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On November 22, 1963, three great men died within a few hours of
each other: C. S. Lewis, John F. Kennedy and Aldous Huxley. All
three believed, in different ways, that death is not the end of
human life. Suppose they were right, and suppose they met after
death. How might the conversation go? Peter Kreeft imagines their
discussion as part of the great conversation that has been going on
for centuries about life's biggest questions. Does human life have
meaning? Is it possible to know about life after death? What if one
could prove that Jesus was God? With Kennedy taking the role of a
modern humanist, Lewis representing Christian theism and Huxley
advocating Eastern pantheism, the dialogue is lively and
informative. With clarity and wit, Between Heaven and Hell presents
insightful responses to common objections to the Christian faith.
This classic apologetics work is now available as part of the IVP
Signature Collection, which features special editions of iconic
books in celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of
InterVarsity Press.
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Four Views on Heaven (Paperback)
John S. Feinberg, J. Richard Middleton, Michael Allen, Peter Kreeft; Edited by (general) Michael E. Wittmer; Series edited by …
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Discover and understand the different Christian views of what
heaven will be like. Christians from a variety of denominations and
traditions are in middle of an important conversation about the
final destiny of the saved. Scholars such as N. T. Wright and J.
Richard Middleton have pushed back against the traditional view of
heaven, and now some Christians are pushing back against them for
fear that talk about the earthiness of our final hope distracts our
attention from Jesus. In the familiar Counterpoints format, Four
Views on Heaven brings together a well-rounded discussion and
highlights similarities and differences of the current views on
heaven. Each author presents their strongest biblical case for
their position, followed by responses and a rejoinder that model a
respectful tone. Positions and contributors include: Traditional
Heaven - our destiny is to leave earth and live forever in heaven
where we will rest, worship, and serve God (John S. Feinberg)
Restored Earth - emphasizes that the saved will live forever with
Jesus on this restored planet, enjoying ordinary human activities
in our redeemed state. (J. Richard Middleton) Heavenly Earth - a
balanced view that seeks to highlight both the strengths and
weaknesses of the heavenly and earthly views (Michael Allen). Roman
Catholic Beatific Vision - stresses the intellectual component of
salvation, though it encompasses the whole of human experience of
joy, happiness coming from seeing God finally face-to-face (Peter
Kreeft). The Counterpoints series presents a comparison and
critique of scholarly views on topics important to Christians that
are both fair-minded and respectful of the biblical text. Each
volume is a one-stop reference that allows readers to evaluate the
different positions on a specific issue and form their own,
educated opinion.
"This book almost didn't exist. I was about to write a serious,
heavy book entitled How To Save Western Civilization, as a sequel
to my book How To Destroy Western Civilization and Other Ideas from
the Cultural Abyss. But writing it was not making me happy, and
reading it was not going to make anybody else happy either. And
then I stopped just long enough for my guardian angel to squeeze
through that tiny window of opportunity that I had opened up by my
silence and to whisper this commonsense question into my
subconscious: "Why not make them happy instead?" (Angels specialize
in common sense.) I started thinking: Western civilization is
neither healthy, happy, nor holy. Humor is all three. Humor is not
only holy, it's Heavenly. And if you are surprised to be told that
humor is Heavenly, you need to read this book because you reveal
your misunderstanding of both humor and Heaven. If you ask, 'Is
there laughter in Heaven?' my answer is: 'You can't be serious!'"
Open this book and begin an epic human journey--the journey toward
truth. Enjoy a delightful and imaginative allegory of timeless
wisdom as you travel along the road of true knowledge. Socrates,
the thoroughly reasonable and wise philosopher of Athens, will
accompany you much of the way. With sharp questions and canny wit
he will coach you past the winsome, the wily and the half-wise
spin-doctors of error posted along the ancient byways. Every
tempting path will be exposed as a road best not taken. The Journey
is an animated and topographical roadmap for modern pilgrims
walking the ancient paths in search of reality. Crucial questions
present decisive turns in the road: Is there truth? Does meaning
exist? Is there right and wrong? Does God exist, and if so, what is
he like? These and other essential questions provide guidance that
delightfully entertains while directing your mind and spirit on the
journey toward the freedom of truth.
This new and revised edition of Peter Kreeft’s Socratic
Logic is updated, adding new exercises and more complete
examples, all with Kreeft’s characteristic clarity and wit. Since
its introduction in the spring of 2004, Socratic Logic has proven
to be a different type of logic text: (1) This is the only complete
system of classical Aristotelian logic in print. The “old
logic†is still the natural logic of the four language arts
(reading, writing, speaking, and listening). Symbolic, or
“mathematical,†logic is not for the humanities. (How often
have you heard someone argue in symbolic logic?) (2) This book is
simple and user-friendly. It is highly interactive, with a plethora
of exercises and a light, engaging style. (3) It is practical. It
is designed for do-it-yourselfers as well as classrooms. It
emphasizes topics in proportion to probable student use: e.g.,
interpreting ordinary language, not only analyzing but also
constructing effective arguments, smoking out hidden assumptions,
making “argument maps,†and using Socratic method in various
circumstances. (4) It is philosophical. Its exercises expose
students to many classical quotations, and additional chapters
introduce philosophical issues in a Socratic manner and from a
commonsense, realistic point of view. It prepares students for
reading Great Books rather than Dick and Jane, and models Socrates
as the beginner’s ideal teacher and philosopher.
What would happen if Socrates--yes, the Socrates of ancient
Athens--suddenly showed up on the campus of a major university and
enrolled in its divinity school? What would he think of human
progress since his day? How would he react to our values? To our
culture? And what would he think of Jesus? Peter Kreeft, Christian
philosopher and longtime admirer of the historic Socrates, imagines
the result. In this drama Socrates meets such fellow students as
Bertha Broadmind, Thomas Keptic and Molly Mooney. Throughout,
Kreeft weaves an intriguing web as he brings Socrates closer and
closer to a meeting with Jesus. Here is a startling and provocative
portrayal of reason in search of truth. In a new introduction to
this revised edition, Kreeft also highlights the inspiration for
this book and the key questions of truth and faith it addresses.
Looking at Jesus as a complete human being and philosopher,
explores the most radical revolution in the history of
philosophy--the differences Jesus made to metaphysics,
epistemology, anthropology, and philosophical ethics and politics.
How do we make sense of the world's different religions? In today's
globalized society, religion is deeply intertwined with every issue
we see on the news. But talking about multiple religions can be
contentious. Are different faiths compatible somehow? And how can
we know whether one religion is more true than another? In this
creative thought experiment, Peter Kreeft invites us to encounter
dialogues on the world's great faiths. His characters Thomas Keptic
and Bea Lever are students in Professor Fesser's course on world
religions, and the three explore the content and distinctive claims
of each. Together they probe the plausibility of major religions,
from Hinduism and Buddhism to Christianity and Islam. Along the way
they explore how religions might relate to each other and to what
extent exclusivism or inclusivism might make sense. Ultimately
Kreeft gives us helpful tools for thinking fairly and critically
about competing religious beliefs. If the religions are different
kinds of music, do they together make harmony or cacophony? Decide
for yourself.
Philosophy means "the love of wisdom." Kreeft uses the dialogues of
Socrates to help the reader grow in that love. He says that no
master of the art of philosophizing has ever been more simple,
clear, and accessible to beginners as has Socrates. He focuses on
Plato's dialogues, the Apology of Socrates, as a lively example to
imitate, and a model partner for the reader for dialogue. Kreeft
calls it "the Magna Carta of philosophy," a timeless classic that
is "a portable classroom."
This book is designed for three classes of people: Beginners who
want an introduction to philosophy; Those who have already had an
introduction to philosophy and who would like to see it in action
now applied to a great book written by a great philosophy, but who
have never read Plato's Republic, the most famous and influential
philosophy book ever written; Those who have read Plato's Republic
before but did not understand its deepest significance. Why is
Plato the best introduction to philosophy? Peter Kreeft has taught
philosophy for over 50 years, including one section of a course for
beginners every semester. He has tried just about everything
possible, and a few new things that are impossible. He has
experimented with every one of the many alternative methods
available for teaching beginners. (He has A.D.D., so he easily gets
bored and likes to try new things all the time.) But he has never
found anything nearly as successful as Plato. Plato is the best
writer in the history of philosophy. Most philosophers are dull,
undramatic, abstract writers. (There are a few other exceptions
besides Plato: Augustine, Pascal, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard.) But
Plato wrote dramatic dialogues, in which Socrates, his famous
teacher, interacts with a great variety of fools. These dialogues
are like intellectual swordfights, and even though you know
Socrates is going to win, they are exciting because you see his
ideas come alive, like a sword in the handoff a master. Plato is a
great dramatist, a great poet, and a great psychologist as well as
a great philosopher. Nobody else who ever lived combined those four
talents as well as Plato did. Apprenticeship to a great master is
the best way to learn any art. The student will understand what
philosophy is better by watching a master do it than by reading
abstract definitions of it from a second-rate philosopher, or by a
mere scholar. Concrete examples are always the easiest way to learn
things. Plato's dialogues are the world's first, and still the
best, concrete example of philosophizing. Kreeft introduces his
students to this love affair through a great matchmaker, Plato, who
is a better teacher than the student will ever meet in the land of
the living. In fact, Plato still is in the land of the living. He's
still alive and kicking in his dialogues. He rubs off on those who
are wise and humble enough to become a student.
Next to the Socratic Method, the best method for organizing a
logical debate over a controversial philosophical or theological
issue is the method St. Thomas Aquinas uses in the Summa
Theologiae. As the charm of the Socratic dialogue is its dramatic
length, its uncertainty, and the psychological dimension of a clash
between live characters, so the charm of the Summa method is the
opposite: its condensation and its impersonality, objectivity,
simplicity, directness, and logical clarity. Beginning philosophy
students pick up both methods very quickly, and write adept
imitations of them. It's both profitable and fun to do it. Yet
professionally philosophers have not followed these tried-and-true
roads. Why not? Probably it is pride, the refusal to stoop to
conquer, the confusion of "stooped" with "stupid." Peter Kreeft has
written over a dozen books of Socratic dialogues, and readers like
them - they like the form, or format, irrespective of the content.
There is no reason that the Summa format cannot produce the same
results. It is a very simple five-step procedure: (1) the
formulation of the question; (2) the opponent's leading objections
to your answer or thesis, formulated as clearly and fairly and
strongly as possible; (3) a short argument from some recognized
past authority for your thesis; (4) your own longer, original
argument; and (5) a refutation of each objection, "deconstructing"
it and showing how and where it went wrong . . . all in one or two
pages, severely condensed, clear and simple (and therefore usually
in syllogisms, the clearest and simplest and most direct form of
logical argument). Kreeft has taken 110 of the most important and
most often argued-about questions in each major division of
philosophy and applied this method to it. The answers usually match
common sense (and therefore Aristotle's philosophy and Aquinas's
theology). At the very least, this is a useful philosophical
reference book for arguments; not necessarily the elaborate and
artificial arguments that might occur to contemporary "analytic"
philosophers, but the arguments ordinary people would give, and
still give on both sides of these great questions. Why no one has
written such a book before is mind-boggling. We fully expect that
many readers of this book will imitate it, as Kreeft has imitated
Aquinas. This book is pregnant with many children.
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