Customer Reviews

The Sea Within: Waves and the Meaning of All Things

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I am a seminary student (Protestant) who owns sixteen books of Dr. Kreeft's. This is his latest, and one of his shortest. It is also the least philosophical and most mystical. It is very different from his other books, but I would bet that it is the book closest to his heart.

My life has been radically enhanced, enriched, and beautified by Dr. Kreeft's books and audio lectures (found on www.peterkreeft.com). He writes and lives to make Christ real, beautiful, and transforming. You will meet Christ as you read Kreeft...if you seek to.

As a lover of the sea, I looked forward to this book immensely. I was not disappointed. Do not argue with this book, eat it. Drink it. Feel it. It is absolutely Christian, but not western/American/Evangelical. If you haven't read any of his other books, this might not be a good start (such as Love Divine, or Making Sense out of Suffering). It is not what you would hear in Littletown, USA, First Baptist...

This book is primarily focused on the question (or riddle) of the sea, and why she wields such power over us. Why do humans love H2O with a little NaCl? Is the ocean more than matter? Does she have a spirit? Spirit? He is convincing and at the same time simple.

If you are embarrassed by a seventy year old man writing about a hurricane being a sort of oceanic orgasm, again, this might not be your book. But if you are willing to listen to the author's survey of his own personal attempt to "solve" (or live) the riddle of the sea (hint: it's about music), you will be that much richer for the effort

Highly recommended!

This little book is a true treasure. I can not recommend it more highly. I read this book in a few hours sitting seaside on Sea Island, Georgia, and must have received a different version then a previous commentator. As is replete in scripture, God loves all things and loathes nothing that he made and preserves all to show his love, so that we may love, by his love.
In response to the comment above regarding references to Tao and other religious/spiritual concepts, remember that Catholics must not be afraid to recognize the truth that exists in all things good and that, although it might not be recognized, it is a fruit of Christ.

I am usually a big fan of Dr. Peter Kreeft, yet this book not only left me flat, it left me baffled at why Kreeft would even write it. Dr. Kreeft is a professor of Philosophy at Boston College and is the author of nearly 60 books. Being a fan, I have read many of them, and this is the first to leave a sour taste in my mouth, or should I say a sour thought in my mind.

It is well known that Kreeft, even at his age, is an avid surfer. In fact it has been said he takes some speaking engagements just for the opportunity to surf. It was strange reading a 70-year-old man talking about the sea having orgasms and the sea as mother and child. For a man who has built a career as a Christian apologist, as a convert to Catholicism who defends the faith, this book reads as if he spent too many days in the sun at the beach and has embraced a naturalistic religion or 'spirituality' of nature not fitting with his body of previous work.

The advance promotions I encountered about this book made it sound like a mystical journey with Peter Kreeft, and to be honest that sounded really cool. However it ended up being a series of ramblings that tried to appeal to everyone. Kreeft uses terms like 'Orenda', an Iroquois term, or 'Toa', then the 'Sea as Koan', The 'Third Eye' and others. What do these terms have to do with the sea or Christianity?

It should be noted that Kreeft, for all his writing production, has published only one article in a peer-reviewed journal. "Zen In Heidegger's 'Gelassenheit'" was published in 1971 in the International Philosophical Quarterly, the philosophy journal published by Fordham University. So maybe all the hype and popularity of him as an author is not all that warranted.

This book reads like a personal indulgence into ramblings of an old man, and though many will criticize me for my critique of Kreeft, I cannot recommend this book to you in good conscience.

(First Published in Imprint 2007-05-04 as 'Hate It' in the 'Love it / Hate It' Book review column.)

If I were to attempt to summarize this book in one word, it would be simple; not simple as in the way you may assume, but simple as in sublime, pure, and true. This is a work of love, as well as learning. The author, a well known teacher of philosophy, takes us past the conventional and into a world of traditional thought; what you may call the Judeo-Christian world view. Dr. Kreeft turns us to a world view based on signs and symbols instead of measurements and systems. A healthy philosophy of life drawn from a perspective of humble, simple, silent meditation and faith.
As is often the case with this author, his vast learning is presented in digestible, logical morsels. This is truly a Chestertonian work, drawing inspiration from Dr. Kreeft's sense of wonder and gratitude.
The most important theme of the work is the author's use of the Sea as a metaphor for God, man and Heaven. He proposes that we view the cosmos through the action of the Sea and waves. In the spirit of C. S. Lewis, he asks the reader to look not at the Sea, but along the waves and into the deep for understanding; as an icon, not an idol. A symbol of the journey of our inner spirit on the voyage of existence to the ultimate safe harbor, Heaven.
If you wish to purify yourself of the spiritual and intellectual pollution of post-modernism and learn how to think again, this book would not be a bad place to start. Open the book, open your mind, and start your journey.
Well done Dr. Kreeft.

I am a big fan of Peter Kreeft's; however, this book is not one that I would recommend.
This book is written as an ode to the sea. The writings were more personal--as if written for a journal--than written for the public.