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Review Summary: Get Excited about Heaven! |
Date: 2008-10-02 |
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Details: This book will absolutely get you excited and looking forward to heaven in ways you never before imagined! It is one of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read, and I highly recommend it! |
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Review Summary: Lots to think about |
Date: 2008-09-19 |
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Details: Lots of fun! There is all sorts of neat speculation about heaven and how we will interact with each other, etc. A very uplifting read. |
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Review Summary: astonishing and mind-opening |
Date: 2008-04-01 |
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Details: Under its self-deprecating and even humorous title, this book explodes our tired categories into a range that is truly thrilling, and all done with elegant intellectual power. READ. |
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Review Summary: A Glimpse of Paradise |
Date: 2008-03-10 |
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Details: Even with the seventies-esque title, Peter Kreeft's, `Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven, (But Never Dreamed of Asking)', is a timeless work. Primarily Catholic and Christian in import, the book draws many passages from scripture, writings of saints, literature, philosophy, and other religions to make his points about existential paradise in the next life.
Much of the chapter titles tell a good deal of the story, but not much of the wisdom of the text. "What Will Our Bodies Be Like?" "Is There Sex in Heaven?" and "Where Is Heaven?" are all intriguing chapters, but the answers he gives are even more alluring. For instance, one assertion he provides states, "Our heavenly power over nature will be as great as our present power over our own bodies, because nature will then be our greater body." And this is just a taster.
Of course he doesn't just dwell about heaven. He also uses the concerns of our world to compare and contrast with other worldly affairs. His smoothly presented premises sort out our preconceptions of heaven with what he is cogently able to provide about the afterlife.
As is characteristic of Kreeft's other works, he is able to take the most difficult topics and present them as child's play. After reading `Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven, (But Never Dreamed of Asking),' I felt a taste of rekindled joy, the kind that gives one the benefit of those transcendent moments where all the mean and trivial aspects of life lead one to look elsewhere for something more meaningful. |
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Review Summary: A Great Start... |
Date: 2008-02-06 |
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Details: 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. |
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out of 20 Reviews
