Customer Reviews

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Heaven-- But Never Dreamed of Asking

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The title of the book might make some people think it's going to be a very basic, light treatment of the subject. Not so. Peter Kreeft is an outstanding biblical scholar and theologian who provides ample references to biblical passages, writings of philosophers and Church fathers, and alternate views from other religions. Kreeft did as good a job with this as anyone I've ever read. He presents extremely logical and biblical arguments for the Church's teachings on the afterlife. He also offers very thought-provoking ideas about the nature of a soul and of Heaven and Hell. The question and answer parts are very satisfying--issues are examines with great depth. I especially enjoyed his treatment of time itself...what is the meaning of "eternity" and how is it experienced? I found it easy to accept all the author's conclusions, and the book's message was uplifting on top of being informative. In short, here you have it all--a scholarly look at the subject and a message of hope and joy. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has pondered our eternal future!

I take exception to the misinformed and misleading review posted by "beanderson" "The Gospel According to Kreeft, October 25, 2000". This reviewer claims that the author, Peter Kreeft, is New Age, which is completely false. Peter Kreeft is a Catholic apologist for Christianity, professor at Boston College, and author of many books. His ideas draw heavily from religious and philosophical tradition, especially Thomas Aquinas, Socrates, and C.S. Lewis.

This book, "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven", provides an unexcelled look at the nature of Heaven that offers readers a refreshingly clear, theologically sound, and always fascinating glimpse of that "undiscovered country." Kreeft's engaging and informative account thoughtfully answers intriguing questions about heaven that speaks to the mind and heart.

I read this book years ago. I found it very interesting that the author raises questions about Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory that I hadn't previously considered. It can be easy to think of Heaven as simply "a wonderful place" and Hell as simply "a terrible place". While it is true that many things he says are opinions rather than Catholic Church teaching (I am Catholic), nevertheless, the book is excellent for raising up one's thoughts about the afterlife. Also, I respectfully disagree with another reviewer who accuses this author of heresy; I believe that this involved a misunderstanding. I am confident that, understood properly, the book contains no heresies. I recommend this book for raising one's thoughts about the afterlife.

I re-discovered the Christian faith with this book. Thanks to Kreeft, my heart longs daily for existence in heaven, when before, it was hard to even think about.

This is a unique book. Unique because of its subject matter, but most of all because of the author's approach. Kreeft is a Catholic and a Thomist yet he is not afraid to wonder far in search for lost pearls of wisdom, for he avoids the Manichean claim that matter is evil and knows that the Law is written in man's heart, wherever man is. His method is Thomistic. And Socratic. And Agustinian. Kreeft takes CS Lewis's gift for insights into Christianity and stands on his shoulders to help us take a peek at what may be St. Paul was talking about when he said that words would not suffice to describe heaven.

At first the author's use of an ecclectic collection of other authors, religious ideas, philosophers and thinkers as sources to justify his conclusions made me somewhat uncomfortable. Yet, as the book went on I had to admit that whatever the source of some premises I certainly did not disagree with the conclusions. Kreeft dares to go where no one has gone before. He asks questions that everyday Christians would shun from in cocktail parties, but for that he should be commended for cocktail parties are for adults and we are not to enter heaven unless we are like children. His central question is "why not?" why not ask perfectly natural and relevant questions about heaven the way a child would ask, in innocence and true wonder? Are not our natures such that we want to know more? If God created us thus, it cannot be a bad thing to wonder. So he takes the place of a child and casts all artificial objections aside and in true Thomistic fashion plunges into the subject matter come what may. And what comes is fascinating and Kreeft is up to the task. From Heaven to the necessity of Purgatory and Hell he weaves a path that has as its unity God's Love. Particularly enlightening were Kreeft's clarifications on the order of things, typical misconceptions due to language or modern use of words, his treatment of time, place and eternity and his clear step by step approach to the subject are examples to all modern philosophers. One truly ends the book with a desire to tackle another tough question following Kreeft's lead and thinking that had one thought about this in this way before his conduct towards God would have been a more consistent and loving one. If ever there was a book that emphasized love of God over fear of God without falling into a mushy fuzzines, this is it.

This book should be on every Christian's shelf if for no other reason for its wonderful use of the Thomistic methodology to come to answers to questions central to the Faith of a Christian. Kreeft has added an Appendix describing the method used and it would not be wasted time to read it first (even though he opines that it comes last for a reason). A wonderful book and a wonderful resource for all Christians.

Another wonderfully insightful book from Peter Kreeft. Here, Kreeft draws from a wide range of sources to make some reasonable guesses as to the nature of heaven. In the course of doing so, he touches on questions of the nature of time and space, physical and spiritual reality, etc.

In typically Kreeftian fashion, he repeatedly turns the materialistic prejudices of the present age around on themselves. Heaven is not a projection of this life, rather, this life is a projection of heaven. Again - God is not a creation of human imagination, rather, humanity is a creation out of God's imagination. It is reminiscent of CS Lewis in "The Great Divorce" - what seems more real, more substantial (ie, this world, space-time) is thin and pale in comparison to the Source of All Being. But, since we don't yet live there and can't yet see or imagine it, we keep getting it exactly wrong, imagining that this life is real and heaven is thin and ethereal.

Kreeft skillfully interleaves scripture and writings from the best thinkers in all of Christendom. He presents a thoughtful and thought-provoking view of Heaven. His answers to the many questions about Heaven are imaginative and empowering, yet always bounded by Holy Scripture, Christian philosophy, and logical argument. In more than one area, his answers helped me to understand and accept the Word of God. His treatment of Hell as flowing inexorably from God's love was particularly helpful for me.

This book is not doctrinal in nature and nowhere does Kreeft imply that "This is the way it is." In fact, he goes out of his way to make it clear that we are all ignorant of the truth: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Cor 2:9

If you want or need a fresh view of what Heaven may hold, this is an excellent book.

The author does a super job of pulling together information from places like the Bible, thoughts of many great thinkers, and the words of Jesus, and building logical answers to questions many of us have about heaven. The author shows we know alot more about it than we think.
The author also does a good job of bringing the information together in a logical manner and inspiring new thought about our relationship with God.
I really enjoyed the book, (in case you couldn't tell...)

I have an ambivalent take on this book. I enjoyed reading most of it, and found those pages filled with wonderful insights and powerful imagery. As a C.S. Lewis fan, I also loved all the quotes and references to that great Christian writer. That made the book more persuasive for me, as well.

I particularly liked the chapters dealing with the "perfected" emotions of God as well as Purgatory. In fact, I made a reference to Dr. Kreeft in regards to one of my own articles. Admittedly, much of his writing can be classified as speculative, but it's good speculation. (In response to another reviewer's comments, I'd like to add that Purgatory, however, is hardly "made-up" fancy, and she might want to read what an Anglican named C.S. Lewis wrote about Purgatory, if she wants to begin to understand what it is--and is not.)

Where the problems really began for me were the chapters on hell. I don't doubt that Dr. Kreeft is a brilliant Catholic writer, but he fails to articulate his points clearly in these sections. As a matter of fact, the reader could easily walk away with the impression that the author believes that heaven and hell are not only in the same "place", but they are essentially only states of mind. As a Catholic writer, his ideas here come across more like Seventh Day Adventist than Catholic or Evangelical.

When I tried contacting the author and his editor, the only substantive response I received was from his editor who agreed that the sections I referred to could be expressed much more clearly. It's almost as if the book's initial editorial review was incomplete when it went to press. The editor graciously assured me that future editions would be more clearly written in this section. It really seems to me that these chapters really are simply an editorial oversight on the part of the author and Ignatius Press.

So, my review recommends the preceeding chapters, but not the two focusing on hell. It's possible with a re-write of the those sections would increase my rating to four or five stars--although I don't like his inclination to "shock" the reader with his more unusual opinions from time to time--e.g. the section on "Sex in heaven".

If you're looking for a good discussion of hell, go to the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" and perhaps consider reading C.S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce". Those are two books worth reading from cover to cover.

Kreeft skillfully interleaves scripture and writings from the best thinkers in all of Christendom. He presents a thoughtful and thought-provoking view of Heaven. His answers to the many questions about Heaven are imaginative and empowering, yet always bounded by Holy Scripture, Christian philosophy, and logical argument. In more than one area, his answers helped me to understand and accept the Word of God. His treatment of Hell as flowing inexorably from God's love was particularly helpful for me.

This book is not doctrinal in nature and nowhere does Kreeft imply that "This is the way it is." In fact, he goes out of his way to make it clear that we are all ignorant of the truth: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Cor 2:9

If you want or need a fresh view of what Heaven may hold, this is an excellent book.