The Journey: A Spiritual Roadmap for Modern Pilgrims

by Peter Kreeft

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 These and other essential questions provide guidance that delightfully entertains while directing your mind and spirit on the journey toward the freedom of truth.

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

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

August 19, 2014: Reread The Journey again last night! I've lost track of how many times I've read this book. As written below, this is an all-time favorite, so I expect this won't be my last journey with this epic either. In this case, as in most of my other re-reads, it seemed a good time to fine-tune philosophical thinking ... and for that, I can hardly recommend anyone better than Peter Kreeft who outdoes himself here.

May 1, 2008: One of the best books I ever read by one of my favorite authors! I've given away several copies.* It's an allegory which can be read in a single sitting and for this disorganized, right-brained, left-handed wannabe it breaks down the confusing conundrums of Philosophy into ten very simple bite-sized questions:
1. To question or not to question, that is the question: do we approach life as a journey to be undertaken or do we sit where we are?
2. Is it true that there is no Truth?
3. Can't we be Cynical about Cynicism?
4. Is the meaning of Life that Life is Meaningless?
5. What's the Matter with 'Nothing but Matter'?
6. Is it really wrong to think there's a real right and wrong?
7. Can there be a moral law without a moral lawgiver?
8. Is God everywhere or nowhere?
9. Could His-Story be a Non-Prophet Organization?
10. Is Jesus, Lord, Liar or Lunatic?

Each chapter brings us to another question and another historical figure who will provide the information necessary to aide us in answering the above philosophical questions. Kreeft leads the reader from Epicurean mindlessness to active living, through the pitfalls of skepticism, nihilism, materialism (and more!) on to a belief in the One True God and finally to the ultimate question of who He is.

Not to be missed! (I resurrected this book when I just got disgusted with Blackburn's Being Good, a supposed Introduction to Ethics.)

*The first time I read it, I immediately went out and bought two more copies for my daughters so that we could read it together the next year in homeschooling. Sadly, we didn't homeschool the next year; I still hope and pray they will read it!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little cheesy, maybe, but a good read nonetheless.

[Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an opinionated, hard-headed individual. I also am usually willing to hear out the "other side" before I voice an opinion. That is what I like about this book; it is a simple read, addressing my most hated but most engaged in activity; engaging in discourse and logical argument. I say "most hated" because the vast majority of people I encounter who would engage in a conversation with me become empassioned and quiet whenever we converse. And frequently, afterwards, some of those acquaintences who used to greet me warmly, now approach with trepidation, or even avoid me, because I dared to challenge their conventions. I can't say I do the same to them, (With the exception of those who become abusive or refuse to listen to any side but their own), but that's my personality. Agree to disagree, but still value the worth of the person. This situation is sad for me, yet it is what it is. This book touches on those very issues; logic and discourse, applied and reviewed, with regard to the ultimate reason for engaging in such discourse: God's message and how we can live our lives. The end of the book touches on the final truths; taking the harder path is usually better in the long run, particularly when the decisions along the way are so tempting as to how we feel verses what we should do for our eternal soul. And that means sometimes you lose those around you who you may love dearly while on the journey. Highly recommended... and Thanks to my dearest Frau Bear, the Booklady, for the recommendation!

[Justine Olawsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic Kreeft that is very Kreefty all the way through - serious scholarship married to sly wit and wide-eyed wonderment. Very few writers can pull off that combo, but Kreeft does it again and again in his work. He is exceedingly brilliant, achingly sincere, and cannot help but be puckishly funny.

What is very neat in this book is that it offers a very succinct overview and refutation of ways of thinking that many might be fooled into thinking are something new but really have their roots not only in the philosophies of ancient Greece, but deeper back to the beginning of human minds clouded by human sin. Our pilgrim Kreeft, perhaps the best-equipped pilgrim to grapple with his ancient gatekeepers' arguments, sets out with his guide Socrates (yes, that Socrates) to find Truth. Along the way he encounters the skeptic Protagoras (or was it really modernist J.G. Fichte?), the cynic Diogenes (who might resemble Jean-Paul Sartre in more than looks), the nihilist Gorgias (who palled around in the hole opposite the light with such characters as Samuel Beckett and Friedrich Nietzsche), and on and on through the fallacies of materialism, relativism, atheism, pantheism, and deism as our intrepid pilgrim spirals his way out of the cave and into the light.

I think my favorite chapter was "The Jew," which is ultimately a beautiful meditation on the unpayable debt that all who know and love the Lord owe to God's prophet Israel. The exchanges between our pilgrim and Moses are brief in words but unfathomable in depth. I will ponder this chapter for a long while.

The final chapter suffers just a bit from the quandary that all good writers who are slyly witty and achingly sincere run into: how to write meaningfully about the Great Mystery of God's Love poured out on Calvary (without dipping into cheese sauce). Kreeft can do so better than most, but for the inner conversion of the human heart to abandon its conceits, its pretenses, and its claims to all autonomy and self-justification, and fling itself unreservedly into the arms of its Savior, the less said, the better. I always think of the words of the psalmist: Such knowledge is too high for me; I cannot attain it.

If you love Peter Kreeft - and if you don't love Peter Kreeft, what the heck, man? - you will enjoy walking alongside our pilgrim on this spiritual roadmap.

[Adam22 Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an allegory going through many of the basic “isms” that many choose as a substitute for truth. For most of the journey, the author is joined by Socrates as a guide. The book took many complicated ideas and philosophies and put them in simple and easy to follow arguments. A fairly short read, but one that made me keep coming back.

Quotes:

"My real opponent is not made of flesh and blood. My opponent is ignorance, and I hope that is the opponent of my dialogue partner too. -Socrates
(43)

"For the masses still believe in the natural moral law, in an objective and unchangeable truth about good and evil. The masters do not. So it is a nation of believers taught by a faculty of unbelievers. As one of your sociologists has put it, you are a nation of Indians ruled by an elite of Swedes." -Socrates
(73)

Your teachers are moral subjectivists, their students are not--not yet anyway. The masses keep resisting the missionary efforts of their teachers to convert them to the new religion of moral relativism." -Socrates
(74)

To be slain by truth was better than to be given life by falsehood
(85)

[Ella Colligan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. AMAZING concept but kind of poor exceution. This whole book is just gay love for real. Socrates and Thrasymachus literally just need to make out right now. "You're going to make me feel guilty and blush agian. But I won't." - literally direct quote from the novel. Come on Peter Kreeft we all know your secret! Three stars bc of enemies to lovers plotline between literally every philosopher and Socrates. Peter Kreeft's writing skills (flirty one-liners from Socrates) would be better put in an Ali Hazelwood-type novel.

Literally every other philosophy than the ones Kreeft decided were 'correct' were displayed in their worst and shallowest forms. I dont think it was fair to the other philosophies, they should have been better debated.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I started out liking this book, I did not finish liking it. I do not like this book at all.

The author tries to blend both the ancient and the modern in this discussion of religion and philosophy, but instead of being smoothly integrated, it is just awkward and weird. This was something I noted at the very beginning.

And while, at the beginning, the author does a decent job of refuting several different worldviews and philosophies, as the book progresses, each "crossroads" becomes shallower. The discussion takes less time, and the way each new idea is treated is almost dismissive. That is not in the least bit okay, especially in a book with the stated purpose of the exact opposite. It got worse up until chapter seven, when the other side was not even considered as a possibility at all.

After that point, the entirety of the novel was infantile. Not only were opposing views not discussed fully but the way the "correct" path was portrayed was juvenile and simple. It was incredibly trivializing to the reality.

Also, there was a fair amount of disrespect for celebrated icons of both the secular and religious worlds throughout the whole. The author acted as though he was obviously higher than these men, and therefore could reason and deduce better. This is arrogant and irritating to a reader.

I would say that I would go back to some of the beginning chapters for the ideas held there, but the rest of the book should be thrown away.

(And it should be noted that I am a Christian and do not have a problem with the "correct" path being the one that leads to the Christian God. This book, even to someone who agrees with the foundation and ideas behind it, is no good.)

[Tommaso Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un ottimo libro per chi non ha mai capito a cosa servisse la filosofia, o per chi è curioso e vorrebbe sapere cos'è e a cosa serve.

L'autore, attraverso le figure di Socrate e di C.S. Lewis mette in campo la filosofia pratica, che argomenta, confuta, mette in dubbio e chiarisce, mentre il lettore affronta le domande più importanti della vita di ogni donna e uomo: esiste la verità, se sì possiamo conoscerla, e dove ci può portare?

E' un libro avvincente, anche perché mette in gioco il lettore: come in una specie di "libro game filosfico", in qualsiasi momento possiamo decidere che la strada presa dal ragionamento non ci soddisfa, possiamo mettere noi stessi in dubbio il libro, fermarci a riflettere e decidere che indirizzo dare al nostro viaggio...

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under the tutelage of Socrates, Kreeft begins a fictitious first person narrative through the annals of philosophy – both its ancient and modern reincarnations. Beginning in Plato’s cave, Kreeft meets philosophers (representing skepticism, cynicism, nihilism, materialism, relativism and more) along the various forks in the journey until experiencing the reality of Christ. Using fictitious dialogue, Kreeft demonstrates the reasonability of faith and the nature of philosophy, past and present. B+

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class and and found it to be difficult to read. The author know his subject matter but it is very deep . I honestly do not think I would have understood it if It had not been deconstructed for me. It helps to have an understanding of the teachings of Socrates to understand this book.

[Camden]

It's a nice introduction, but not as deep or detailed as I wanted.

[Faith Burnside · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right leaning Pilgrims Progress/Regress fan fiction

[Ella Spang · Rating 2 out of 5]

We are all at some point, ignorant in a cave, watching shadows upon a blank wall. The main character of this book, half dialogue/half narrative, leaves the cave in search of truth. He has Socrates as his guide and meets a few different philosophers, (All of them western, I should mention) and debates worldviews and ideologies. By the end, he meets Christ on a cross and surrenders, declaring that Jesus is truth, and his whole 'Journey' was bringing him to this fateful decision.

This book isn't, in a technical sense, bad. It's well written, and convincing at times. But it is by no means, difficult or intriguing. If anyone, (Who happens to have a background in the Christian faith) wants a quick overview of Nihilism, Pantheism, Cynicism, etc, (From a Christian perspective to be disproved in 12 or so pages) then this will be a bit of a shallow pool to dip your metaphorical philosophy feet.

So it suits an extremely specific viewpoint, which in my case makes sense, as I'm reading it for school. (A private Christian school, notably.)

As for anyone beyond the characteristics I mentioned, I think it could be of little use, and you're better off elsewhere.

[Charlie Eason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Kreeft (whose name roughly translates to “Rock Lobster” lol) provides a thought-provoking and entertaining story about the pursuit of reason, purpose, and God. Not 5 stars because I agree with other reviewers that the debates presented throughout the journey do seem one sided (almost straw-manned—contrary to the spirit of the book); However, Kreeft is a tenured theological debater himself, so perhaps this validates the credibility of the content nonetheless. A good, straightforward read that was far more accessible to a layman like myself than I expected.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kreeft always is fun, clever, and forceful in logical rigor. I do at some points find that other ways of approaching would be more persuasive.

[Skylar · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a few books that I have started to keep separate as books that shape how I think and live. This is one of them. I recommend it to anyone.

[Michelle Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by one of today’s greatest philosophers, Peter Kreeft, The Journey is a fun-to-read book that provokes thought, an allegory that points to reality, and a worthwhile read that gives a taste of Socrates.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College (possibly retired). He is a practicing Catholic and has written books on philosophy, religion, and Christian Apologetics. In this book Kreeft employees a favorite technique to guide / direct the exploration - he brings to life Socrates. The pilgrim here is Kreeft, and his guide is the master questioner. Socrates leads Kreeft on a journey, meeting and questioning representative figures of all the leading philosophical fads - The Skeptic, The Cynic, The Nihilist, The Materialist, The Relativist, The Atheist, The Pantheist and the Deist - in each case defeating them with sound questioning and logic. But also a sense that there is something larger in the world. As the journey progress Socrates is less involved in the questioning and Kreeft takes on the role himself. Socrates has trained him to question and explore, but also to develop a strong moral sense of his own. The last two figures Kreeft meets in his journey is Moses - The Jew - and The Messiah -Christ. He Socrates falls away as a guide and Kreeft is draw to increasingly more powerful figures, who not only provide answers to his questions, or also guidance to keep moving forward.


If you want to learn how to question and respond to the limiting modern philosophies that surround us today, read Kreeft. Be reading his work, one sees and learns how to listen, but also to raise questions to the weak philosophies around us. Kreeft uses Socrates in another book of his - All the Best Things - in which Socrates visits a modern college campus and engages in a dialogue with two typical college student types - one seeking a career and money, and other floating from idea to idea with no grounding. The final chapters in the book (I need to finish reading it) provide a great exercise in logical questioning, laying to waste the crappy relativist thinking coming out of campuses today. I highly recommend both books.

[Raoul Bascon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Peter Kreeft says he reads The Lord of the Rings every few years to ground himself. The Journey is that book for me.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for high school and older. Kreeft takes his character on a journey where he must choose between competing philosophies of life. Many of the past failed philosophies (such as Marxism) are proven to be false through the application of Socratic reasoning. The main character's quest for truth leads him to finding a philisophical way of life that contributes to man achieving his ultimate purpose. It is good for us to realize that there is still a pull from past philosophies to re-indoctrinate us toward their foolishness and hypocracy. We need to be aware of this realty and danger. This book can help the reader remain safe from the detrimental influences of some of these past philosophies. The book is relatively short and very interesting.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected a bit meatier book, and was disappointed. If you have never thought about what a worldview is, or explored the belief systems of various philosophies, then perhaps this would be a good place to start.

"The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog" by James Sire is a much better book. Better written and more engagingly presented. Somehow Kreeft's approach to me seemed rather flippant and juvenile.

[Clint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written along the lines of Pilgrim's Progress and Pilgrim's Regress, this book (which Kreeft wanted to name "Pilgrim's Egress" but was shut down, I am sure tactfully :), by the publisher) was a fun read, bringing different "philosophy of lifes" together to offer meaning, or lack their of, to the main character on a "journey". Great stuff.

[Felipe Sabino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonzinho. Embora haja momentos interessantes, as vezes os diálogos são bobos, a apologética é defeituosa e a teologia não é bíblica. Para completar, faltou uma revisão mais minuciosa da tradução. Não é um livro ruim, mas está bem aquém de outros similares (como, por exemplo, "Persuasões" de Douglas Wilson).

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is entertaining reading about making decisions and about the existence of God. Helps to have a good background in logical thinking..but enlightening even if you don't. Socrates takes the reader on a tour of great philosophers and points out the errors of their thinking on certain topics.

[Mary Thoresen]

Philosophy in a "modern" story-form- a pilgrim hearing from each of the philosophies, and then choosing one road. Well-written, but a chapter on stoics, neo-paganists would be interesting, as well as updating some of the references 19 years.

[Darryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chapter seven just kinda skips over some important issues.

[Adam Carman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kreeft definitely makes philosophy come alive!

[Aaron Stoltzfus]

There is a similarity to a feeling of tiredness when finishing up this book. Incredible truths, especially for a questioning person, but they come through logic.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Against materialism]: “Only a self can be guilty, because only a self can be morally responsible. If we are nothing but clever apes, as Darwin says, or pawns of our economic system, as Marx says, or bundles of sex urges, as Freud says, then there is no free moral agent to blame, and no one to feel guilty. Morality becomes a myth… And that is why Marxists are always justifying things like propaganda and purges of politically incorrect dissidents, in the state or the university. And why Freudians will never condemn any misbehavior, only try to understand its necessary causes. And why Darwinians explain aggression and ruthless competition and selfishness as the territorial imperatives of animals. All three are materialisms, and materialism removes the soul, and therefore free will, and therefore moral responsibility, and therefore guilt. That’s why people are attracted to these philosophies… It’s a kind of spiritual euthanasia: killing the patient to cure the disease, losing the soul to lose the guilt.” (64).

“Is it not the function of guilt to enlighten us that we are in the wrong?”

“So pain is good? Is this what you think?
“Of course! If we dulled all our pain nerves, we would soon die. We would not pull our bodies out of fires. And if we dull our consciences, as you do with your philosophy of moral subjectivism, then our souls will soon die.” (79)

“How do you refute cultural relativism?
By pointing out that it is a simple factual lie. If you take the time to honestly examine different cultures, you will find a nearly universal consensus on the most important moral principles, a sort of universal ten commandments. What culture values lying and adultery and murder and theft? Which one rewards traitors and punishes philanthropists?” (81)

“I am here so that you may learn from me the most important lesson I can teach: how to learn by yourself. A good teacher makes himself increasingly dispensable” (100).

“Historical reasons are not proofs. They are stronger than proofs, and also weaker. Weaker because they leave you room to doubt, and to choose. Stronger because they are not abstract arguments but concrete clues in history, like footprints in desert sands” (106). [Clues: Existence of the Jewish People, Miracles in Scripture, the Bible, the Law, Reason, Intelligence, Faith, Morality]

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book. It is enjoyable, imaginative and delightful. It is an allegory in the style of Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan or Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis. It follows Peter Kreeft and Socrates on a journey out of the Cave and into conscious decision-making. They are in search of true knowledge and knowledge of truth - if we can know truth. Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College, a popular lecturer and author, and this is one of his best books.

This book is written around 10 dialogues with 12 historical figures: Epicurus, Protagoras, Diogenes, Gorgia, Democritus, Thrasymachus, Xenophanes, Pharmenides, Aristotle, Moses, Joshua and C.S. Lewis. Each of these men represent a school of thought, or a philosophy that has resurfaced again and again throughout history.

Through those 10 dialogues each answer a different question and each question leads to others. They are:
Shall I question? Shall I go on this quest for truth at all?
If I question, is there hope of answers, or should I be a skeptic? Is there objective truth?
If there is any objective truth, is there objective truth about the meaning of life?
If there is an objective truth about the meaning of life, is it that life is meaningless, “vanity of vanities”?
If life has real meaning, is it spiritual and not merely material?
If it is spiritual, is it moral? Is there a real right and wrong?
If there is a real right and wrong, a real moral meaning, is it a religious meaning? Is there God?
If there is a God, is God immanent (pantheism) or transcendent (deism), everywhere or nowhere?
If God is both immanent and transcendent (theism, creationism), are the Jews (who first taught this idea of creation) his prophets, his mouthpiece to the world?
If the Jews are God’s prophets, is Jesus the Messiah?

Each one of these choices is momentous and life changing. They will either lead you into relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or the rejection thereof. This book puts forward all the popular theories for why not to believe at each step along the way.

This is a great little book either to help you know why you believe what you believe or to lead you into a faith based relationship with God.