God on Stage: 15 Plays That Ask the Big Questions

by Peter Kreeft

"All the world’s a stage"—but are the men and women merely players, or actors in a heavenly drama?

In God on Stage, renowned author and professor Peter Kreeft explores fifteen great dramas, and within them, five great life, death, suffering, religion, and damnation. From classics like Oedipus the King and Hamlet to modern plays like Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons and Cormac McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited, Kreeft draws vivid lessons on the big questions we all ask ourselves.

Like the plays it takes up, God on Stage invites readers to smile and frown, ponder and fall in love, and sit back in awe and wonder—at art, God, and the art of God that is man.

Genres: Catholic

240 pages, Paperback

Published July 8, 2024

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

[Matt Ryan]

Thoughtful discussion of five themes: Life and Joy, Religion, Suffering, Death, and Damnation. Each theme focuses on three plays: Pre-Christian, Christian, and Post-Christian. I particularly enjoy the chapter on "Our Town." Like Prof. Kreeft, I believe the play is a "radically misunderstood classic."

[Mary O]

Reading Kreeft is always challenging for me, but making myself go slowly and think through everything he writes always has incredible rewards. I started out this book reading small pieces each day. Then, gradually, I began to pick up speed. I would plan to read a chapter section and suddenly be at the end of the chapter! Even his appendix and postscript are beautiful! Don’t miss them!


Kreeft on Hamlet:
“One of the contrasting characters to Hamlet is Polonious, a fake or inauthentic philosopher. Hamlet addresses him as “fool.” Yet most of my students think he is a wise man, an Oprah, a pop psychologist when he says:

This above all: to thine own self be true
and it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

That was Hitler’s philosophy, too, and Satan‘s.”

And Kreeft on The Dream of Gerontius by John Henry Newman:

“Purgatory is not an external, legal transaction to pay for our sins; it is simply the total truth about our sins, now fully seen, felt, and repented. CS Lewis, theProtestant, referred to Gerontius when he called this a purgatory he could firmly believe in.”

[Becky]

I adore everything I've read by Peter Kreeft - whether "Food for the Soul" which discusses the Sunday lliturgy, philosophy, or this gem which examines various plays with topics of Religion, Suffering, Death, and Damnation. Organized by a Pre-christian, Christian and Post-Christian example for each topic. The plays themselves range from Greek through Shakespeare, to John Henry Newman and C.S. Lewis. I was introduced to many plays that were unfamiliar to me, and a desire to find ones I could - either in print, or on YouTube.

[Steven French]

Fascinating book

Excellent book. I enjoyed learning about the many plays he references, and seeing how they tie into the book's powerful Christian message.