فلسفات الحياة الثلاث بحسب أسفار الجامعة وأيوب ونشيد الأنشاد

by Peter Kreeft

"أحبَبْتُ الفلسفةَ ومارستُها لسنين طويلة، وأعمقُ ثلاثةِ كُتُب فلسفيَّة قرأتُها على الإطلاق هي أسفار الجامعة وأيُّوب ونشيد الأنشاد".
هذه هي الكلمات التي بها يَفتتحُ پيتر كريفت كتابَه ‘‘فلسفاتُ الحياة الثلاث’’.

في هذا الكتاب يتناولُ كريفت الأسئلةَ الكبرى المتعلِّقة بالحياة، ويَستعرِضُ الأجوبةَ برشاقةٍ وبراعةٍ تامَّتَين، فهو يرى أنَّ هنالك جوهريًّا ثلاثَ فلسفاتِ حياةٍ فقط، وأنَّ كلًّا منها يُمثِّلُها واحِدٌ من الأسفار التالية في الكتاب المقدَّس:
الحياةُ باطل: سِفر الجامعة
الحياةُ مُعاناة: سِفر أيُّوب
الحياةُ محبَّة: سِفر نشيد الأنشاد

ويجدُ كريفت في هذه الأسفار صورةً مُصغَّرة تُمثِّل الفضائلَ اللَّاهوتيَّة الثلاث: الإيمان والرجاء والمحبَّة، و‘‘خُلاصةً جوهريَّة للتاريخ الروحيِّ الذي يخصُّ العالَم’’.

http://www.ophir.com.jo/ar/content/فل...

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, Catholic, Christian

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1989

About the author

Peter Kreeft is an American philosopher and prolific author of over eighty books on Christian theology, philosophy, and apologetics. A convert from Protestantism to Catholicism, his journey was shaped by his study of Church history, Gothic architecture, and Thomistic thought. He earned his BA from Calvin College, an MA and PhD from Fordham University, and pursued further studies at Yale. Since 1965, he has taught philosophy at Boston College and also at The King’s College. Kreeft is known for formulating “Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God” with Ronald K. Tacelli, featured in their Handbook of Christian Apologetics. A strong advocate for unity among Christians, he emphasizes shared belief in Christ over denominational differences.

Reviews

[Mohammad Mirzaali · Rating 4 out of 5]

یکی از بهترین کتاب‌های الهیاتی-فلسفی بود که خوانده‌ام، به خصوص فصل درخشان اولش. کریفت در سه فصل کتاب به سراغ سه کتاب از عهد عتیق (جامعه، ایوب، غزل غزل‌ها) می‌رود تا سه فلسفه‌ی زندگی (بیهودگی، رنج و عشق) را شرح دهد. این سه کتاب از نظر او هم‌چنین نمادهای سه جایگاه انسان هم هست؛ دوزخ، برزخ و بهشت. کریفت با ارجاع به فلسفه و ادبیات این کار را با ظرافت انجام می‌دهد و اجازه نمی‌دهد کتابش به نوعی کتاب تبلیغی صرف فرو کاسته شود

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been interested in this book for years. When our season 12 opening podcast guest chose Ecclesiastes as the book to discuss, that was all the excuse I needed!

Author Peter Kreeft considers Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs in a series of meditations. Looking at them as pieces of philosophy, he is able to show how each relates to attitudes still held today. He compares the three books thus: Life as Vanity (Ecclesiastes, where "vanity" means "a puff of air"), Life as Suffering (Job), and Life as Love (Song of Songs).

I really found it valuable to compare these books of wisdom literature which are some of the most difficult of the Old Testament – for me anyway. I am used to commentaries but Kreeft's philosophical approach felt unique as he considered what they teach us about the human experience. I especially enjoyed his take on them as a very early take similar to Dante's Divine Comedy — a journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven.

[Sameh Maher · Rating 5 out of 5]

الكتاب رائع جدا فى عرض فكرته وهى ان هناك 3 فلسفات اساسية فى الحياة وهى الباطل والمعاناه والحب
وكيف ان كل منهم يوصل للاخر فالباطل هو البداية ان يشعر الانسان بمحدودية عمله تحت الشمس .. نحن نحتاج الى قوة من خارج عالمنا لكى تعطى معنى للحياة
اما المعاناة فهى الباطل مع الاجابة التى يعطيها الرب لايوب فلا فرق بين الجامعة وايوب الا رد الله
ايضا هناك فلسفة الحب وهى التى تعطى القيمة والحياة والمعنى لكل عمل تحت الشمس
الكتاب رائع جدا فى عرض افكاره وقيم من فيلسوف بقدر بيتر كريفت
وقد استمتعت بكل كلمة فيه
قد تكتشف احوائه على بعض الافكار الغير ارثوذوكسية مثل المطهر ولكنها فى عرض الكاتب لا تؤثر على السياق
كتاب للقراءة مرات ومرات
ويستحق النجوم الخمس عن جدارة

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Kreeft, in this book, starts by saying:

"you will not have found three more profound books than Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs."

Ecclesiastes: Life is Vanity (it goes nowhere except to death, so what's the use);
Job: Life is Suffering (but there is hope);
Song of Songs: Life is Love (ah, Heaven).

Kreeft is a philosopher so no wonder he presents philosophical ideas in these books.

I have never read a book quite like this one. It starts out so pessimistic, but then moves up the ladder. I think Kreeft's belief is that we should know about the first two philosophies, but embrace the third.

As a believer in the two greatest commandments, I find the most comfort in Philosophy 3: Do all things with love.

Here are some quotes worthy of thought:

"Ecclesiastes’ “vanity” represents Hell. Job’s suffering represents Purgatory. And Song of Songs’ love represents Heaven."

"The lesson Ecclesiastes teaches is faith, the necessity of faith, by showing the utter vanity, the emptiness, of life without faith."

"The best words Job uttered were his last: “The words of Job are ended.” Only when Job shuts up does God show up."

Song of Songs: "It describes the ultimate purpose of life, ...: the meeting and marriage between ourselves and God."

VERY thought provoking (but sometimes painful).

4 stars

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ecclesiastes: Life as Vanity
Kreeft states in the books introduction, “The essence of Hell is not suffering but vanity, not pain but purposelessness, not physical suffering but spiritual suffering.” Ecclesiastes is the result of a life lived with God not at the center, a life defined by secularism. Solomon’s philosophy found in Ecclesiastes is useful in our culture today because it is an existential book about human existence that asks the question, “do humans have any reason to be here at all”? It shows “modernity’s greatest fear,” which is meaninglessness. Ecclesiastes deals with human despair and shows what happens when an individual tries to figure out his own ultimate values.
Solomon, looking back on a life of Hedonism realizes that all he has acquired ultimately will not go with him when he dies and warns against allowing God to exist only by the means of the secular “rather than the secular being defined by the sacred.” Ecclesiastes also tries to answer the epistemological question, “how can we know truth”? Unfortunately, it can only be answered by means of the areligious. Ecclesiastes gives a lucid example of what a life looks like when lived with God not at the center of one’s life.

Job: Life as Suffering
Job gives the reader insight into the long pondered problem of evil. Kreft takes the arguments of Jobs three friends and attempts to answer this problem. The arguments of Jobs friends are:
1.Faith premise: God is good and trustworthy
2.Rational premise: Justice means rewarding the good and punishing evil
3.Commonsense premise: Rewards make you happy; punishments make you unhappy
4.Experiential premise: Job is unhappy therefore he must be evil.

The Faith premise for example is God good and trustable. We as humans are held to a higher moral standard than dogs, in that it is not wrong for a dog to be sexually promiscuous, as it is for man. In the same way if a man tried to act like God he too would not take on goodness. If a human father deliberately lets his child be run over by a car when he could have prevented it he would not be a good father. God can save, yet he is good in not saving people from all harm because in his infinite wisdom he can see what we need for our ultimate fulfillment and wisdom. Kreeft continues to hash out the problem through the rest of the premises.

Song Of Songs: Life as Love
Love is a relationship between God and His creation. Symbolically, Solomon is God and the chosen bride is a symbol of the soul, or his chosen people. A love relationship with God is hope of the heart, the purpose of our lives, and the hidden key the rest of the Bible. The Bible is a love story because God is love. Song of Songs is the answer to the question of Ecclesiastes and to the quest of Job. (100)

[Rick Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three Philosophies of Life is a wonderful set of meditations centered on the biblical books of Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs. Peter Kreeft does not attempt to write commentary about the books or delve into critical debates about composition, dating, etc. Rather he approaches these three books as books of philosophy, and seeks to understand them in light of what they can teach us about the human condition and the life of the Christian. He focuses on the three books as representing three philosophies of life, and, since these are inspired scriptures, “no more perfect or profound book has been written for any one of these three philosophies of life.

I really appreciated this book and recommend it to any Christian who wants to get a deeper understanding of the wisdom literature of Scripture and to ponder how this literature can be used to examine our lives “under the sun.” I would quibble with Kreeft’s understanding of Ecclesiastes, as I think that Joy at the End of the Tether by Douglas Wilson presents a more coherent view of the book, but that doesn’t mean that his thoughts are not worthwhile and insightful. Kreeft is strongest when discussing the book of Job, and I will probably return to this time and time again as I walk through the book of Job with my high school students.

[Isaac Abraham · Rating 5 out of 5]

إنه الكتاب الأروع الذي قرأته في حياتي ولأول مرة وبعكس طبيعتي تملأني رغبة في قراءته ثانية. مشكلتي الكبيرة هي أني غير قادر على سماع أحدهم يعظ في سفري الجامعة وأيوب ولا أبغي قراءة تفاسير أخرى لهذين الكتابين.

[Annie Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so important for deport understanding of easily misunderstood books of the Bible. Not only does already beautifully and articulately analyze each book, but he connects them in a way that makes the confusing middle of the Bible that much richer.

[Hady Nabil · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read in my life. Deeply philosophical. Thought provoking. Challenging. Heartwarming. Biblical. Spiritual. Life changing.

[Kianoush Mokhtarpour · Rating 5 out of 5]

عشقت رسد به فریاد، ور خود به سان حافظ قرآن ز بر بخوانی با چارده روایت

کتاب جامعه، کتاب ایوب، و غزل غزل‌ها. این سه کتاب از تورات، که در نگاه اول بی‌تناسب با تورات می‌نمایند، نویسنده سرگل تورات می‌خواند.
کتاب جامعه می‌نالد که زندگی بیهوده است. ایوب می‌نالد که زندگی همه رنج است. غزل غزل‌ها پاسخ می‌دهد که عشق درمان بیهودگی‌ست، و هم درمان رنج. به تعبیر نویسنده با گذر از بیهودگی، و سپس از رنج، به عشق خواهیم رسید. این است رستگاری

کتاب جامعه

نویسنده‌ی کتاب جامعه، هر که هست، فیلسوف است، و به رسم فیلسوفان، افسرده. بیهودگی‌های جهان افسرده‌اش کرده: تکرار مکرر یکنواختی، بی‌اعتنایی جهان به ما، و آن بدترین نهایی یعنی مرگ، از میان برنده‌ی هر معنایی.
این است نگاه کتاب جامعه، و چه نزدیک به نگاه ما. می‌شد کتاب جامعه را از لای تورات کند، و در میان کتابی اگزیستانسیالیست، مثلاً مقالات کامو، دوخت بی آنکه خواننده‌ی ناآشنا شک برد

کتاب ایوب

ایوب در رنج است. ایوب، بنده‌ی برگزیده‌ی خدا، به بدترین مصیبت‌ها مبتلا شده. فرزندانش مرده‌اند، مالش از میان رفته، و بیماری او را در خود پیچیده. می‌نالد که ای خدا، چه کردم که سزایم این باشد؟ و سکوت خداوند. و باز ناله‌ی ایوب‌و باز سکوت خداوند.
تنها در انتهای کتاب است که سرانجام خدا رخ می‌نماید. و بی‌آنکه دلیل قانع کننده‌ای بیاورد، ایوب قانع می شود! تو گویی همان دیدن خدا، خود دلیلی‌ست قاطع؛ توجیهی‌ست بر تمام رنج‌ها. به یکباره ناله‌های ایوب خاموش می‌شود، چه اکنون فهمیده آنچه رنج می‌ن��میده سراسر حکمت و رحمت بوده

غزل غزل‌ها

پنج شعر زیبا. گفتگویی‌ست میان عاشق و معشوق. اگر کتاب جامعه به قلم فیلسوفی اگزیستانسیالیست می‌برد، غزل غزل‌ها سروده‌های شاعران عاشق‌پیشه را می‌ماند. عجب نیست که شاملو هم ترجمه‌ای از آن دارد. اما کافی‌ست به جای عاشق بخوانید خداوند، و به ‌جای معشوق بخوانید انسان. تا بشود اثری دینی.
من غیردینی، به همان معنای عاشق و معشوق گرفتم، و لذت بردم

کتاب سه فلسفه‌ زندگی

نویسنده البته آدمی‌ست دینی. آشنا به فلسفه اما. و چه خوب توضیح می‌دهد. حتی اگر مثل من جدای از دغدغه‌های دینی باشید، کیف کافی خواهید کرد: در بخش اول که به کتاب جامعه می‌پردازد، بحثی خواندنی در باب معنی، بیهودگی خواهید یافت. در بخش دوم، مربوط به کتاب ایوب، بحث‌هایی بر سر مسلئه‌ی شر، ایمان، کمی کیرکگور، و کمی هم معنی خواهید خواند. بخش سوم، مربوط به غزل غزل‌ها، به عشق مهمان خواهید شد: به نگاهی که چون شعر زیباست، و چون کتاب‌های خودیاری کاربردی.

[Samira · Rating 5 out of 5]

الحياه باطل ومعاناه .. ومحبه :)!
ولكن اعظمهم المحبه ;)

[Simon Wiebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insgesamt bietet das Buch einen spannenden Ansatz, um die Kohelet, Hiob und Hohelied zu lesen. Kreeft sieht in den drei Büchern die drei Phasen des Lebens. Kohelet ist für ihn das bedeutungslose Leben, dass er mit der Hölle verbindet. Hiob ist für ihn das leidende Leben, dass er mit dem Fegefeuer verbindet. Das Hohelied ist für ihn das liebende Leben, dass er mit dem Himmel verbindet.

Seine Gedanken waren in dem Sinne erfrischend, als dass er philosophisch an die eher philosophischen Bücher drangeht, nicht trocken exegetisch.

Da mich besonders das Predigerbuch interessiert hat, habe ich dort auf seine Überlegungen am meisten geachtet. Leider versteht er das Buch recht pessimistisch (was durchaus seine Berechtigung hat!), unterstellt dem Koheleten aber, dass er gar nicht an den israelitischen Gott glaubt, sondern nur an den Gott der Empirie. Auch das Plädoyer der Freude in dem Buch interpretiert er recht negativ mit „vorübergehenden Gelüsten“. Den wirklich Sinn des Lebens sieht er dann erst im Hohelied: Liebe.

Naja… hat mich nicht überzeugt.

[Benjamin Huckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an utterly fantastic book. In only about 140 pages, Peter Kreeft takes you on the journey of the Divine Comedy, through Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs.
These three books offer, in his view, three vital philosophies of life, and critical insights for the nourishing of faith in any circumstance: times of trial and times of ecstasy alike. It is incredible how so much is packed into so short a book, how such heights of spiritual insight can be simply and straightforwardly presented (with a helping of wit).
Kreeft maps the journey from Hell to Heaven in Dante's Divine Comedy onto the journey from Job to Song of Songs, from hell on earth, through purgatory on earth, to heaven on earth, finally pointing to the heaven on the new earth in the age to come.
A book that fundamentally alters one's approach to the Scriptures and contemplation of the beautifully deep mysteries of the Gospel.

[Jared Donis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Kreeft's take on Ecclesiastes very helpful. The rest of the book is also brilliantly argued. I will return to this work. It's insightful.

[Mrmr · Rating 5 out of 5]

الكتاب جميل .. و الأسئلة اللي بيطرحها موجودة منذ وجود الإنسان تقريبًا .. و عمر ماكان بيبقى في اجابة كافية او مشبعة ليها!
"ايه معنى الحياة؟" "لماذا المعاناة؟" "هل وجود الالم لا ينفي صلاح او قدرة الله؟"، ......
اللطيف ان الكتاب مقدمليش اجابة.. بس ساعدني اعرف السؤال الحقيقي و الأهم!

فأنا نفسي السؤال و الله نفسه هو الإجابة!

في ايوب، الله لم يجيب عن لماذا الألم.. لأنه كان يعلم ان الاجابات المنطقية كافية انها تقنعه لدقائق، ليظهر المزيد و المزيد من الأسئلة، و ينتهي الحال بان الاسئلة و الإجابات نفسهم يقفوا حاجز بين ايوب و بين الله!
الله كان يعلم ما هو السؤال الحقيقي..
فالسؤال الحقيقي هو السائل ولا السؤال ، و الإجابة الوحيدة المشبعة و الكافية لدحض سأم الحياة، و "باطل الأباطيل" هو الله نفسه ..

ايوب هدي و سكت ، مش لما سمع اجابة اسئلته.. لكن لما قابل الحق و المحبة مش بس سمع اجابات منطقية عنهم!
"بسمع الأذن قد سمعت عنك،
و الآن رأتك عيني"

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another must read on a regular basis book. It's so rich with thought that I'm sure I missed a lot of it on the first read. If you want some insights to the books of Ecclesiastes, Job and Song of Songs, this is a great view. I love how he introduced Ecclesiastes for the dark silouette that is the backdrop for the beauty and light of the gospel - especially for modern man. Since I've read this, I've seen it in so many conversations that I've had with people. What is the meaning of all this? That striving for vanity and more vanity - and then what is the answer? He moves to Job. Finally, landing in the Song of Songs to reveal the beauty of Love. If I can read this book, you probably can, too. Be prepared to grow!

[Pishowi · Rating 4 out of 5]

فقط، كل ما تحتاجه قبل بدء عام جديد، أن أعيد تقييم كل كتبي -هنا- من جديد! او أتركها لتذكيري بمدى سذاجتي في الحُكْم على مجموعة من الأفكار.

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!

[David Bradley]

These three books of the Old Testament are unique; they don't feel like the way we've been led to believe that Scripture should feel. And yet, as Kreeft points out in this little book, each of them profoundly connects with the human experience. Kreeft frames these books as a sort or early version of Dante's Divine Comedy. I found the comparison to be a bit of a stretch, although it did lead to some interesting insights. I particularly appreciated Kreeft's reflections on the nature of doubt from the book of Job. Here's a few quotes:

"Job's love for Go is infected with hate, but the three friends' love for God is infected with indifference. Job stays married to God and throws dishes at him; the three friends have a polite nonmarriage, with separate bedrooms and separate vacations." (89)

"Just as Jesus constantly answers the questioner and not the question, the heart and not the words, so here God answers Job's deepest heart question: to see God face to face, to see Truth, not truths; to meet Truth, not just to know it." (92)

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kaip ir skelbiama antraštėje, autorius (filosofijos profesorius, katalikybės apologetas) nagrinėja trys Senojo Testamento knygas iš filosofinės ir teologinės pusės.

Pirmam skyriuje Koheleto knygą pristato kaip viena filosofiškiausių visoje Biblijoje tiek, kad joje Dievas matomas iš egzistencinės perspektyvos, Dievas Koheleto knygoje yra suvokiamas per patirtį ir pasaulio stebėjimą, todėl kad ir kaip suktųsi iš padėties, Koheletui gyvenimas atrodo kaip tuštybių tuštybė (arba kaip rūkų rūkas lietuviškame vertime), nes viskas eina link vieno - mirties. Visi mes mirsime ir viskam yra savas laikas po saule. Bet nepaisant tokios nelinksmos įžvalgos Koheleto knyga: "Tai gyvenimo knyga, (...) stojanti prieš mirties faktą".

Antra dalis skirta Jobo knygos idėjų aptarimui - kančia gyvenime. Autorius bando nagrinėti kančios prasmę, kilmę, reikšmę. Jis įgalina kančią kaip gyvenimo neatsiejamą dalį, kur kančia nepriklauso nuo mūsų pastangų jos išvengti. Jobas, teisingas, doras, dievobaimingas žmogus patiria kančią, nepelnytą, kol galiausiai prakeikia patį gyvenimą ir net sako, kad jeigu pakviestų Dievą į teismą, jis laimėtų bylą(čia svarbus aspektas, kad žydų tradicijoje Dievas bausdavo kančia už blogą, o Jobas pagal knygą yra geras ir tokios kančios nenusipelnė).

Ir trečia dalis skirta meilei, remiantis Giesmių giesmės knyga. Čia jau autorius pasineša, suskirsto dalį į 29 dalis, kur vis kitu aspektu aptaria meilę skirdamas keturias jos atmainas ir aišku apsistodamas ties Agape - tobula, nesavanaudiška, dieviškąja meile.

Man labiausiai patiko pirma dalis apie Koheleto knygą (na, ką jau čia, mano mėgstamiausia knyga iš Biblijos), jis ten ir filosofiškiausiai ir taip mažiausiai pamokančiai parašė. Kitos dalys vietomis erzino kreipiniais į skaitytoją (nežinau kodėl vertėja pasirinko versti "jūs", o ne "tu", nes šiaip tokių kreipinių esmė ir yra familiarus santykis su skaitytoju) ir tokiu apologetišku tonu, kai norint pabrėžti kas nors sumenkinama.
Rekomenduočiau tiems, kas domisi Senuoju Testamentu (arba kuris skaitė bent vieną iš trijų knygų) ir nori susipažinti su katalikiškaja tų knygų interpretacija.

O šiaip rekomenduoju tas knygas ir šiaip perskaityti (Koheleto, Jobo ir Giesmių giesmės knygas), nustebsite kiek posakių iš jų eina ratais ir vienos ar kitos formos yra sutinkami mūsų kultūroje.

[Justine Olawsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rare book and one that will stick to the ribs. I have seldom met with a book about faith that gave me more immediate and sustained pleasure than this one (Chesterton's Orthodoxy is the only other example that comes to mind right now); however, from the opening sentence ("I have been a philosopher for all my adult life, and the three most profound books of philosophy that I have ever read are Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs.") to the concluding paragraph ("Love, you see, can do anything. Love alone can fill Ecclesiastes' emptiness—and yours. Love alone can satisfy Job's quest—and yours."—which I read while sitting in a bucket of my own overwhelmed tears), I was captivated and drawn into a journey which will truly become a milestone in my walk with God.

With a style both achingly profound and delightfully witty, Peter Kreeft offers the most unique look at these three pieces of biblical wisdom literature I have yet come across. In the books of Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs, Kreeft finds a great mystery: the three philosophies of life (life as vanity; life as suffering; life as love) which map onto three metaphysical states (boredom, despair, and joy), three theological virtues (faith, hope, and love), three stages of the spiritual life (purgative, illuminative, and unitive), and the journey of the Divine Comedy (Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven). Despite such a tour de force of a thesis, the book is incredibly readable, relatable, and memorable. It is one of those volumes in my library that is now covered with marginalia and underlining. I will revisit it more than once over the next few decades, I am sure, and so its penciled tattoos will only grow.

Here are a few highlights (from my randomly flipping the pages):

Because God speaks, Job has everything even though he has nothing. Because God is silent, Ecclesiastes has nothing even though he has everything. (22)

For us, justice means equality, or at least equal opportunity. It means something almost mathematical. We are all equal before the law. But this is not the deepest meaning of justice. There is a justice in music, a harmony and proportion and relatedness that make for beauty, but it is not equality. It is something much more mysterious, more heavy with meaning, and more wonderful. (73)

Reality is not simply what people make or do; reality is what God is and does. And God is love. Love is therefore the central law of reality, and when we love, we conform to reality. (116)

I cannot recommend this book more highly.

[Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wisdom Literature of the Bible is some of the most profound and least understood sections of the Old Testament. Including such books as the Psalms, Proverbs, Eccelsiastes, Wisdom and others, the Wisdom Literature is a meditation on the Law of Moses and the meaning of the faith. But it is much more than that. The Wisdom Literature is literally a commentary on the human experience, life, faith, family, everything.

In this little book, philosopher Peter Kreeft gives us a brilliant analysis of three of the least understood books of the Wisdom literature; Job, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. In it, Kreeft confronts some of the most profound questions of the human experience. Why are we here? Why should we endure suffering? What is really the meaning of life? Modern philosophy has avoided these questions like the plague, mocking the very idea that an intelligent person should ask such questions. But as human beings, these are the questions that deserve answers. They are the 800 pound gorilla in the room of philosophy. And Kreeft confronts these questions head on through the lens of these three Old Testament books.

The questions he confronts are the very nature of wisdom and life. Should we even bother to acquire wisdom? What does it all mean? And he finds, just as Qoholeth in the Book of Ecclesiastes, that it is all vanity and a chase after wind. Power, wealth, pleasure, it is all vanity. And the suffering of Job, what does that mean? For most of the book of Job this is a mystery, but its meaning occurs at the very end of the book. Its meaning is made alive throughout the Song of Songs, the great treatise on love, the ultimate love song. The difference between a chase after wind and the finding of true wisdom is not a philosophy or a deduction but a person, the Lord Himself and His Son Jesus Christ. And the love through which we worship Him makes all philosophy have meaning, all suffering have context and all life escape from vanity.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, Catholics, Protestants, atheists, Jews, anyone who wants to explore how the Bible has given us the most profound philosophy in the history of the world.

[Bennett Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Living Life Backwards: How Ecclesiastes Teaches us to Live in Light of the End, I was a little depressed and left wanting more, so I picked up Kreeft's survey of Ecclesiastes, Job, and the Song of Songs. Kreeft is an outstanding philosopher and author. I thoroughly enjoyed his Socrates Meets... series, as well as Christianity for Modern Pagans (Pascal's Pensees), so I thought I would give him a try as an expositor, and I'm glad I did.

This is not a verse-by-verse or even a chapter-by-chapter commentary on these works, so if that is what you are looking for, this is not it. It is more thematic, more big picture. He sees them with a philosopher's eye (which is a plus) and treats them together, as a package, as an epic, as the Bible's Divine Comedy, with Ecclesiastes as inferno, Job as purgatorio, and the Song of Songs as paradiso. I appreciated this lens.

Ecclesiastes is the world viewed apart from faith and revelation, using reason alone as one's guide. And that produces a world without hope, 'vanity of vanities, all is vanity,' which is exactly how I felt after reading Living Life Backwards. The rest of the bible supplies what 'the Preacher' lacks - faith.

Job, on the other hand, needs hope in suffering, and Kreeft's treatment of this book (and the problem of pain) is superb. Actually, Job needs God - he is "the answer that fills the infinite, God-shaped vacuum in the human heart." That is, the God of the mystics, the God of Aquinas, the God of the Beatific Vision.

And the Song of Songs is a meditation on the third (and greatest) theological virtue - love. And following Bernard of Clairvaux, St. John of the Cross, and Aquinas, Kreeft interprets the book as a symbol of God's love for the church. And from this song, Kreeft identifies 26 characteristics of love, both human and divine, which mark the "life of love."

The Three Philosophies of Life is an enjoyable and edifying catholic (most with a small "c" but sometimes with a capital "C") exploration of these 3 books of the Bible.

[Samuel Nasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

" فأنت ترى المحبة تستطيع أن تفعل أي شيئ. المحبة وحدها تستطيع أن تملأ فراغ الجامعة. المحبة وحدها تستطيع أن تقدم الجواب المشبع عن مطلب أيوب المنشود... ومطلبك أنت أيضاً"

كتاب يشرح من خلاله الكاتب فلسفة الحياة من واقع ثلاثة وجهات نظر
قد تبدو مضادة لبعضها
ولكنها في واقع الامر تمضي من حلقة لأخري، فتكون الفلسفات الثلاثة مكملة لبعضها البعض
الفلسفة الأولى وهي أن الحياة باطل من واقع سفر الجامعة
والحلقة الثانية هي أن الحياة ألم مستوحي الألم من سفر أيوب
ثم يختم بالسمو وفلسفة الحب من سفر نشيد الأنشاد

يمضي الكاتب في تلك الفلسفات طارحاً أسئلة، معطياً شروحاً، ولكن جميعها أشياء تجعلك تفكر تتعمق
لا يقدم لك الإجابة على طبق من ذهب، ولكنه كتاب للتفكير والتعمق

كتاب رائع ولكن لسوء حظي أنني قرأته في فترة أعاني فيها من الضغط جراء العديد والعديد من المشغوليات

اتمنى أن أعيد قراءته بعد عدة سنوات وتفكيري يكون قد نضج أكثر

4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Ryan Fendley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only read the Job part. It was really good. With the way Job thought through things, like many philosophers answers to his questions would’ve just came up with more questions. The only answer that could stop his questions, satisfy his soul, wasn’t truth but Truth personified in Yawheh.

[Danny Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh! Kreeft frustrates me so much. You have books that are really bad, books that are really good, and books that are average. Kreeft decided to write a book that treats Ecclesiates spectacularly, treats Job really well, and drop a bowling ball on your foot in its treatment of the Song of Songs.

I really wish that this was three different books, or that there was a version without his writing on Song of Songs. I would give that book to so many people. Anyway, 5 stars for Ecclesiastes, 4 stars for Job, and 2 stars for Song of Songs.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outside of books of the Bible, this is one of only 2 "5-Star" Books I read in 2012. Peter Kreeft is a master and this commentary on Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs is phenomenal. Kreeft is known for saying that he recommends starting with Ecclesiastes as the first book to study in the Bible, because it presents the case for the pain of living in vanity when God is rejected. What is the meaning of life? While "The Preacher" in Ecclesiastes fails to answer that question, the rest of the Bible provides the answer.

Here is a gem from each of the commentaries.

From Ecclesiastes:
"Love, true love, agape, charity, total self-giving, is the one thing in this life under the sun that is 'stronger than death', that smells of eternity, that alone never gets boring, that is never exhausted, that becomes more fulfilling, not less, the more it is practiced. Love is infinite."

From Job:
"Feelings are not an infallible indicator of fact... A Pharisee can fell morally and spiritually healthy, when if fact he is so rotten that gentle Jesus calls him a tomb full of dead men's bones. A saint can be going through 'the dark night of the soul' and feel totally dried up inside, while in fact God is perfecting him like an artist perfecting his masterpiece."

From Song of Songs:
"If your concept of God lacks awe, circumspection, fear, and trembling, then your concept of love will also lack awe. Your soul is so small and arrogant that it feels comfortable and cuddly with God, then the only size love you will admit into your soul is a comfortable and cuddly love."

And one more, appropriate for today's social attempts to make-up a new reality about marriage:
"The fact that God spiritually impregnates us and not vice versa, the fact that God creates new life in us and not vice versa, and the fact that God comes into us and not vice versa, cannot be changed any more than the fact that a man impregnates a woman and not vice versa can be changed. No matter how much we rant and rave, we cannot change the essential, eternal laws of the very structure of reality to conform to our latest ideological fashions and fancies."

[M.G. Bianco · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exposition of Ecclesiastes (the philosophy of vanity), Job (the philosophy of suffering), and Song of Songs (the philosophy of love).

Peter Kreeft's interpretation of Ecclesiastes is the standard interpretation: Solomon is writing as if he were an atheist. This interpretation, I believe, fails to deal with the book as it was originally intended. Douglas Wilson starts to wrestle with this in his Joy at the End of the Tether. And, I believe, Jeffrey Myers does so successfully in his A Table in the Mist--although I haven't read it yet, so this statement is based on hearsay.

That being said, Kreeft still makes some meaningful observations about the human condition when one sees life as meaningless--meaning being something that can only come from God.

He says this of vanity:

The essence of Hell is not suffering but vanity, not pain but purposelessness, not physical suffering but spiritual suffering.

Suffering is not the essence of Hell, because suffering can be hopeful. It was for Job.

Job, on the other hand, endures suffering which is inclusive of faith:

Job’s faith is not sunny and serene, but it is faith. It is not without doubts. (Indeed, his doubts came from his faith. When faith is full, it is open and can include doubts; when it is weak, it cannot tolerate doubts.) But Job remains a hero of faith. He waits in faith, and he sees the glory of God.

For Kreeft, vanity is life without God. Suffering is life moving towards God, but not fully embracing Him yet. And love is full union with God, and that love can only come from Him and cast out all of the vanity and suffering that went before it.

And God’s love is the only totally trustable love (thus the only love guaranteed to cast out fear) because only God totally knows, accepts, and affirms us.

Overall, I enjoy Kreeft's writing. He was clearly influenced by C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton, and this comes out in his writing. This is hardly a bad thing.

[Brian Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kreeft, a Catholic philosopher, calls these three books of the Bible (Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs) the three greatest pieces of philosophy. He relates Ecclesiastes to hell on earth, Job to purgatory on earth, and the Song of Songs to heaven on earth. While my theology is rather at odds with Kreeft’s, this is rarely an issue in this book. For the most part, Kreeft provides valuable and wise commentary on the books’ major themes. I appreciated his insights and dry humor. This book is no academic in nature, but it’s worth reading if you’re preaching or teaching these books.

(Finished October 31, 2017.)

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kreeft's premise is that there are only three philosophies in life, and each is best illustrated by three books of the Old Testament. The three books are known as wisdom books (aptly named) and are Ecclesiastes--life as vanity, Job--life as suffering, and Song of Songs--life as love. These parallel closely to hell, purgatory, and heaven. (Please do not be turned off by the theological term of purgatory. As Kreeft explains, it is a time full of hope, of transformation, a building of deep faith.)[return][return]This book is not an explanation or analysis of these Scriptures. It dwells on the summum bonum question--what is the meaning of life, why are we here, what is the point of it all? Each of these three books attempt to answer it in their own way. And as a result, they are linked together as stepping stones or phases on the path to seeking the answers for ourselves, in seeking God.[return][return]Everyone has had experiences of these three areas in their lives in some measure. As I read through each section, I felt my mood change as I found myself identifying deeply with the vanity and purposelessness the Preacher finds in Ecclesiastes, with the loss, doubt, questioning, and hope of Job, and with the love and desire of the lovers in Song of Songs.[return][return]Kreeft does a marvelous job throughout the whole book. He manages to tie philosophy, theology, and especially the mystery of God's love (mysticism) in a beautiful tapestry that will warm a seeking soul.