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Love Is Stronger Than Death
In one of his most penetrating books, Kreeft ponders the meaning of a terminal illness we all death. The three vital questions of Life, Death, and God are approached through a variety of human experiences. Kreeft's book is a new statement of the Christian the meaning of our existence, and of death, is the fulfillment of our deepest desire for the infinite joy and love of God.
131 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
41 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Peter Kreeft
205 books1,091 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 25, 2014
A must read for anyone that wants to live before they die.
With the logic that I believe to be his signature, Peter Kreeft leads the reader to explore the five faces of death, first as the enemy, then a stranger, a friend, a mother, and finally a lover.
It is easy to see death as the enemy, until Kreeft makes us face the fact that if we fight against death, the grim reaper will always have the final win. That's sad. We can try to see death as a stranger, until death comes knocking at the door and we find ourselves unprepared to welcome our uninvited guest. Kreeft makes us see how we can come to befriend death. He then shows us how death as a mother makes more sense.
Only a Christian can embrace death as a lover.The Christian viewpoint of death gives life purpose and meaning. Kreeft shows us how accepting death as a lover shows us the meaning of life.
With the logic that I believe to be his signature, Peter Kreeft leads the reader to explore the five faces of death, first as the enemy, then a stranger, a friend, a mother, and finally a lover.
It is easy to see death as the enemy, until Kreeft makes us face the fact that if we fight against death, the grim reaper will always have the final win. That's sad. We can try to see death as a stranger, until death comes knocking at the door and we find ourselves unprepared to welcome our uninvited guest. Kreeft makes us see how we can come to befriend death. He then shows us how death as a mother makes more sense.
Only a Christian can embrace death as a lover.The Christian viewpoint of death gives life purpose and meaning. Kreeft shows us how accepting death as a lover shows us the meaning of life.
January 2, 2012
Kreeft remains one of my favorite authors. He is ingenious and his characterization of death as an enemy, stranger, friend, mother and lover is brilliant and provocative. Like always, Kreeft has compelling arguments and insights. His treatment on death as an enemy and stranger indict our silly and shallow culture. One to read again and again.
May 6, 2016
"…life is either totally meaningful or totally meaningless, depending on what death is. Therefore we had better try to find out what death it." So begins Peter Kreeft in a book that is basically him thinking methodically through the concept of death. He argues that death plays a number of roles to us:
Death as Enemy: it takes, destroys, unmakes.
Death as Stranger: we pretend it doesn't exist, but ignore it at our peril. Or we attempt to reconcile ourselves collectively to the inevitable.
Death as Friend: "Death is necessary for life as silence is necessary for speech" (45). It frames our lives and gives it finitude, a start and end point. It challenges us to define ourselves within the hard lines it draws. "The realization of our mortality now jolts us into a new appreciation of the now" (45).
Death as Mother, and Death as Lover: "For in order to love, we must be individuals; to be individuals, we must know death; therefore, in order to love, we must know death" (90).
Ultimately, Kreeft concludes that we must engage with death, come to terms with it in the context of the truth of Christianity, and that nothing less than the Gospel is at stake. The ancient (pre-Christian) mind accepted death, but fatalistically so; the medieval Christian mind denied death by means of belief in the Resurrection; but the modern mind simply denies or ignores death altogether.
Death as Enemy: it takes, destroys, unmakes.
Death as Stranger: we pretend it doesn't exist, but ignore it at our peril. Or we attempt to reconcile ourselves collectively to the inevitable.
Death as Friend: "Death is necessary for life as silence is necessary for speech" (45). It frames our lives and gives it finitude, a start and end point. It challenges us to define ourselves within the hard lines it draws. "The realization of our mortality now jolts us into a new appreciation of the now" (45).
What would be valuable, what would be appreciated, if it were not for death? Not time, not love, not anything. The true value of anything in life, and of life itself, is revealed most clearly by its absence, its death; for example: […] God: what difference does make whether there is a God or not? Read the great atheists like Sartre, Camus, Nietzsche, Beckett, and Bertrand Russell to find out. The silhouette drawn by God's absence in such writers is sharper than the one drawn by His presence in most believers. (48-49)
Death as Mother, and Death as Lover: "For in order to love, we must be individuals; to be individuals, we must know death; therefore, in order to love, we must know death" (90).
Ultimately, Kreeft concludes that we must engage with death, come to terms with it in the context of the truth of Christianity, and that nothing less than the Gospel is at stake. The ancient (pre-Christian) mind accepted death, but fatalistically so; the medieval Christian mind denied death by means of belief in the Resurrection; but the modern mind simply denies or ignores death altogether.
When the Christian church collaborates with a pagan culture by covering up death, it seals its own death warrant. For the whole reason for the church's existence, its whole message, is a "good news" or gospel about a God who became man in order to solve the problem of death and the problem of sin, which is its root. Whether the story is true or false, it is fundamentally a story about resurrection from death, conquest of death. The resurrection is the heart of every sermon preached by every Christian in the New Testament. For the church to cover up death is for it to cover up the question whose answer is its own meaning. Nothing is more meaningless than an answer without a question. The "good news" of Christianity claims to answer the "bad news" of death. Without the "bad news," the "good news" sounds like a charming but superfluous fairy tale, a melange of commonplace ethical platitudes inexplicably encumbered with miracles and mythology, an echo of parental imperatives already long known and disobeyed. The "good news" becomes neither good news nor even news. The Sermon on the Mount does not answer the problem of death. The resurrection does. But the answer presupposes the problem, presupposes facing death as an enemy. No wonder teaching that answer without facing the problem strikes the hearer as irrelevant mythology to be ignored as death is ignored. If the question is a stranger, the answer will be a stranger too. (23)This is a brief but thoughtful reflection on death that's well worth reading. Here are a couple more quotes that I enjoyed:
What would be valuable, what would be appreciated, if it were not for death? Not time, not love, not anything. The true value of anything in life, and of life itself, is revealed most clearly by its absence, its death; for example: […] God: what difference does make whether there is a God or not? Read the great atheists like Sartre, Camus, Nietzsche, Beckett, and Bertrand Russell to find out. The silhouette drawn by God's absence in such writers is sharper than the one drawn by His presence in most believers. (48-49)And:
No choice made before death is made by my completed self as the choosing subject, nor is it a choice of my completed self as chosen object, because while it lives in time, the self is not completed by still in process of completing itself, choice by choice. Until the last second there is always the remote but real possibility of undoing many choices, such as a deathbed repentance or betrayal. Death is the end of all temporal possibilities; death makes me eternally actual. It boils me down, distils me to my essence, rolls me into a ball, and throws me into the eternal game. Life is like a line; each choice is like the next point on that line; death is like the last point on the line, which is the whole line when looked at end-on, from ahead, from eternity. Death is the point of life. Death is my total and unchangeable response to the last and greatest question: Who are you? (92)
October 8, 2011
This book, in some way, is crafted like our response to death, both in how we should approach it and how we do approach it. 97% of the book is a great, logical, philosophical discussion of the 5 faces of death, hashing it out so that we may better understand this phenomenon while is incomprehensible and that we typically prefer to ignore until it slaps us in the face. So, for much of the book, we gain knowledge about the nature of death.
However, in the last 3% of the book, we are given an insight into his personal meeting with death in the possibility of losing his daughter to a brain tumor. Here we see the emotive response to death when we are face to face with it. In some way, whatever we might know intellectually goes out the window and we are placed back at square one with death as a stranger and an enemy and have to work through the emotions when our intellect cannot be heard by our heart.
We need that 97% of knowledge of truth, because it is that 3% that we are inclined to pay more attention to, and to let the emotions overwhelm us and lead us into despair. If we can cling to our certain knowledge of truth and of Him, we will make it through -- mind, spirit and heart -- intact.
However, in the last 3% of the book, we are given an insight into his personal meeting with death in the possibility of losing his daughter to a brain tumor. Here we see the emotive response to death when we are face to face with it. In some way, whatever we might know intellectually goes out the window and we are placed back at square one with death as a stranger and an enemy and have to work through the emotions when our intellect cannot be heard by our heart.
We need that 97% of knowledge of truth, because it is that 3% that we are inclined to pay more attention to, and to let the emotions overwhelm us and lead us into despair. If we can cling to our certain knowledge of truth and of Him, we will make it through -- mind, spirit and heart -- intact.
January 12, 2015
I decided to major in philosophy after reading this book. It was a moment in my life where I seriously thought, "I will read a philosophy book and decide if I will major in philosophy based upon what I think." I do not know what I was thinking at the time, but Kreeft opened me up to a world of wonder I never knew existed. This book is profound and personal - and short: 120 pages! I have read it twice, but I would like to read it every year (like most of Kreeft's books) when things "slow down." I know what you are thinking - things won't slow down, so just start reading it every year. Okay, I will. :)
December 9, 2009
There's some goofiness in here, but overall a pretty decent look at death and love. You can definitely see how Lewis and Chesterton have shaped Kreeft's thoughts.
May 31, 2017
I read two of Kreeft’s book in the past and found his writing to follow a very direct non-nonsense approach, regardless of topic. That being the case, thought it prudent to avail myself of more of his work, given the quality and insights.
Compared to some of Kreeft’s other books which I recently began reading, this book didn’t’ sound as alluring. However, knowing that Kreeft shovels pearls of wisdom by the truckload in his books, it seemed prudent to proceed open-mindedly – as one always should – into this new book.
Love Is Stronger Than Death by philosopher Peter Kreeft Ph.D. is an in-depth gander into love, death, life through five lenses: death as an enemy, death as a stranger, death as a friend, death as a mother, death as a lover. Curious chapter titles no doubt, and yet, each offer more than ample insights to ruminate upon.
Examining this curious conundrum, Kreeft takes a very methodical and deft approach into attempting to take the taboo out of death. Following many thought-provoking considerations, Kreefts undoubtedly leaves the reader not only with a fresh new understanding of death, but a new reassuring point of view of life.
The profound ruminations that Kreeft embarks in are quite meaningful, as they tend to add color to the strands of life that are often fraught with greys and blacks. For instance:
“On the one hand, death is loss of self; on the other, loss of death is loss of meaning, of identity, of self. On the one hand, death takes is loss of meaning, of identity, of self. On the one hand, death takes from me my self, and immortality would give me my self snatched from the jaws of death of nothingness. On the other hand, death gives me my self, as we have discovered in this chapter, and the “Immortality pill” would snatch it from me. Death both unmakes me and makes me.”[1]
Passages as such leave the reader much to ponder upon.
Employing a multi-pronged approach, Kreeft deftly uses logic, analogies, biblical lessons, as well as philosophy to strip away much of the mystery that has confounded humanity since time immemorial.
In fact, Kreeft at one point speaks honestly about the subject:
“My concocting and writing this book about death has sharpened my appreciation of life also – beyond all my expectations. The thought of death has made my life exactly the opposite of “morbid.” But why passively read about this experience in other people? “Look thy last on all things lovely” now. You have something infinitely better to do than to continue reading this book. Meet your friend. Lay the book down for ten minutes and ask yourself what you would think, feel, say, and do if you knew this was the last ten minutes of your life. And then do it. For the very good reason that it might be the last ten minutes of your life, and for the equally good reason that some ten minutes certainly will be your last.”[2]
Whether one agrees with his religious views or not, how can someone not appreciate a mind, and individual, with such an honest and caring point of view?
Throughout his books, seeing Kreeft employ logic and philosophy in a sound manner has made me appreciate the value of keen mental faculties that much more. That said, Love Is Stronger Than Death has made me appreciate life even more so. Not because I did not appreciate life, because I did, especially having had many bouts with serious disease and hospitalizations. The issue is that I myself, as others, often find myself busy with life’s intricacies and would forget to slow down and smell the roses so to speak Not just slow down, but really slow down, in every second, in every breathe – really take the totality of life in. This insight has allowed me to begin living life to an extent previously undone.
Not only does this last passage by Kreeft make me ponder about the roads of life we all take, but it also sheds light into the darkest realm of the individual psyche – the end of the road as individuals. And the intriguing possibility is that this endroad – or is it beginning? – is not paved in darkness, but in light. That is just my take on it, yours may vary, and rightly so.
Either way, after reading this book, one can’t help but subsume Kreeft’s ideas into your mind but also ponder them at length, share them, and perhaps even grow from them. This not only removes the scaffolding to the fear surrounding death, but it leaves one prepared to tackle life with a newfound sense of meaning. And that, my friends, makes life that much sweeter, and in fact, more lively.
_______________________________________________
Sources:
[1] Peter Kreeft Ph.D., Love Is Stronger Than Death, pp. 56-57
[2] Ibid., p. 48.
Compared to some of Kreeft’s other books which I recently began reading, this book didn’t’ sound as alluring. However, knowing that Kreeft shovels pearls of wisdom by the truckload in his books, it seemed prudent to proceed open-mindedly – as one always should – into this new book.
Love Is Stronger Than Death by philosopher Peter Kreeft Ph.D. is an in-depth gander into love, death, life through five lenses: death as an enemy, death as a stranger, death as a friend, death as a mother, death as a lover. Curious chapter titles no doubt, and yet, each offer more than ample insights to ruminate upon.
Examining this curious conundrum, Kreeft takes a very methodical and deft approach into attempting to take the taboo out of death. Following many thought-provoking considerations, Kreefts undoubtedly leaves the reader not only with a fresh new understanding of death, but a new reassuring point of view of life.
The profound ruminations that Kreeft embarks in are quite meaningful, as they tend to add color to the strands of life that are often fraught with greys and blacks. For instance:
“On the one hand, death is loss of self; on the other, loss of death is loss of meaning, of identity, of self. On the one hand, death takes is loss of meaning, of identity, of self. On the one hand, death takes from me my self, and immortality would give me my self snatched from the jaws of death of nothingness. On the other hand, death gives me my self, as we have discovered in this chapter, and the “Immortality pill” would snatch it from me. Death both unmakes me and makes me.”[1]
Passages as such leave the reader much to ponder upon.
Employing a multi-pronged approach, Kreeft deftly uses logic, analogies, biblical lessons, as well as philosophy to strip away much of the mystery that has confounded humanity since time immemorial.
In fact, Kreeft at one point speaks honestly about the subject:
“My concocting and writing this book about death has sharpened my appreciation of life also – beyond all my expectations. The thought of death has made my life exactly the opposite of “morbid.” But why passively read about this experience in other people? “Look thy last on all things lovely” now. You have something infinitely better to do than to continue reading this book. Meet your friend. Lay the book down for ten minutes and ask yourself what you would think, feel, say, and do if you knew this was the last ten minutes of your life. And then do it. For the very good reason that it might be the last ten minutes of your life, and for the equally good reason that some ten minutes certainly will be your last.”[2]
Whether one agrees with his religious views or not, how can someone not appreciate a mind, and individual, with such an honest and caring point of view?
Throughout his books, seeing Kreeft employ logic and philosophy in a sound manner has made me appreciate the value of keen mental faculties that much more. That said, Love Is Stronger Than Death has made me appreciate life even more so. Not because I did not appreciate life, because I did, especially having had many bouts with serious disease and hospitalizations. The issue is that I myself, as others, often find myself busy with life’s intricacies and would forget to slow down and smell the roses so to speak Not just slow down, but really slow down, in every second, in every breathe – really take the totality of life in. This insight has allowed me to begin living life to an extent previously undone.
Not only does this last passage by Kreeft make me ponder about the roads of life we all take, but it also sheds light into the darkest realm of the individual psyche – the end of the road as individuals. And the intriguing possibility is that this endroad – or is it beginning? – is not paved in darkness, but in light. That is just my take on it, yours may vary, and rightly so.
Either way, after reading this book, one can’t help but subsume Kreeft’s ideas into your mind but also ponder them at length, share them, and perhaps even grow from them. This not only removes the scaffolding to the fear surrounding death, but it leaves one prepared to tackle life with a newfound sense of meaning. And that, my friends, makes life that much sweeter, and in fact, more lively.
_______________________________________________
Sources:
[1] Peter Kreeft Ph.D., Love Is Stronger Than Death, pp. 56-57
[2] Ibid., p. 48.
September 26, 2025
Kreeft is compelling, but I'm disappointed at how this book is more or less a compilation of metaphors refining and building on each other. The metaphors function as useful thought partners that identify our reactionary/unquestioned social constructions of death
March 30, 2017
This is, so far, my favorite book by this author by far. In many ways the book reminds of me efforts by C.S. Lewis (the Four Loves [1]) and Henri Nouwen (Return of the Prodigal Son [2]). As these are both good books, that is largely a good thing that this book should be so evocative of them. This is also the sort of book that I raid for thoughtful quotes, and this book's most appealing quotes were all on the dark side [3]. Considering that that this book is about death, it is a pretty dark book. But it is also a very good book, and it appears to be far more serious book than most of the author's body of work. Do you think a lot about death? Do you want to know the different perspectives on the subject of the end of our lives? If so, this is the sort of book that you may find intriguing and worthwhile to read.
The book, at just over one hundred pages, covers five faces of death that are dealt with in a particular order: death as an enemy, death as a stranger, death as a friend, death as a mother, and death as a lover, along with a brief epilogue. Not only does the author manage to have a lot of worthwhile comments to make about death, and some epic quotes about death, but he also manages to critique our culture and its unwillingness to face up with ultimate things through the way that we pretend to be immortal. The author makes a strong case for the importance of death of placing a frame around life that allows us to see life in a context knowing its end. Also, he manages to do so without cheesy pop culture references to boring vampire movies or Highlander. In the future, as I read this author's books, this is going to be the book I judge them by, to make sure that he can write authentically and deeply. Not all of his books may live up to the standard, but as long as some of them do, it will be a worthwhile career.
What sort of audience is ideal for this book? I tend to think that I am the sort of reader who would appreciate this book a lot, not least because I have a somewhat morbid fascination with the subject of death and its relationship to honor and nobility [4], and I have a certain melancholy disposition, and certain native gloominess about me that hangs over me like a pall. If this is a quality you share as a reader, this book will likely be something that you can get behind. I tend to appreciate books that are a bit more reflective when it comes to my Passover preparation, and this book, in looking at various ways that human beings wrestle with and deal with death in the face of our own fallen human nature is certainly the sort of material I can appreciate any time of year, but especially at this one. As such this is a book I can warmly recommend because of its seriousness and depth and the gravity of the topic it deals with.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
[3] See, for example:
"We are more terrified by the nightmare of being a monster than by the nightmare of being chased by one, because there is no possible escape from the monster we are, but there is one escape from the monster we are not, even if it catches us. The escape is what we are (15-16)."
***
"Let we should see where we are,
Lost in a haunted wood,
Children afraid of the night
Who have never been happy or good (25)."
***
"Death culminates and consummates our loneliness. We are each born with a secret, a secret we try to hide every second of our lives by a million clever devices, both internal and external. The secret is that each of us is terribly alone, each finds that loneliness unendurable, each reaches out desperately to overcome it in those million ways, never fully succeeds, and cannot admit that failure. Our essence, our "I," is not shareable, no matter how hard we try. Death finally reveals this terrible fact (88-89)."
[4] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
The book, at just over one hundred pages, covers five faces of death that are dealt with in a particular order: death as an enemy, death as a stranger, death as a friend, death as a mother, and death as a lover, along with a brief epilogue. Not only does the author manage to have a lot of worthwhile comments to make about death, and some epic quotes about death, but he also manages to critique our culture and its unwillingness to face up with ultimate things through the way that we pretend to be immortal. The author makes a strong case for the importance of death of placing a frame around life that allows us to see life in a context knowing its end. Also, he manages to do so without cheesy pop culture references to boring vampire movies or Highlander. In the future, as I read this author's books, this is going to be the book I judge them by, to make sure that he can write authentically and deeply. Not all of his books may live up to the standard, but as long as some of them do, it will be a worthwhile career.
What sort of audience is ideal for this book? I tend to think that I am the sort of reader who would appreciate this book a lot, not least because I have a somewhat morbid fascination with the subject of death and its relationship to honor and nobility [4], and I have a certain melancholy disposition, and certain native gloominess about me that hangs over me like a pall. If this is a quality you share as a reader, this book will likely be something that you can get behind. I tend to appreciate books that are a bit more reflective when it comes to my Passover preparation, and this book, in looking at various ways that human beings wrestle with and deal with death in the face of our own fallen human nature is certainly the sort of material I can appreciate any time of year, but especially at this one. As such this is a book I can warmly recommend because of its seriousness and depth and the gravity of the topic it deals with.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
[3] See, for example:
"We are more terrified by the nightmare of being a monster than by the nightmare of being chased by one, because there is no possible escape from the monster we are, but there is one escape from the monster we are not, even if it catches us. The escape is what we are (15-16)."
***
"Let we should see where we are,
Lost in a haunted wood,
Children afraid of the night
Who have never been happy or good (25)."
***
"Death culminates and consummates our loneliness. We are each born with a secret, a secret we try to hide every second of our lives by a million clever devices, both internal and external. The secret is that each of us is terribly alone, each finds that loneliness unendurable, each reaches out desperately to overcome it in those million ways, never fully succeeds, and cannot admit that failure. Our essence, our "I," is not shareable, no matter how hard we try. Death finally reveals this terrible fact (88-89)."
[4] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
May 6, 2016
This is one of those books that, as you're reading, you ask yourself: "Why would I read anything other book than this? Why does anyone read any other book than this?" The world is bigger, more meaningful, and life is supported by a golden beam when you think the thoughts this book gives you. Death, of all things, is one of the best things a person can think about.
Here's a reflection I wrote on my blog in the middle of reading - an immediate reaction (written when I was house-sitting, in a bright room that was not my own, during a morning the required no real task of me):
There is the idea that, after death, I will be nothing for infinite time. There is also the idea that, after death, I - whoever I am - will still exist, just differently.
I’m reflecting on the idea of being nothing for infinite time. This seems like it should be depressing, but the idea stirs nothing in me (appropriately so, ha… ha…). I can’t even fear it, because I have no idea of what it would be like. It is inconceivable and unimaginable to me.
On the other hand, the idea of being myself - whoever I am - for infinite time is unimaginable, but not inconceivable.
Is this a valid distinction, the one between inconceivable and unimaginable? I think so. Let me unpack my meaning. If something is unimaginable to me, that means that, although I concede to its logic and plausibility, I cannot access a clear, or even a fuzzy mental picture. I am unable to associate an image with the idea. If something is inconceivable to me, then that means I cannot conceive even of its possibility, let alone its image. It is illogical, nonsense, divorced from reality and truth and therefore irrelevant. (These are the ideas I usually don’t care about, unless people keep throwing them at me, in which case I become annoyed.)
There are other reasons for it, but I lean toward the assertion that, yes, I am immortal.
(You can tell, by how deliberately I explicate and how conscious I am, that I am in "Kreeft-mode", or imitating his philosophical style - which, dare I say, is brilliant.)
Here's a reflection I wrote on my blog in the middle of reading - an immediate reaction (written when I was house-sitting, in a bright room that was not my own, during a morning the required no real task of me):
There is the idea that, after death, I will be nothing for infinite time. There is also the idea that, after death, I - whoever I am - will still exist, just differently.
I’m reflecting on the idea of being nothing for infinite time. This seems like it should be depressing, but the idea stirs nothing in me (appropriately so, ha… ha…). I can’t even fear it, because I have no idea of what it would be like. It is inconceivable and unimaginable to me.
On the other hand, the idea of being myself - whoever I am - for infinite time is unimaginable, but not inconceivable.
Is this a valid distinction, the one between inconceivable and unimaginable? I think so. Let me unpack my meaning. If something is unimaginable to me, that means that, although I concede to its logic and plausibility, I cannot access a clear, or even a fuzzy mental picture. I am unable to associate an image with the idea. If something is inconceivable to me, then that means I cannot conceive even of its possibility, let alone its image. It is illogical, nonsense, divorced from reality and truth and therefore irrelevant. (These are the ideas I usually don’t care about, unless people keep throwing them at me, in which case I become annoyed.)
There are other reasons for it, but I lean toward the assertion that, yes, I am immortal.
(You can tell, by how deliberately I explicate and how conscious I am, that I am in "Kreeft-mode", or imitating his philosophical style - which, dare I say, is brilliant.)
April 15, 2013
Kreeft is an old-school philosopher, and this volume is a thought experiment in looking at death as Enemy, Stranger, Friend, Mother, and Lover. Each turn takes you farther afield from any way of thinking about death you've ever encountered. I recommend it to readers of C.S. Lewis in particular. Like Lewis, Kreeft is not only a creative thinker, he's a good writer.
July 26, 2016
The content of this book is great -- heartening, hopeful, beautiful. But the execution, the style of writing, and the arguments are pretty flimsy. The truth of the book mostly redeems it from its shoddy aspects, but the shoddy elements are still shoddy.
April 5, 2020
I'm a huge Kreeft fan. He is my favorite contemporary philosopher. One of my goals is to read every one of his books.
This book taught me the philosophy of dying. I read it in late summer and my grandfather died in October. This book helped me to be a better grandson at this time.
This book taught me the philosophy of dying. I read it in late summer and my grandfather died in October. This book helped me to be a better grandson at this time.
May 2, 2013
A book club selection that I thought I would enjoy just based on the title. Boy was I wrong. If you have problems sleeping this is the pill.
April 20, 2017
Some good thoughts. But whoah, Peter Kreeft, back up on the metaphors there. Let's just take a few steps back. Thanks.
April 26, 2020
An intense intellectual workout, this book is a challenge at times (the wrestling of philosophical thought). Although I didn't agree 100% of the time with some of the author's terminology, overall it was a deep, magnificent, worth-the-difficult, slowing-down-to-look exploration of truth. Grateful to have explored and discussed it with an honest, kind group of people.
Tremendously hopeful without being weak.
Tremendously hopeful without being weak.
July 5, 2023
The first few chapters were interesting and I really admire Kreeft's thinking. He raised a number of insights that were thought provoking. Then I just hit a wall about halfway through. It just got sort of abstract and over the top philosophical and I couldn't relate to it anymore. That may be my own fault. I'd say the first half is worth reading, not sure everyone will make it all the way through.
September 6, 2017
3.6
well-written and would be excellent for people interested in philosophical discussions
well-written and would be excellent for people interested in philosophical discussions
January 9, 2022
Kreeft was gold in The God Who Loves You, but here he is a muddle of weird evolutionary Freudian hogwash with a few golden apples thrown in. Grateful for the rare treasure, can’t recommend.
November 19, 2022
This is a beautiful, thoughtful book.
I picked it up by accident at a rummage sale twenty years ago thinking it was about love – turns out it’s about death. But what a brilliant book. Perhaps especially suited to those who are wrestling with their own mortality or that of someone they love.
Just a disclaimer that, since this book’s publication in 1979, I believe the author has “evolved” somewhat from the views which characterized his earlier convictions.
I picked it up by accident at a rummage sale twenty years ago thinking it was about love – turns out it’s about death. But what a brilliant book. Perhaps especially suited to those who are wrestling with their own mortality or that of someone they love.
Just a disclaimer that, since this book’s publication in 1979, I believe the author has “evolved” somewhat from the views which characterized his earlier convictions.
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