Tuesday, January 30, 2001
Three Philosophies of Life
by Peter Kreeft
There's a dangerous place in Seattle and it's called Harvest Logos bookstore. (www.harvestlogos.com) To me, it's a Christian bookstore done right -- it gives more shelf space to books on theology and world missions than on self-help or fiction. In short, it offers a lot of good things to read. But it's run by a dangerous man named Michael. Michael will take an active interest in what you are browsing for and offer suggestions as to good things to read. And since there are good books for him to suggest and since his suggestions are sound, I spend more money there than I plan on. Anyway, on my last visit, Michael directed my attention to a collection of books by Peter Kreeft, a philosphy professor who had just been in town for a lecture. I politely looked at the collection and noticed his book Three Philosophies of Life, which is an overview of the Biblical books of Ecclesiastes, Job and Song of Songs. I was gearing up to lead a Bible study at church on Job, and on last minute impulse I grabbed the book. Once again I was not disappointed. Three Philosophies of Life is not a commentary, where the Bible is dissected and analyzed, but rather a contemplation of the three books, a look at the whole refracted through the lens of our modern culture and the human heart. Professor Kreeft sees the three biblical books as an expression of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, respectively. Ecclesiastes is "Life as Vanity", or life without God -- an empty existence under the sun. Job is "Life as Suffering", a life that also is missing the presence of our Heavenly Father but one that actively seeks, and hopes, for Him. Song of Songs is "Life as Love", the romance fulfilled and celebrated. As Kreeft studies these three outlooks on life, his own love for God pours through and entices the reader to come along and discover the our own love affair with God. This book is on my shelf, without a doubt. Unfortunately, it's not the only book written by Kreeft and Michael had a nice booklist of all the other things Professor Kreeft has written. Oh, well, who needs money anyway....
LibraryThing link
There's a dangerous place in Seattle and it's called Harvest Logos bookstore. (www.harvestlogos.com) To me, it's a Christian bookstore done right -- it gives more shelf space to books on theology and world missions than on self-help or fiction. In short, it offers a lot of good things to read. But it's run by a dangerous man named Michael. Michael will take an active interest in what you are browsing for and offer suggestions as to good things to read. And since there are good books for him to suggest and since his suggestions are sound, I spend more money there than I plan on. Anyway, on my last visit, Michael directed my attention to a collection of books by Peter Kreeft, a philosphy professor who had just been in town for a lecture. I politely looked at the collection and noticed his book Three Philosophies of Life, which is an overview of the Biblical books of Ecclesiastes, Job and Song of Songs. I was gearing up to lead a Bible study at church on Job, and on last minute impulse I grabbed the book. Once again I was not disappointed. Three Philosophies of Life is not a commentary, where the Bible is dissected and analyzed, but rather a contemplation of the three books, a look at the whole refracted through the lens of our modern culture and the human heart. Professor Kreeft sees the three biblical books as an expression of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, respectively. Ecclesiastes is "Life as Vanity", or life without God -- an empty existence under the sun. Job is "Life as Suffering", a life that also is missing the presence of our Heavenly Father but one that actively seeks, and hopes, for Him. Song of Songs is "Life as Love", the romance fulfilled and celebrated. As Kreeft studies these three outlooks on life, his own love for God pours through and entices the reader to come along and discover the our own love affair with God. This book is on my shelf, without a doubt. Unfortunately, it's not the only book written by Kreeft and Michael had a nice booklist of all the other things Professor Kreeft has written. Oh, well, who needs money anyway....
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf, PeterKreeft
// posted by John @ 1:22 PM 
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