, the world is in a state of moral decay. Second, traditional believers in various religions share a fair amount in common concerning moral principles. Therefore, they should put their theological differences aside and work for a better world. If Prof. Kreeft had stopped there, he could have written an interesting book on how this might be accomplished. Instead, the book consists mostly of rambling discussions about the various branches of Christianity, and the dialogue between Christianity and non-Christian religions.
By way of background, Vatican II liberalized the Roman Catholic view of non-Christians religions. Pope John Paul II has liberalized that view further, with an almost entirely positive evaluation of world religions. Mr. Kreeft extends this pluralism by implying that sincere believers in any religion (or none) are in fact Christians. For example, "even atheists and agnostics, if they are of good will . . . perhaps . . . can be called 'anonymous Christians', as Karl Rahner suggested . . . " [p. 31] "Is there . . a `hidden Christ' of Hinduism? When a pious Moslem practices his islam, his submission, might this be taking place through Christ . . . . I think this is very likely. [p. 156] In fact, Mr. Kreeft speculates that the "ultimate reality" of Taoists, Buddhist, and Hindus might be the god of Christians. [p. 161] Now, if Taoists, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists and agnostics believe in the Christian God, it is only reasonable to ask what defines Christianity. Not faith in Christ, but a certain attitude toward reality (seeking "truth as an absolute" according to Kreeft) separates Christians from non-Christians. [See, id.] Mr. Kreeft was quite right, then, to cite the existentialist Rahner.
There is one portion of this book that is truly bizarre. Mr. Kreeft claims to have had an out of body experience while surfing in Hawaii. During this experience, he "soul-surfed" and landed on a "Heavenly beach." [p. 86] There, he met and spoke with Confucius, Buddha, Mohammed, and Moses. In the afterlife, all have become pious Roman Catholics. Nonetheless, Mohamed still teaches (and Kreeft appears to agree) that the Koran is "divine revelation." [pp. 103-4] This stuff goes on for twenty-five pages. Mr. Kreeft purports that his recounting of this ecumenical beach party is in some sense "true." [p. 86] No, I'm not making this up.
I've read some strange books before, but this is one of the strangest. In addition to the dubious theology, it is poorly written, contains no footnotes or an index, and consists of cultural analysis worthy of a third-tier neoconservative or second-hand follower of Ayn Rand. If this is the new age of ecumenicalism, give me the Thirty Years War.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Is he serious?, July 16, 2010
This review is from: Ecumenical Jihad: Ecumenism and the Culture War (Paperback)
Some of the stuff Peter Kreeft writes is pretty decent if not excellent ( Summa of the Summa and A Refutation of Moral Relativism to name two) but this gets the prize for being the worst of anything I have ever read that he has written. Although I think he understands that things are awry in the world, his false ecumenism with non Catholic religions is hardly a Catholic way of looking at things, and yet Mr. Kreeft considers himself Catholic. If we are to look at Vatican II in the light of tradition ( a tradition that soundly condemned "ecumenism", especially this false lowest common denominator kind; Pius XI's Mortalium Animos anyone?) than no Catholic in good standing could support the ideas built up in this book that make it seem like all religions and none are equal in the eyes of God. Books like this are exactly why us traditional Catholics look askance at the murky language of Vatican II documents; because people like Peter Kreeft just run with them and come up with bizarre and heretical stuff like this. What ever happened to the clear and concise language used in the Council of Trent?
I don't care what Kreeft says or how many degrees he has, this is not an orthodox Catholic book, instead it is a book full of false ecumenism and apologies for Luther and Mohammed. I agree that we should be fighting moral decay in society regardless of what religion we are but the false ecumenism Peter Kreeft suggests is not Catholic. Why does Ignatius carry this book is my question. In short, Kreeft is not a bad man and not a bad author, but if you want a book with a Catholic view to fighting moral corruption than this is NOT the one. Don't steer away from this author just based on this one book, but stay far away from this one.
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