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Forty Reasons I Am a Catholic
My title explains itself.
But it's misleading.
There are more than 40 reasons.
In fact, there are at least ten to the 82nd power, which, I am told, is the number of atoms in the universe. And that's just in ordinary matter, which makes up only 4.9% of the universe, the rest being dark matter and dark energy.
Each of my reasons is an independent point, so I have not organized this book by a succession of chapters or headings. After all, most readers only remember a few big ideas or separate points after reading a book. (I've never heard anyone say "Oh, that was a good continuous-process-of-logically-ordered-argumentation" but I've often heard people say, "Oh, that was a good point."
Which takes me back to my main "Why are you a Catholic" is a good question.
A good question deserves a good answer.
Here are forty of mine.
But it's misleading.
There are more than 40 reasons.
In fact, there are at least ten to the 82nd power, which, I am told, is the number of atoms in the universe. And that's just in ordinary matter, which makes up only 4.9% of the universe, the rest being dark matter and dark energy.
Each of my reasons is an independent point, so I have not organized this book by a succession of chapters or headings. After all, most readers only remember a few big ideas or separate points after reading a book. (I've never heard anyone say "Oh, that was a good continuous-process-of-logically-ordered-argumentation" but I've often heard people say, "Oh, that was a good point."
Which takes me back to my main "Why are you a Catholic" is a good question.
A good question deserves a good answer.
Here are forty of mine.
119 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2018
140 people are currently reading
322 people want to read
About the author
Peter Kreeft
197 books1,070 followersPeter 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
September 17, 2020
This was the third pro-Roman Catholic book I've read and the one I enjoyed the least. I am reviewing from a protestant (Anglican) perspective.
In this book, Kreeft sets to give 40 reasons why he is a Roman Catholic. The first major problem with this book is that it lacks a focused audience. Most of the time Kreeft's reasons are general reasons which could apply to any Christian tradition. For example, #6 is "to get my sins forgiven", #19 "because of what the Bible tells me", #30 "because only the church can whup the devil", #39 is because "I value reason". Throughout the book, Kreeft alternates between using Catholic as a synonym for Christian and using it to distinguish it from Protestant faith. I was hoping it was going to be 40 reasons why he's a Roman Catholic instead of 30 reasons he's a Christian and 10 reasons why he's a Catholic (ballpark number). In the end, it becomes an alternating mesh of defending Christianity to the unbelieving world and a polemic against Protestants instead of focusing on one audience.
The second major problem is that Kreeft does not seriously engage with differing catholic traditions such as Orthodox, Coptic, and Anglican. In fact, the total engagement with all 3 traditions combined would likely be less than half a page.
The third major problem is Kreeft seems to not be really familiar with non-Catholic traditions or he straw-mans their position. For example, he says that protestants only care about a legal relationship to God and not being transformed into a new person. He cites protestants as wanting to be "viewed" as holy because of Christ but it is Catholics who want to be "born again" by being metaphysically changed. Excuse me? The evangelical tradition places a heavy emphasis on being born again by becoming a brand new changed person. As another example, he recounts making a list of his 25 favorite theologians and came to realize that 21 were Catholic. He says this to show the strength of the Catholic saints. The only problem is he lists people like Augustine, St. Justin the Martyr, and Thomas Aquinas. Does he not understand that all Christian traditions have the same shared history? Augustine and Justin are as much Catholic as Orthodox or Protestant. They are part of the undivided church therefore in everyone's family tree. There are also false claims such as Rome/Orthodox are the only ones to have apostolic succession. Anglicans and Coptics do as well. He says the Catholic church has not ever changed her doctrine or lowered her standards, which is patently not true.
In the end, this book didn't receive a low rating because I have problems with Roman Catholic theology (which I do). It gets a low rating because it is unfocused, erroneous, and doesn't seriously engage with other catholic traditions.
In this book, Kreeft sets to give 40 reasons why he is a Roman Catholic. The first major problem with this book is that it lacks a focused audience. Most of the time Kreeft's reasons are general reasons which could apply to any Christian tradition. For example, #6 is "to get my sins forgiven", #19 "because of what the Bible tells me", #30 "because only the church can whup the devil", #39 is because "I value reason". Throughout the book, Kreeft alternates between using Catholic as a synonym for Christian and using it to distinguish it from Protestant faith. I was hoping it was going to be 40 reasons why he's a Roman Catholic instead of 30 reasons he's a Christian and 10 reasons why he's a Catholic (ballpark number). In the end, it becomes an alternating mesh of defending Christianity to the unbelieving world and a polemic against Protestants instead of focusing on one audience.
The second major problem is that Kreeft does not seriously engage with differing catholic traditions such as Orthodox, Coptic, and Anglican. In fact, the total engagement with all 3 traditions combined would likely be less than half a page.
The third major problem is Kreeft seems to not be really familiar with non-Catholic traditions or he straw-mans their position. For example, he says that protestants only care about a legal relationship to God and not being transformed into a new person. He cites protestants as wanting to be "viewed" as holy because of Christ but it is Catholics who want to be "born again" by being metaphysically changed. Excuse me? The evangelical tradition places a heavy emphasis on being born again by becoming a brand new changed person. As another example, he recounts making a list of his 25 favorite theologians and came to realize that 21 were Catholic. He says this to show the strength of the Catholic saints. The only problem is he lists people like Augustine, St. Justin the Martyr, and Thomas Aquinas. Does he not understand that all Christian traditions have the same shared history? Augustine and Justin are as much Catholic as Orthodox or Protestant. They are part of the undivided church therefore in everyone's family tree. There are also false claims such as Rome/Orthodox are the only ones to have apostolic succession. Anglicans and Coptics do as well. He says the Catholic church has not ever changed her doctrine or lowered her standards, which is patently not true.
In the end, this book didn't receive a low rating because I have problems with Roman Catholic theology (which I do). It gets a low rating because it is unfocused, erroneous, and doesn't seriously engage with other catholic traditions.
February 11, 2023
I recall, shortly after Sinéad O'Connor tore a photo of Pope John Paul II in half on Saturday Night Live and then said "Fight the real enemy!" I was musing about this in my high school locker room. I was not (and am not Catholic) though I was (and am) a Christian. At the time I made a comment along the lines of 'Good on her' to the horror of every Catholic in the locker room (I don't think there were more than 1 or 2).
I have to say, I had no real animosity toward the pope, and since have gained a great deal of respect. I did have issues with authority and I think my comment was probably more about sticking it to the man than it was about that particular man.
All that said, being raised a protestant, I have always had some issues with the Catholic church. The concept of the infallibility of the pope, after all, he is just a man and there have been some terrible ones in the history of the Catholic church. Then there was that business with Galileo, and the selling of indulgences and the inquisition... Yeah, it seemed to me the Catholic faith had a lot to answer for.
I'm not sure I was wrong on this front, however I was wrong about Catholicism and the Church in general. The wisdom and the tradition of the faith have a depth not matched anywhere else.
Peter Kreeft has written a powerful list of reasons he is a Catholic. He wasn't always, he was a Calvinist (brother of my own Presbyterian faith) and he converted because he found compelling reasons to convert. I find his arguments compelling, I'm not there yet, but he has given me a lot to think about.
My apologies to those young men in that locker room all those years ago, I was wrong.
I have to say, I had no real animosity toward the pope, and since have gained a great deal of respect. I did have issues with authority and I think my comment was probably more about sticking it to the man than it was about that particular man.
All that said, being raised a protestant, I have always had some issues with the Catholic church. The concept of the infallibility of the pope, after all, he is just a man and there have been some terrible ones in the history of the Catholic church. Then there was that business with Galileo, and the selling of indulgences and the inquisition... Yeah, it seemed to me the Catholic faith had a lot to answer for.
I'm not sure I was wrong on this front, however I was wrong about Catholicism and the Church in general. The wisdom and the tradition of the faith have a depth not matched anywhere else.
Peter Kreeft has written a powerful list of reasons he is a Catholic. He wasn't always, he was a Calvinist (brother of my own Presbyterian faith) and he converted because he found compelling reasons to convert. I find his arguments compelling, I'm not there yet, but he has given me a lot to think about.
My apologies to those young men in that locker room all those years ago, I was wrong.
April 15, 2018
The book description got my attention. “There are more than 40 reasons. (I am Catholic) In fact, there are at least ten to 82nd power, which, I am told, is the number of atoms in the universe.” (Love that!)
Kreeft says each reason is an independent point so there is no hierarchy of reasons. Each reason is stated and then explained in a short and pithy manner.
Having read Kreeft before I am used to his manner. Some of his reasons are very theological and deep but he has a gift in explaining these in a simple lucid style and through use of analogies. Some of the reasons are not “deep” but certainly great reasons that I had not thought about previously. For example Reason 32 : Because of the Movies. “Whenever they make a serious movie and religion is in it, it’s always a Catholic church and a Catholic priest that they use.”
I highly recommend this for Catholics. It’s certainly not a “preaching to the choir” book. Made this Catholic really think through my own reasons to be Catholic.
Kreeft says each reason is an independent point so there is no hierarchy of reasons. Each reason is stated and then explained in a short and pithy manner.
Having read Kreeft before I am used to his manner. Some of his reasons are very theological and deep but he has a gift in explaining these in a simple lucid style and through use of analogies. Some of the reasons are not “deep” but certainly great reasons that I had not thought about previously. For example Reason 32 : Because of the Movies. “Whenever they make a serious movie and religion is in it, it’s always a Catholic church and a Catholic priest that they use.”
I highly recommend this for Catholics. It’s certainly not a “preaching to the choir” book. Made this Catholic really think through my own reasons to be Catholic.
January 16, 2024
I love Peter Kreeft! It is good to learn another perspective. He did not persuade me but he is well reasoned and speaks from the heart. I understand more about what it means to be catholic.
April 21, 2025
The low score for this book has little to do with disagreements I have with the author on the subject matter. As another reviewer mentioned, the 40 reasons had little to do with Catholicism and more to do with Christianity proper, yet each point seemed to be used as a jab at Protestants. This would have been fine and preferred if it weren’t for the fact that there is much overlapping agreement on the majority of the points between Catholics and Protestants. It was like reading 40 reasons why I’m a democrat and the points are things like “I affirm freedom of speech.” And “Because I love America.” And similar trite things. Out of character for an author I have respected in his field.
March 30, 2025
M-a pus pe gânduri legat de multe teme. Unele argumente mi s-au părut foarte bune. Altele parcă nu le-am înțeles, de exemplu capitolele despre îngeri sau sfinți. E o carte scurtă, evident că nu cuprinde toate argumentele, nuanțele, detaliile posibile.
December 30, 2023
Peter Kreeft is brilliant, and I have benefited from several of his other books. I didn’t expect to agree with him, but I wanted to be challenged by someone I knew to be thoughtful and well-reasoned. I was expecting something much better than this.
Kreeft is preaching to the choir in this book, and he will not convince non-Catholics. He asserts far more than he argues. He assumes the conclusion (the RCC is true) as a premise in point after point. He sets up straw man versions of Protestantism all over the place. And nearly all of the good points he makes apply equally to Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Part of the problem is that he seems to not know if he’s trying to persuade non-Christians or non-Catholic Christians.
I will say that there are some well-written, funny sections of this that I enjoyed or found inspiring, but those passages did not make up for the uncharacteristically sloppy reasoning of this book.
Kreeft is preaching to the choir in this book, and he will not convince non-Catholics. He asserts far more than he argues. He assumes the conclusion (the RCC is true) as a premise in point after point. He sets up straw man versions of Protestantism all over the place. And nearly all of the good points he makes apply equally to Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Part of the problem is that he seems to not know if he’s trying to persuade non-Christians or non-Catholic Christians.
I will say that there are some well-written, funny sections of this that I enjoyed or found inspiring, but those passages did not make up for the uncharacteristically sloppy reasoning of this book.
April 9, 2021
40 dôvodov prečo byť katolíkom.
"..ak to nie je pravda a cirkev je len čisto ľudská organizácia a nie božský organizmus, potom je tá najprepracovanejšia a najabsurdnejšia lož, lesť, fikcia, podvod, výplod fantázie alebo kanadský žartík na svete. "
V knihe sa mi páčilo množstvo autorových zamyslení a výrokov a určite sa k tejto knihe budem vracať a odporúčať aj iným.
"..ak to nie je pravda a cirkev je len čisto ľudská organizácia a nie božský organizmus, potom je tá najprepracovanejšia a najabsurdnejšia lož, lesť, fikcia, podvod, výplod fantázie alebo kanadský žartík na svete. "
V knihe sa mi páčilo množstvo autorových zamyslení a výrokov a určite sa k tejto knihe budem vracať a odporúčať aj iným.
April 17, 2019
I used this as one of my Lenten meditations. I then used it for my CCD students. I’d like to have a copy for all the folks I know who left the Faith.
October 12, 2025
As a Protestant, I found this book by Kreeft to be a clear, concise, and helpful summary of Catholic beliefs. While he lists 40 points about why he is a Roman Catholic, these points do not build on each other, and some may find the weakness of the book to be that he mainly just makes states what he believes as a Catholic, even if these claims don’t serve as reasoning for WHY he is Catholic. Also in typical Kreeft fashion, he makes a lot of over-generalizations concerning Protestant theological beliefs, but Kreeft always makes major generalizations in his writings, and I am particularly biased on this point considering that I am a Baptist. Kreeft also makes some historically suspicious claims at times about the unity of Catholic belief and dogma, almost as if he is unaware of the Great Schism. Still, there was a good bit to chew on from this little book. I have attached some insights below:
- "Jesus comes to us in his body today (the church), just as he came to us in his body 2,000 years ago. The church is the extension of his incarnation.”
- Kreeft provides very helpful explanations about Catholic convictions concerning Mariology and Purgatory. I am increasingly intrigued by views on Mary in Catholic and Orthodox traditions, though I find nothing compelling about teachings on Purgatory in the Catholic Church. Purgatory is a repulsive idea to me.
- The church is the efficient and formal cause of the New Testament-the NT is authored and canonized by the church.
- Denies that the Bible is infallible in its science since the Bible is not a scientific textbook.
- Protestants have forgotten the communion of saints.
- Saints are books to be read. We read Christ in them.
- Church membership is not membership in a club or society as it is often thought today. Rather, to be a church member is to be a spiritual member of Christ's body. The language of "member" is bodily language.
- Salvation is not a legal fiction but a metaphysical fact. Kreeft also has a good and challenging chapter on the point that Catholics write on metaphysics more than Protestants do. This point is actually very true, and I would love to see more and more work from Protestants on metaphysics.
- Kreeft believes that we cannot be certain of attaining heaven in this life. The entertaining of such a doubt for the Christian is honestly such a horrifying notion for me. I don’t see how this view is a reason FOR wanting to believe in Catholic dogma…
- Everything is sacramental.
Overall, if you are looking for a great, clear, and concise introduction to Catholic belief that you can read in a sitting, I would recommend starting here—even though Kreeft performs some fallacious argumentation at times, but who doesn’t?
- "Jesus comes to us in his body today (the church), just as he came to us in his body 2,000 years ago. The church is the extension of his incarnation.”
- Kreeft provides very helpful explanations about Catholic convictions concerning Mariology and Purgatory. I am increasingly intrigued by views on Mary in Catholic and Orthodox traditions, though I find nothing compelling about teachings on Purgatory in the Catholic Church. Purgatory is a repulsive idea to me.
- The church is the efficient and formal cause of the New Testament-the NT is authored and canonized by the church.
- Denies that the Bible is infallible in its science since the Bible is not a scientific textbook.
- Protestants have forgotten the communion of saints.
- Saints are books to be read. We read Christ in them.
- Church membership is not membership in a club or society as it is often thought today. Rather, to be a church member is to be a spiritual member of Christ's body. The language of "member" is bodily language.
- Salvation is not a legal fiction but a metaphysical fact. Kreeft also has a good and challenging chapter on the point that Catholics write on metaphysics more than Protestants do. This point is actually very true, and I would love to see more and more work from Protestants on metaphysics.
- Kreeft believes that we cannot be certain of attaining heaven in this life. The entertaining of such a doubt for the Christian is honestly such a horrifying notion for me. I don’t see how this view is a reason FOR wanting to believe in Catholic dogma…
- Everything is sacramental.
Overall, if you are looking for a great, clear, and concise introduction to Catholic belief that you can read in a sitting, I would recommend starting here—even though Kreeft performs some fallacious argumentation at times, but who doesn’t?
Read
December 1, 2024A punchy, fun, intelligent and challenging (not difficult, but will put you back into shape about the intense and awesome realities of the Faith. I’d highly recommend this to all of my non-Catholic friends, especially Protestants, as Dr. Kreeft is a Protestant convert. The format is also super helpful because it’s just forty 1-3 page “chapters” that you can read in a minute or two each. I recommend meditating on them a little bit longer than that though.
Kreeft really shows, in a natural and human way, how Christ and His Church fulfill everything — maybe (probably) not in the way you expect, but in the way you need. The puzzle pieces of the world fit together with the Divine Master as the center — “seek ye first…and all these things will be added on to you”
Definitely going to go through this every now and then.
Kreeft really shows, in a natural and human way, how Christ and His Church fulfill everything — maybe (probably) not in the way you expect, but in the way you need. The puzzle pieces of the world fit together with the Divine Master as the center — “seek ye first…and all these things will be added on to you”
Definitely going to go through this every now and then.
June 25, 2024
Well, I wanted a short book on Catholicism. I got a myopic, poorly researched, and completely unaware description of the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism that I have listened to in quite some time. The author’s pedigree lends one to think he would have thought more deeply on this topic.
May 18, 2024
I’m not a Catholic, but if I ever am, it might be due to some of these reasons!
October 22, 2025
So good. An amazing and compelling book. Who's smart or wise enough to argue with Peter Kreeft?!
September 25, 2023
I have never read a book on doctrine and theology that has so few scripture references as this book. Kreeft also has a very limited and, quite frankly, ignorant understanding of Protestant beliefs and theology. His presuppositional position that anything Catholic is automatically correct keeps him from interpreting scripture properly and blinds him from seeing any other position as even possible. I read this book to have a better understanding of Catholic positions and it has left me even more confused and unable to articulate just exactly how Catholic doctrines came to be and how they can be supported - other than to just say they are because the church says they are.
August 10, 2025
I honestly like Peter Kreeft. Not for his books do I like him, but because he reminds me of lonely times during the COVID years when I was at the height of my depression and had gained a passion for Christianity. I listened to his podcasts and he was very fun. His books are funny. And they are also very stupid -- if I am allowed to say this without being very rude.
There is not one argument in this book, only assertions. At times, I feel like I'm reading the Catholic equivalent of Noam Chomsky, Bernie Sanders, Ibram X. Kendi, or Angela Davis. They're all dead from the neck up. I did not appreciate that. When I read, for example, Swinburne, Kenny, or Plantinga, who all talk about religion in superb and beautiful ways, I am always inspired even if I do not agree with them, and I enjoy dissecting their arguments and learning from them. There's nothing to learn from this book or Kreeft. I would recommend this book to those who, like me, like Kreeft. But to everyone else, avoid this book.
There is not one argument in this book, only assertions. At times, I feel like I'm reading the Catholic equivalent of Noam Chomsky, Bernie Sanders, Ibram X. Kendi, or Angela Davis. They're all dead from the neck up. I did not appreciate that. When I read, for example, Swinburne, Kenny, or Plantinga, who all talk about religion in superb and beautiful ways, I am always inspired even if I do not agree with them, and I enjoy dissecting their arguments and learning from them. There's nothing to learn from this book or Kreeft. I would recommend this book to those who, like me, like Kreeft. But to everyone else, avoid this book.
May 31, 2023
The book presents 40 great reasons to be Catholic and in that sense it is a very rich reading, I would say. However I gave it only 3 stars because although this books is meant to be a short and fast introduction to the most hot button topics regarding adherence to Catholic Church and why one would be compelled by these reasons to do that, some parts are not very explicit and it might be a little bit hard to understand what the author meant, IF you don't have some background in the Catholic Faith or in Christianity at all.
I am curious how my 18 y.o. brother' take would be on this one, since I gifted him this book to spark some conversations or at least to raise some questions about faith, life, formation, growth etc.
I am curious how my 18 y.o. brother' take would be on this one, since I gifted him this book to spark some conversations or at least to raise some questions about faith, life, formation, growth etc.
September 26, 2025
Kreeft makes some pretty complex arguments here, but he does so very simply.
December 30, 2023
You will be disappointed by this book if you think that you are going to get the kind of thoughtful, charitable, and careful work that you may have read by Kreeft elsewhere. Was it whipped off in a hurry to meet a deadline? In a spell of arrogance? Without the customary proofreaders? I can't say, but the result is a sadly inferior work.
One major defect of the book is that it is hard to understand for what audience Kreeft thinks he is writing. Some of his reasons are reasons he is a Christian, as opposed to not a Christian. But most of his focus is on Catholicism in hotly dogmatic (even bigoted) opposition to "Protestantism." He seems to think the fact that there are '20,000' denominations is a foolproof indictment of all Protestantism, and is so proud of it that he trots it out several times [see esp #29]. It doesn't seem to occur to him that there is a need to establish the truth of Catholicism in order to demonstrate that it is not merely one of '20,001.' Nor does it occur to him that WITHIN Catholicism there have been differing views of scripture. He also appears (I cannot believe that so educated a man actually IS) to be totally ignorant of the existence of millions of Christians throughout the ages that were members of Oriental Orthodox churches--established by apostolic succession--living in Persia, India, etc. He insists, "I am a Catholic because I want to believe the same things that Jesus taught, and that his apostles, and their successors, and every single Christian in the world believed for 1500 years." He reiterates that EVERY SINGLE Christian believed the Catholic church's minutiae, and the Protestants suddenly came along with a pile of heresies and cut away large swaths of doctrine. Hogwash. Even every Catholic in the past would not agree with every stance of the church today, such as the four Marian dogmas, let alone the polity of the church.
He loves to create little dilemmas that are not based on actual beliefs, or that have a sophistic appearance of a syllogism. For instance, in #13 he presents us with, "If the church is fallible, as protestants say, she cannot produce an infallible effect in the Bible." But he has already assumed in Catholic fashion that the Bible is a gift of the church (and he means the Roman Catholic church, not the church universal), not a God-breathed gift as most protestants would frame the matter. As elsewhere, he assumes the key piece a priori. Did (infallible) God give the Bible, or did the Church?
To persuade us of the truth of purgatory, he argues "Even though God has remitted His just punishments for all my deeds, I think he will say to me as he leads me through the door, . . . before you sit down at the dining room table, would you not want to take a good hot cleansing bath first, for you are full of dirt, and dung, and bugs, in fact you stink." [35] Apparently, Kreeft's thinking makes it so. No need for Bible references, or even authoritative appeal to the Fathers. Just "I think, therefore it is."
What are we to make of such incredibly porous and problematic reasons such as "I am a Catholic because of Hollywood. Hollywood knows that the alternative . . . is Catholicism. Whenever they make a serious movie, and religion is in it, it's always a Catholic church, and a Catholic priest, that they use. "[32] Is he seriously arguing that he is taking is cues for religious truth from unnamed Hollywood producers? And does he really think that blockbusters like Chariots of Fire were about Catholics?
Two great quotes. The book does have its moments:
"Nearly every rebellion against the church today is about sex and sexual morality. It is the chief engine for moral relativism."31
"Every heretic in history believed in and appealed to the Bible." Excellent point, although its context about 20,000 interpretations of the Bible is disingenuous. Most denominations agree on the major points and can cooperate together.
In conclusion, I felt as though I has stumbled upon a book meant to be circulated among Catholic circles to wink and snicker with condescension at Protestants, written to willfully misrepresent those Protestants' views, by a man who clearly knows (or ought to know) better. I have read several other Catholic authors, who came across generally more charitable than this particular work of Kreeft. Of course even Kreeft himself elsewhere does so. This book will not bring new Catholics into the fold, but it may convince a few people that Catholics are simply ignorant of other Christian traditions outside the dominion of the Roman pontiff.
One major defect of the book is that it is hard to understand for what audience Kreeft thinks he is writing. Some of his reasons are reasons he is a Christian, as opposed to not a Christian. But most of his focus is on Catholicism in hotly dogmatic (even bigoted) opposition to "Protestantism." He seems to think the fact that there are '20,000' denominations is a foolproof indictment of all Protestantism, and is so proud of it that he trots it out several times [see esp #29]. It doesn't seem to occur to him that there is a need to establish the truth of Catholicism in order to demonstrate that it is not merely one of '20,001.' Nor does it occur to him that WITHIN Catholicism there have been differing views of scripture. He also appears (I cannot believe that so educated a man actually IS) to be totally ignorant of the existence of millions of Christians throughout the ages that were members of Oriental Orthodox churches--established by apostolic succession--living in Persia, India, etc. He insists, "I am a Catholic because I want to believe the same things that Jesus taught, and that his apostles, and their successors, and every single Christian in the world believed for 1500 years." He reiterates that EVERY SINGLE Christian believed the Catholic church's minutiae, and the Protestants suddenly came along with a pile of heresies and cut away large swaths of doctrine. Hogwash. Even every Catholic in the past would not agree with every stance of the church today, such as the four Marian dogmas, let alone the polity of the church.
He loves to create little dilemmas that are not based on actual beliefs, or that have a sophistic appearance of a syllogism. For instance, in #13 he presents us with, "If the church is fallible, as protestants say, she cannot produce an infallible effect in the Bible." But he has already assumed in Catholic fashion that the Bible is a gift of the church (and he means the Roman Catholic church, not the church universal), not a God-breathed gift as most protestants would frame the matter. As elsewhere, he assumes the key piece a priori. Did (infallible) God give the Bible, or did the Church?
To persuade us of the truth of purgatory, he argues "Even though God has remitted His just punishments for all my deeds, I think he will say to me as he leads me through the door, . . . before you sit down at the dining room table, would you not want to take a good hot cleansing bath first, for you are full of dirt, and dung, and bugs, in fact you stink." [35] Apparently, Kreeft's thinking makes it so. No need for Bible references, or even authoritative appeal to the Fathers. Just "I think, therefore it is."
What are we to make of such incredibly porous and problematic reasons such as "I am a Catholic because of Hollywood. Hollywood knows that the alternative . . . is Catholicism. Whenever they make a serious movie, and religion is in it, it's always a Catholic church, and a Catholic priest, that they use. "[32] Is he seriously arguing that he is taking is cues for religious truth from unnamed Hollywood producers? And does he really think that blockbusters like Chariots of Fire were about Catholics?
Two great quotes. The book does have its moments:
"Nearly every rebellion against the church today is about sex and sexual morality. It is the chief engine for moral relativism."31
"Every heretic in history believed in and appealed to the Bible." Excellent point, although its context about 20,000 interpretations of the Bible is disingenuous. Most denominations agree on the major points and can cooperate together.
In conclusion, I felt as though I has stumbled upon a book meant to be circulated among Catholic circles to wink and snicker with condescension at Protestants, written to willfully misrepresent those Protestants' views, by a man who clearly knows (or ought to know) better. I have read several other Catholic authors, who came across generally more charitable than this particular work of Kreeft. Of course even Kreeft himself elsewhere does so. This book will not bring new Catholics into the fold, but it may convince a few people that Catholics are simply ignorant of other Christian traditions outside the dominion of the Roman pontiff.
August 13, 2024
I appreciate hearing people's own testimonies about why they hold to a certain belief. You can read and study what a certain position believes, but that doesn't mean that everyone who claims to hold that position believes the same thing, nor the reasons why they say they believe certain things. So I was very interested in this book.
I knew going into the reading that this was not intended to be a theological, logical argument and case for why anyone else should be a Catholic, but rather a personal testimony about why the author was a Catholic. So I expected that. What I did not expect was the amount of circular reasoning and the number of logical and factual errors that I found. I started off trying to keep track of all of them, but eventually gave up because of the sheer number of them. I can't list all of them, but I can list a few at the end.
I have a hard time giving any book a 1 star rating, but I seriously considered it for this one, because of how much of it was factually/logically wrong. However, since the title of the book is "40 Reasons I am a Catholic" and not "40 True and Logical Reasons To Be A Catholic" I can give it 2 stars. Maybe they are factually/logically wrong, or extremely weak reasons, they are his reasons, so in that case he is telling the truth.
–––––––––
Some examples of fallacies and poor arguments
"I need a mother in heaven as well as a father. Jesus had a divine father as well as a human mother. A heavenly father as well an an earthly mother. I need the same. The Christian is to be a 'little Christ' therefore the Christian needs a divine father, as well as a human, spiritual mother, Mary."
This is logically inconsistent. Jesus had a human and an earthly mother, you also have a human and earthly mother… the mother who birthed you. If you need the same thing as Jesus, then the woman who birthed you is your mother.
"The Church gave us the Bible. The infallible is greater than the fallible, therefore the infallible cannot be caused by the fallible. That is also logically self-evident. Either the Church is fallible or infallible. That is also logically self-evident. Therefore if the New Testament is infallible, then the Church must be infallible, and if the Church is not infallible, then New Testament is not either. Logically those are the only possibilities."
This is a logical fallacy. Take this same reasoning: The pope and other leaders in the Church are fallible (which the Catholic Church recognizes. They claim the Pope is only infallible when speaking ex cathedra.) And if the infallible cannot be caused by the fallible (as claimed). Then any teaching from the Church leadership must be fallible.
"All Christians believed the exact same thing until the 1500's when Protestants came."
What about the Great Schism in 1054 AD and Orthodox Christians? Did he really just forget about that?
"The Church has never once changed her teaching."
The whole reason the Catholic and Orthodox Churches split in 1054 AD was because the Roman Catholic Church was changing the Nicene Creed which was affirmed by the Church to be unchangeable dogma. Those who held the Orthodox said it should not be changed, but Rome disagreed and changed it. (Along with many other changes over the years.)
"I am a Catholic because of cathedrals." – "Cathedrals are technological miracles, centuries ahead of their time. … Cathedrals of music and cathedrals of stone and glass have the same power and have the same unanswerable argument, if you do not put up defenses, they are irresistible. To resist their upward gravity, you have to call on the devil's forces of downward gravity."
What about Mosques? Are they not grand and beautiful. Why couldn't someone make the same argument about Mosques? Or even Orthodox Cathedrals? Who is the standard to judge?
"I am a Catholic because of the movies." – "Hollywood knows that opposite of secularism, and materialism, and skepticism, and agnosticism, and atheism, and nihilism, is Catholicism. Whenever they make a serious movie and and church is in it, it's always a Catholic church and a Catholic priest that they use."
Personally, I wouldn't really consider Hollywood a good source for determining what I believe to be absolute truth…
I knew going into the reading that this was not intended to be a theological, logical argument and case for why anyone else should be a Catholic, but rather a personal testimony about why the author was a Catholic. So I expected that. What I did not expect was the amount of circular reasoning and the number of logical and factual errors that I found. I started off trying to keep track of all of them, but eventually gave up because of the sheer number of them. I can't list all of them, but I can list a few at the end.
I have a hard time giving any book a 1 star rating, but I seriously considered it for this one, because of how much of it was factually/logically wrong. However, since the title of the book is "40 Reasons I am a Catholic" and not "40 True and Logical Reasons To Be A Catholic" I can give it 2 stars. Maybe they are factually/logically wrong, or extremely weak reasons, they are his reasons, so in that case he is telling the truth.
–––––––––
Some examples of fallacies and poor arguments
"I need a mother in heaven as well as a father. Jesus had a divine father as well as a human mother. A heavenly father as well an an earthly mother. I need the same. The Christian is to be a 'little Christ' therefore the Christian needs a divine father, as well as a human, spiritual mother, Mary."
This is logically inconsistent. Jesus had a human and an earthly mother, you also have a human and earthly mother… the mother who birthed you. If you need the same thing as Jesus, then the woman who birthed you is your mother.
"The Church gave us the Bible. The infallible is greater than the fallible, therefore the infallible cannot be caused by the fallible. That is also logically self-evident. Either the Church is fallible or infallible. That is also logically self-evident. Therefore if the New Testament is infallible, then the Church must be infallible, and if the Church is not infallible, then New Testament is not either. Logically those are the only possibilities."
This is a logical fallacy. Take this same reasoning: The pope and other leaders in the Church are fallible (which the Catholic Church recognizes. They claim the Pope is only infallible when speaking ex cathedra.) And if the infallible cannot be caused by the fallible (as claimed). Then any teaching from the Church leadership must be fallible.
"All Christians believed the exact same thing until the 1500's when Protestants came."
What about the Great Schism in 1054 AD and Orthodox Christians? Did he really just forget about that?
"The Church has never once changed her teaching."
The whole reason the Catholic and Orthodox Churches split in 1054 AD was because the Roman Catholic Church was changing the Nicene Creed which was affirmed by the Church to be unchangeable dogma. Those who held the Orthodox said it should not be changed, but Rome disagreed and changed it. (Along with many other changes over the years.)
"I am a Catholic because of cathedrals." – "Cathedrals are technological miracles, centuries ahead of their time. … Cathedrals of music and cathedrals of stone and glass have the same power and have the same unanswerable argument, if you do not put up defenses, they are irresistible. To resist their upward gravity, you have to call on the devil's forces of downward gravity."
What about Mosques? Are they not grand and beautiful. Why couldn't someone make the same argument about Mosques? Or even Orthodox Cathedrals? Who is the standard to judge?
"I am a Catholic because of the movies." – "Hollywood knows that opposite of secularism, and materialism, and skepticism, and agnosticism, and atheism, and nihilism, is Catholicism. Whenever they make a serious movie and and church is in it, it's always a Catholic church and a Catholic priest that they use."
Personally, I wouldn't really consider Hollywood a good source for determining what I believe to be absolute truth…
April 22, 2025
I think I'd give this two stars if I didn't absolutely love and deeply admire Dr. Kreeft and if he failed to include the two absolute gems that were Reasons 19 and 35: "Because of what the Bible tells me" and "Because I need Purgatory" respectively. Reason 19 actually contains an argument using premises (and a good one at that!), and Reason 35 is something that we will quote a hundred years from now when he is a canonized saint (and the idea is obviously taken in part from C. S. Lewis, but that's okay).
This is simply not a good work of apologetics. I originally bought this in the hopes that I could share it with non-Catholic friends. After reading it, I have decided that it would be a very bad idea to give this to a Protestant friend and expect it to inspire any interest in Catholicism. There are very few clear arguments. The book is mostly assertions with explanations of what he means rather than justifications.
There were a few lovely quips that reveal Dr. Kreeft's wit and wisdom in other places, but they were things I had already heard him say in his interviews on Pints with Aquinas, and so I never made note of them.
The most straightforward and devastating criticism of the book is that it is impossible to tell who the audience is supposed to be. I have no idea if it is meant to be an apologetic work, a little bit of preaching to the choir, or just something that Dr. Kreeft fancied writing.
I am largely disappointed with this book. But another bonus point is that it was unbelievably easy to read. I'm expending more effort on this review than I did reading this book, it's just that easy. And that's something I love about Dr. Kreeft. Maybe this is something to give to your non-Catholic friends AFTER you've already made them watch each of his interviews on Pints with Aquinas and shared other, better, books of his with them. But even then, don't be surprised if those Protestant friends of yours text you and complain about it.
This is simply not a good work of apologetics. I originally bought this in the hopes that I could share it with non-Catholic friends. After reading it, I have decided that it would be a very bad idea to give this to a Protestant friend and expect it to inspire any interest in Catholicism. There are very few clear arguments. The book is mostly assertions with explanations of what he means rather than justifications.
There were a few lovely quips that reveal Dr. Kreeft's wit and wisdom in other places, but they were things I had already heard him say in his interviews on Pints with Aquinas, and so I never made note of them.
The most straightforward and devastating criticism of the book is that it is impossible to tell who the audience is supposed to be. I have no idea if it is meant to be an apologetic work, a little bit of preaching to the choir, or just something that Dr. Kreeft fancied writing.
I am largely disappointed with this book. But another bonus point is that it was unbelievably easy to read. I'm expending more effort on this review than I did reading this book, it's just that easy. And that's something I love about Dr. Kreeft. Maybe this is something to give to your non-Catholic friends AFTER you've already made them watch each of his interviews on Pints with Aquinas and shared other, better, books of his with them. But even then, don't be surprised if those Protestant friends of yours text you and complain about it.
April 17, 2018
Dr. Peter Kreeft is one of the most well-known Catholics in the United States. He is a professor of philosophy and a prolific author, penning over 40 books on philosophy, theology, and apologetics. His most recent book is entitled Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic. Before I talk about the book, I would like to clarify that Dr. Kreeft explains that there are well more than 40 reasons he is Catholic. He simply wrote down 40 reasons, because he believes a good question (Why are you a Catholic?) deserves a good answer, or 40 in this case.
The book is not systematically organized by topic, but instead is just 40 concrete examples from Dr. Kreeft's life. Each chapter is only a few pages long with the longest being six pages. His first reason sounds simple, "because he believes it's true," but it is deeper than that. He is Catholic because he believes it holds Jesus' truth, and ends this chapter by telling people that they should only convert to Catholicism if they believe it is true. If they don't believe that, don't become Catholic or leave the Church, because hypocrisy is a grave sin. Other examples in this book range from his belief of Jesus in the Eucharist and the sacrament of Confession to something so personal as his mother.
The book is written in a very accessible and approachable language. It is very easy to read through, but Dr. Kreeft doesn't dumb anything down, and presents sound philosophical arguments for his serious reasons. (Don't expect one for the chapter on because of the movies.) This book is good for non-Catholics who wonder why you are Catholic, teens/young adults who are in the questioning stage of their life and going off to college, or Catholics who have been Catholic for a long time but sometimes wonder or question why they are Catholic. I highly recommend it and will be passing this book along to others.
The book is not systematically organized by topic, but instead is just 40 concrete examples from Dr. Kreeft's life. Each chapter is only a few pages long with the longest being six pages. His first reason sounds simple, "because he believes it's true," but it is deeper than that. He is Catholic because he believes it holds Jesus' truth, and ends this chapter by telling people that they should only convert to Catholicism if they believe it is true. If they don't believe that, don't become Catholic or leave the Church, because hypocrisy is a grave sin. Other examples in this book range from his belief of Jesus in the Eucharist and the sacrament of Confession to something so personal as his mother.
The book is written in a very accessible and approachable language. It is very easy to read through, but Dr. Kreeft doesn't dumb anything down, and presents sound philosophical arguments for his serious reasons. (Don't expect one for the chapter on because of the movies.) This book is good for non-Catholics who wonder why you are Catholic, teens/young adults who are in the questioning stage of their life and going off to college, or Catholics who have been Catholic for a long time but sometimes wonder or question why they are Catholic. I highly recommend it and will be passing this book along to others.
February 17, 2022
I think Symbol Or Substance? A Dialogue on the Eucharist with C. S. Lewis, Billy Graham and J. R. R. Tolkien, by the same author, is a better book on the most important difference between Protestants and Catholics. Quite a few of Kreeft's forty reasons come back to the Eucharist.
The tone of this book is a bit harsh, and he seems to enjoy dwelling on the aspects of the Catholic Church that are most foreign to Protestants, like our Mother in Heaven. I guess I was expecting "Forty reasons why you should be a Catholic", which it obviously is not. This is his personal declaration.
I think he does a good job of arguing against sola scriptura. See some of the quotes below.
"That Christ should entrust His mission to such jackasses is astonishing — as was His choice of that same beast to carry Him into the holy city to do His holiest work, on the Cross."
"Every Bible-believing Protestant I know who has read the Catechism of the Catholic Church has been surprised how biblical it all is."
"History shows that we need the Church to interpret the Bible rightly, for every heretic in history has appealed to the Bible to justify his rejection of the Church. Sola scriptura has produced twenty thousand heresies, twenty thousand alternative churches: theological chaos."
"It was the Church, not the Bible, who gave us the great Christological and Trinitarian creeds. (The words Trinity and Incarnation are not even mentioned in the Bible!)"
"As the human face of a saint such as Mother Teresa shows forth visibly the invisible beauty of her spirit, so a cathedral shows forth the spiritual beauty of the Catholic Church, her personality."
The tone of this book is a bit harsh, and he seems to enjoy dwelling on the aspects of the Catholic Church that are most foreign to Protestants, like our Mother in Heaven. I guess I was expecting "Forty reasons why you should be a Catholic", which it obviously is not. This is his personal declaration.
I think he does a good job of arguing against sola scriptura. See some of the quotes below.
"That Christ should entrust His mission to such jackasses is astonishing — as was His choice of that same beast to carry Him into the holy city to do His holiest work, on the Cross."
"Every Bible-believing Protestant I know who has read the Catechism of the Catholic Church has been surprised how biblical it all is."
"History shows that we need the Church to interpret the Bible rightly, for every heretic in history has appealed to the Bible to justify his rejection of the Church. Sola scriptura has produced twenty thousand heresies, twenty thousand alternative churches: theological chaos."
"It was the Church, not the Bible, who gave us the great Christological and Trinitarian creeds. (The words Trinity and Incarnation are not even mentioned in the Bible!)"
"As the human face of a saint such as Mother Teresa shows forth visibly the invisible beauty of her spirit, so a cathedral shows forth the spiritual beauty of the Catholic Church, her personality."
January 27, 2024
“Most readers remember only a few big ideas or separate points after reading a book. I’ve never heard anyone say, ‘Oh, that was a good continuous-process-of-logically-ordered argumentation,’ but I’ve often heard people say, ‘Oh, that was a good point.’”
I really enjoyed this book for what it is. This book does not pretend to be a deeply rigorous defense of the Catholic faith. This book will not move the needle on academic Catholic vs. Protestant debate. This book does not contain arguments that will, say, convince Gavin Ortlund to convert to Catholicism however it may help with conversations with your anti-Catholic neighbor. However, those who review it poorly on that fact would do well to read the author’s own words because this book is not written with that intent. It was written as a collection of common sense points and simple arguments from the personal lens of Peter Kreeft. A good book for learning Catholics, inquiring or curious non-Catholics, and as an easy fun read for any Catholic.
Chapters range from “Because I value reason” to “Because of cathedrals” to “Because of my mother.” There’s a wide range of bite-sized topics. Despite the chapters being so short, Peter Kreeft’s words often pack a heavy punch. Although his reasons aren’t fully fleshed out, he writes in a way that encourages thought and pondering. There are definitely quotes I will be thinking about a lot.
My only wish is that he would have covered a couple chapters on why he is Catholic rather than Orthodox.
4/5 Stars
I really enjoyed this book for what it is. This book does not pretend to be a deeply rigorous defense of the Catholic faith. This book will not move the needle on academic Catholic vs. Protestant debate. This book does not contain arguments that will, say, convince Gavin Ortlund to convert to Catholicism however it may help with conversations with your anti-Catholic neighbor. However, those who review it poorly on that fact would do well to read the author’s own words because this book is not written with that intent. It was written as a collection of common sense points and simple arguments from the personal lens of Peter Kreeft. A good book for learning Catholics, inquiring or curious non-Catholics, and as an easy fun read for any Catholic.
Chapters range from “Because I value reason” to “Because of cathedrals” to “Because of my mother.” There’s a wide range of bite-sized topics. Despite the chapters being so short, Peter Kreeft’s words often pack a heavy punch. Although his reasons aren’t fully fleshed out, he writes in a way that encourages thought and pondering. There are definitely quotes I will be thinking about a lot.
My only wish is that he would have covered a couple chapters on why he is Catholic rather than Orthodox.
4/5 Stars
June 27, 2022
I am a bit ambivalent about this book. There was one section in it that I loved -- the topic that explained the metaphysical understanding of the Catholic faith and how we become one with Christ through the eucharist. Kreeft did a fabulous job explaining a concept that is difficult for modern ears to hear. I'm grateful for it.
That said, the rest of the book was fairly elementary. If you're looking for a quick primer, this fits that bill, but I was hoping for a little more. It's more of a collection of terse explanations regarding the various tenets of the faith, which is great for some people. I'm just not sure that he had selected his target audience.
I will say that the book definitely gets better if you keep going. I initially decided that I would give up after reading just a couple of chapters (or a couple of his reasons) because I was bored. It just wasn't intellectually stimulating. Then I decided I would try to speed read through a little of it and see if it got better. It did get much better, so don't give up if you just start reading and it seems a little slow. This seems related to what I was saying about Kreeft not being sure of his target audience. Is he writing for non-Catholics, new Catholics, fallen away Catholics, or those who want to defend their faith? Trying to do all at once is bound to frustrate some.
All in all, a worthy read, but I do think that "Why I'm Catholic" by Trent Horn was a similar work that was presented better.
That said, the rest of the book was fairly elementary. If you're looking for a quick primer, this fits that bill, but I was hoping for a little more. It's more of a collection of terse explanations regarding the various tenets of the faith, which is great for some people. I'm just not sure that he had selected his target audience.
I will say that the book definitely gets better if you keep going. I initially decided that I would give up after reading just a couple of chapters (or a couple of his reasons) because I was bored. It just wasn't intellectually stimulating. Then I decided I would try to speed read through a little of it and see if it got better. It did get much better, so don't give up if you just start reading and it seems a little slow. This seems related to what I was saying about Kreeft not being sure of his target audience. Is he writing for non-Catholics, new Catholics, fallen away Catholics, or those who want to defend their faith? Trying to do all at once is bound to frustrate some.
All in all, a worthy read, but I do think that "Why I'm Catholic" by Trent Horn was a similar work that was presented better.
October 5, 2023
One reason I am not a Catholic. The Pope.
B. Grizenko
Edit:
He seemed, most of the time, to make arguments that could also apply to Protestantism. These parts were actually encouraging, which made me laugh. I didn't expect a Catholic to give me so many reasons to be a Protestant, rather than an agnostic or atheist.
There was one illuminating section where he argued you can't have divine infallibility of Scripture without the divine infallibility of the Church. I never knew Catholics put the cause of the Scriptures in the Church. Interesting idea. But flawed. He failed to show that both need to be true.
Mr personal favorite of his arguments--the cathedrals. Ah yes, if I was a Catholic, there is something to be proud of. Not sure that actually proves anything but corruption, but I digress.
His views in the Eucharist obviously were strange to me. I've studied the different viewpoints, but hearing him speak about it was different than a textbook. Do we get Jesus if there isn't body-and-blood presence? I think so. He accused Protestants of not understanding mystical things. But I believe I am present with Christ always, but specially so, in the Eucharist.
Lastly, I will pray for you, Peter Kreeft. May purgatory never be something you have to experience.
B. Grizenko
B. Grizenko
Edit:
He seemed, most of the time, to make arguments that could also apply to Protestantism. These parts were actually encouraging, which made me laugh. I didn't expect a Catholic to give me so many reasons to be a Protestant, rather than an agnostic or atheist.
There was one illuminating section where he argued you can't have divine infallibility of Scripture without the divine infallibility of the Church. I never knew Catholics put the cause of the Scriptures in the Church. Interesting idea. But flawed. He failed to show that both need to be true.
Mr personal favorite of his arguments--the cathedrals. Ah yes, if I was a Catholic, there is something to be proud of. Not sure that actually proves anything but corruption, but I digress.
His views in the Eucharist obviously were strange to me. I've studied the different viewpoints, but hearing him speak about it was different than a textbook. Do we get Jesus if there isn't body-and-blood presence? I think so. He accused Protestants of not understanding mystical things. But I believe I am present with Christ always, but specially so, in the Eucharist.
Lastly, I will pray for you, Peter Kreeft. May purgatory never be something you have to experience.
B. Grizenko
November 3, 2022
Short book, and fairly pithy. Not necessarily detailed explanation, and the peripheral items are not necessarily defined, but mentioned in passing. This can be a very good book for Catholics themselves to read, as this is written by a convert from Protestantism to Catholicism, so it can explain why someone who did not grow up in the tradition would convert... but also, many of us were poorly catechized, and Kreeft definitely emphasizes certain themes. You will hear about the Church as Christ's Body, the Eucharist as Christ's Body (yes, the Real Presence comes up multiple times), the Trinity, Purgatory, and more. But don't worry, it's not all theology lessons - there are also some references to culture, which you may find interesting.
If you're not Catholic, and may wonder what we believe and why, this gives you an introductory taste (and an invitation.... join us!) Yes, we believe these things to be true, and there is even more than Kreeft writes about here.
If you're not Catholic, and may wonder what we believe and why, this gives you an introductory taste (and an invitation.... join us!) Yes, we believe these things to be true, and there is even more than Kreeft writes about here.
February 12, 2025
Did not finish. This book should win an award for the book with the most uncharitable theological positions in the year it was published in. For instance, Kreeft completely butchers the Protestant view by stating that faith alone does not work because faith merely involves need, like the need of salvation. Rather, we need Christ to come and satisfy that need. Thus, faith alone fails. I know of no Protestant theologian who states that the object of faith, and indeed the ground of saving faith, namely Christ, is not comprehended within the doctrine of faith alone. Elsewhere, Kreeft states that Christ came to save one church, not a "harem of 20,000 denominations". I therefore think that Kreeft may be a reincarnated Catholic form of Christopher Hitchens. The rhetoric matches up.
June 14, 2025
This was... fine. I liked it well enough for what it is. Essentially, it’s a personal list of why Peter Kreeft, a former Protestant, became Catholic and stayed Catholic. It reads very much like a spiritual inventory rather than a deep dive. The reasons are clear, accessible, occasionally insightful, but don’t expect any major theological wrestling or nuance here. This is more a starting point than a serious exploration.
For someone brand new to Catholicism, it’s a nice intro. But if you’re looking for real depth or engagement with tougher questions, it stays pretty surface level. Personal, honest, but not particularly challenging. 3 out of 5 for me. I appreciated it, but I’m not exactly rushing to reread.
For someone brand new to Catholicism, it’s a nice intro. But if you’re looking for real depth or engagement with tougher questions, it stays pretty surface level. Personal, honest, but not particularly challenging. 3 out of 5 for me. I appreciated it, but I’m not exactly rushing to reread.
January 14, 2021
Peter Kreeft at his jolliest and most colloquial. Definitely a bracing refresher for Catholics (and especially converts like myself) as to why we believe what we believe. He pulls no punches at all when comparing and contrasting Catholic theology, teaching, and liturgy with Protestants (focusing, in general, on Reformed/Calvinists). I found it a hoot and a good reminder of all the many good things that drew me into the Church.
Recommended particularly for those who are "Catholic Curious," those who are lapsed Catholics, and practicing Catholics who want a happy warrior's summation of 40 wonderful reasons to learn, live, and share their faith.
Recommended particularly for those who are "Catholic Curious," those who are lapsed Catholics, and practicing Catholics who want a happy warrior's summation of 40 wonderful reasons to learn, live, and share their faith.
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