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C.S. Lewis for the Third Millennium : Six Essays on the Abolition of Man
Kreeft, one of the foremost students of Lewis' thought, distills Lewis' reflections on the collapse of western civilization and the way to renew it. Few writers have more lucidly grasped the meaning of modern times than Lewis. Kreeft's reflections on Lewis' thought provide explorations into the questions of our times. Kreeft and Lewis together provide light and hope in an age of darkness.
193 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1994
21 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Peter Kreeft
193 books1,060 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 5, 2011
Still reading this book. I have a habit of turning down pages with passages I really like. Had to stop with this book b/c I was turning down almost every other page. Some of my favorite passages (so far):
"The master heresy is subjectivism. It is the parent of all the others, for only after the objective truth is denied are we "free" to recreate new "truths" in the image of our own desires. Only when we fall asleep to the real world are we "free" to dream nightmare worlds into being."
"Socialism's dream is naive because mere equality does not automatically destroy oppression. Egalitarianism can be as oppressive as any tyranny."
"The prophetic Italian Marxist Gramsci saw it and predicted that Marxist atheism would triumph not militarily or even politically but educationally, by infiltrating the intelligentsia. Get the teachers and you've got the students. This is exactly what is happening. The basic philosophical theses of Marxism are winning the world more solidly now, after its political collapse in 1989, than before. Chesterton was one of the few who saw the direction of the danger. He said back in the twenties that "the real danger is not in Moscow, but in Manhattan." At the beginning of this century, only the outrageously avant-garde were atheists or moral subjectivists. Now as the century is ending, the three major mind-molding establishments in the Western world - formal education, entertainment (i.e., informal education), and journalism - are massively dominated by the subjectivists and secularists."
"The world gets closer to God by improving spiritually, not by improving materially. And God is the goal, the measure of progress. The essence of modernity is the death of the spiritual. A modernist is someone who is more concerned about air pollution than soul pollution. A modernist is someone who wants clean air so he can breathe dirty words. A modernist cares about big things, like whales, more than little things, like fetuses; big things like governments, more than little things like families and neighborhoods; big things like states, which last hundreds of years, more than little things like souls, which last forever. Thus, a modernist is one who puts his faith and hope for progress in precisely one thing that cannot progress: matter."
Regarding our modern culture's confused identification of goodness with niceness and badness with nastiness - "this morality is almost as mature as "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood". Its favorite slogans are "compassion" (especially in the mouths of politicians who want to play Dracula to you) and "nonjudgmentalism" (especially in the mouths of the most judgmental people in the world, who want to remove your freedom to speak moral platitudes by calling them "bigotry"). The origin of this moral tapioca was diagnosed by Chesterton when he said that when a man has lost all his moral principles, he still believes in compassion. These people are always saying that ethical decisions are very complex-which is a simple lie. Nearly all ethical decisions are clear and simple, except to someone with no principles."
"The master heresy is subjectivism. It is the parent of all the others, for only after the objective truth is denied are we "free" to recreate new "truths" in the image of our own desires. Only when we fall asleep to the real world are we "free" to dream nightmare worlds into being."
"Socialism's dream is naive because mere equality does not automatically destroy oppression. Egalitarianism can be as oppressive as any tyranny."
"The prophetic Italian Marxist Gramsci saw it and predicted that Marxist atheism would triumph not militarily or even politically but educationally, by infiltrating the intelligentsia. Get the teachers and you've got the students. This is exactly what is happening. The basic philosophical theses of Marxism are winning the world more solidly now, after its political collapse in 1989, than before. Chesterton was one of the few who saw the direction of the danger. He said back in the twenties that "the real danger is not in Moscow, but in Manhattan." At the beginning of this century, only the outrageously avant-garde were atheists or moral subjectivists. Now as the century is ending, the three major mind-molding establishments in the Western world - formal education, entertainment (i.e., informal education), and journalism - are massively dominated by the subjectivists and secularists."
"The world gets closer to God by improving spiritually, not by improving materially. And God is the goal, the measure of progress. The essence of modernity is the death of the spiritual. A modernist is someone who is more concerned about air pollution than soul pollution. A modernist is someone who wants clean air so he can breathe dirty words. A modernist cares about big things, like whales, more than little things, like fetuses; big things like governments, more than little things like families and neighborhoods; big things like states, which last hundreds of years, more than little things like souls, which last forever. Thus, a modernist is one who puts his faith and hope for progress in precisely one thing that cannot progress: matter."
Regarding our modern culture's confused identification of goodness with niceness and badness with nastiness - "this morality is almost as mature as "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood". Its favorite slogans are "compassion" (especially in the mouths of politicians who want to play Dracula to you) and "nonjudgmentalism" (especially in the mouths of the most judgmental people in the world, who want to remove your freedom to speak moral platitudes by calling them "bigotry"). The origin of this moral tapioca was diagnosed by Chesterton when he said that when a man has lost all his moral principles, he still believes in compassion. These people are always saying that ethical decisions are very complex-which is a simple lie. Nearly all ethical decisions are clear and simple, except to someone with no principles."
March 2, 2009
Educate yourself. Not about what it means to be a Christian, but what it means to be a Christian TODAY.
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August 12, 2020Listen to Kreeft talk about this book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTUbe...
June 30, 2014
This is one of the best books by one of my favorite authors. It's about so many things, it might be hard to say what it is about. But in the end, the essays in this book really do orbit Lewis' "The Abolition of Man"--easily one of Lewis' most important works.
June 30, 2014
In these six essays, with his characteristic wit and insight, Dr. Kreeft shows just how prophetic C.S. Lewis' "The Abolition of Man" truly is.
I deeply enjoyed these essays even though I have heard many of them in lecture form.
I deeply enjoyed these essays even though I have heard many of them in lecture form.
March 11, 2017
One of my favorite Catholic writers analyzes one of my favorite books by one of my favorite Anglican writers. Like he did for Blaise Pascal in Christianity for Modern Pagans (also great btw), here he unpacks the profundities in CS Lewis' The Abolition of Man.
March 5, 2019
This Baptist likes this Roman Catholic's take on this Anglican's take on the decline of Western civilization. Gets wonky when he discusses Calvinism, but hey, so did Lewis; and like Lewis, where he's good speaks louder than where he's bad.
May 27, 2015
Excellent! Kreeft skillfully blends humor and insight as he explores why The Abolition of Man is more important than ever.
April 20, 2019
Read this in 2010. This is a collection of six essays by Peter Kreeft that center especially on C. S. Lewis’s book Abolition of Man. Kreeft considers the book as prophetic in portraying mankind as lacking souls when they deny “natural moral law,” what Lewis called the “Tao.” The Tao is made of absolute morals understood by members of humanity, whatever culture they live in. Kreeft puts this assertion against that of Thomas Aquinas, who said that natural law can never be abolished from the heart of man. The author tends to agree with Lewis, and offers contemporary issues, like abortion, to this point, though he finds he cannot completely refute Aquinas. He also includes Walker Percy’s Lost in the Cosmos as a humorous treatment of Lewis’s point. But Lewis could also be optimistic, as demonstrated in the cosmic dance portrayed in his science fiction novel, Perelandra, in which joyful cosmology replaces the joyless. The proof of which argument is right can only be provided by mankind in the future. Kreeft wants to be optimistic, and so ends “Please be a saint.”
There is some repetition between this book and Kreeft’s Culture War. This book is more of the academic work; the other is more conversational in tone, but also the tone of political rhetoric. This book is stronger on philosophy, lesser on contemporary applications.
There is some repetition between this book and Kreeft’s Culture War. This book is more of the academic work; the other is more conversational in tone, but also the tone of political rhetoric. This book is stronger on philosophy, lesser on contemporary applications.
October 20, 2017
The genre of this book might be generally classified as "90's Catholic Apocalyptic." Something about the Clinton years brought out an eschatological fervor in Roman Catholics that was not to be outdone by any measly evangelicals, producing many fine books, such as Michael D. O'Brien's Father Elijah, John Senior's Death of Christian Culture, Anthony Esolen's entire oeuvre (in his case, the genre has transcended the decade), and this book. Like all apocalyptic writing, it can be thrilling or extremely dull, depending on your state of mind. You will find here great essays comparing Aquinas and C. S. Lewis on whether human nature can change, the indirect apologetic approach of Walker Percy, and the cosmology of the Perelandra.
May 13, 2019
Good. Some spots were great, others were bad. The book was written in the 90's so it was dated in sections. The prophetic insight of Lewis has been further vindicated. I'm not sure that I would recommend this book, however; I'd probably just recommend Lewis.
March 2, 2020
A prophetical book that shows how C.S. Lewis understood modern man's hubris.
Peter Kreeft thoughts on Lewis are insightful.
Peter Kreeft thoughts on Lewis are insightful.
October 23, 2023
Reminder to take spiritual warfare in this generation seriously. Thank you Peter Kreeft! Thank you C.S. Lewis!
June 10, 2025
A collection of helpful and witty essays on The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis. As this is my favorite non-fiction work of Lewis, I was looking forward to this book, and it did not disappoint. Kreeft is witty and a fun writer. I had only encountered him through podcasts and lectures, but I must say I enjoy his writing as well.
October 2, 2024
The essays consider the relevance of C S Lewis' 'The Abolition of Man'. A useful volume to read after reading Lewis' book.
December 18, 2020
Peter Kreeft's voice is enjoyable. The essays are still prescient in many ways. Kreeft may be Catholic but Protestants can get much from this, too. And it's not all gloom and doom, which is nice.
December 22, 2022
Profound. Insightful. An older but even more timely deep dive into the philosophical and religious relevance of C.S. Lewis for a society that has abandoned any pursuit of Truth.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews