A Pocket Guide to The Meaning of Life
Our Sunday VisitorISBN 9781592763009
eISBN 9781612782379
ASIN B008S0MK7K
This is the second offering in this series I have read. I have been able to track down all but one. The two I have read are excellent, and I look forward to reading the others in the series. This volume was added to my kindle library a long time ago, but appears to now be out of print. On Goodreads there are 4 editions, 2 paperback, kindle and an eBook, But I cannot find it online at any resellers. It is a great pity this book and series are out of print. The description of this volume states:
“The meaning of life. You can't buy it, steal it, borrow it.
You have to discover it.
Best-selling Catholic philosopher Peter Kreeft has written a short, thoughtful guide to help you on your journey. Kreeft lays out God's answers to your questions with a simplicity and directness that will help you find that meaning, and share that meaning with others. God's answers are not complicated or secret. They simply need to be accepted and made your own. This pocket guide will help you do just that.”
This book is a mini maybe even a micro catechism. The paperback is listed as 61 pages, the eBook comes in under 20. It is 67 questions and answers on the meaning of life. No introduction, no conclusion. And to be honest a very short dedication. I highlighted a few passages that really struck me while reading this volume, some of them are:
“10. Isn’t this a philosophy for monks and mystics rather than ordinary Christians?
No, because a Christian, at the very least, is one who believes that Christ has given us the very best answer to life’s most important question: What is life to the fullest? What is the meaning of life? Jesus’ answer: “This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17: 3)”
“13. Why doesn’t the addition of anything else to God make my life fuller?
Because “this is eternal life [life to the fullest], that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).
“19. How has God revealed Himself? In at least seven ways:
1. In nature, His creation, as an artist is revealed in his art.
2. In human nature, especially in conscience, His inner prophet in your soul.
3. In every truth we discover, every good we do, and every beauty we create. In addition to this natural revelation, God has also acted supernaturally:
4. In history, by choosing a people (the Jews) to be His collective prophet to the world, making a covenant with them, giving them His law and His prophets, performing miracles for them (such as the Exodus), and inspiring their sacred Scriptures, which Christians call the “Old Testament.”
5. Most completely of all, in sending His own divine Son, Jesus Christ.
6. Through the Church Christ established “upon the foundation of the apostles” (Ephesians 2: 20).
7. In the book the apostles authored and the Church authorized, the New Testament.”
“21. What is hope?
Hope is believing God’s promises. Hope is faith directed to the future. Like faith, hope is a response to God’s revelation, not a feeling we work up in ourselves. It is like an investment in God. Its opposite is despair, which is giving up on God.”
“49. What is this new life called?
Scripture gives it many names, such as salvation, sanctification, justification, grace, regeneration, supernatural life, divine life, eternal life, sharing the divine nature, the Kingdom of heaven, the Kingdom of God, and being born again.”
“64. Is the Church human or divine?
Like Christ, she has a divine nature and a human nature. Unlike Christ, her human nature is far from perfect. Nevertheless, she is our concrete connection with Christ Himself, especially in the sacrament of the Eucharist.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. Number 21 above really hit me, it was one I really needed reminding of when reading this book. This is a great little volume. I really enjoyed working through it, and will likely return to it again. It has been a while since I had read a volume by Dr Kreeft, even though many years ago when a mature student I had hoped to read everything he had written.
This volume could be read by a secondary school student, or a grad student, but a theologian or a new convert and they will all get something out of it. It is an excellent volume that any Catholic or any Christian would benefit from reading.
It is a great read, thank you Dr. Kreeft and Our Sunday Visitor.
Books in the OSV Pocket Guide Series:
A Pocket Guide to Confession - Michael Dubruiel
A Pocket Guide to the Mass - Michael Dubruiel
A Pocket Guide to the Meaning of Life - Peter J. Kreeft
A Pocket Guide to Living the Divine Mercy - George W. Kosicki
...
Books in the Handy Little Series from OSV:
The Handy Little Guide to Adoration - Michelle Jones Schroeder
The Handy Little Guide to Confession - Michelle Jones Schroeder
The Handy Little Guide to the Holy Spirit - Michelle Schroeder
The Handy Little Guide to the Lent - Michelle Schroeder
The Handy Little Guide to Novenas - Allison Gingras
The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours - Barb Szyszkiewicz
…
Books in the OSV Companion in Faith Series:
For Those Who Grieve - Jeannie Ewing
Living in Peace - Father Jeffrey Kirby
The Beatitudes - Kathleen M Basi
The Lord's Prayer - T.J. Burdick
The Power of Forgiveness - Patrice Fagnant-Macarthur
…
Book by Peter Kreeft:
C. S. Lewis: A Critical Essay (1969)
Love Is Stronger Than Death. 1979.
Heaven: The Heart’s Deepest Longing (1980)
Between Heaven Hell (1982)
The Unaborted Socrates (1983)
The Best Things In Life (1984)
Yes or No? — Straight Answers to Tough Questions about Christianity (1984)
Making Sense Out of Suffering (1986)
Fundamentals of the Faith, Essays in Christian Apologetics (1988)
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Heaven... But Never Dreamed of Asking (1990)
Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions (1990)
You can understand the Old Testament : a book-by-book guide for Catholics (1990)
Summa of the Summa (1990)
Three Philosophies of Life (1990)
Prayer: The Great Conversation (1991)
Back to Virtue (1992)
Shorter Summa (1993)
Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal's Pensees (1993)
Your Questions, God's Answers (1994)
Handbook of Christian Apologetics (with Ronald K. Tacelli) (1994)
C. S. Lewis for the Third Millennium (1994)
Shadow-Lands of C.S. Lewis: The Man Behind the Movie (1994)
The Angel and the Ants: Bringing Heaven Closer to Your Daily Life (1994)
Talking to Your Children About Being Catholic (1995) — A treasure trove of ideas
Angels (and Demons): What Do We Really Know About Them? (1995)
Ecumenical Jihad: Ecumenism and the Culture Wars (1996)
The Snakebite Letters Devious Secrets for Subverting Society (1998)
Refutation of Moral Relativism (1999)
Prayer for Beginners (2000)
Catholic Christianity (2001)
Socrates Meets Jesus (1987/2002)
How to Win the Culture War: A Christian Battle Plan for a Society in Crisis (2002)
Celebrating Middle Earth: Lord of the Rings (2002)
Three Approaches to Abortion: a thoughtful and compassionate guide to today's most controversial issue (2002)
Philosophy 101 by Socrates (2002)
Socrates Meets Machiavelli (2003)
Socrates Meets Marx (2003)
The God Who Loves You (2004)
Socratic Logic (2005)
You Can Understand the Bible (2005)
Socrates Meets Sartre: Father Of Philosophy Meets The Founder of Existentialism (2005)
The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind "The Lord of the Rings" (2005)
The Sea Within (2006)
Socrates Meets Descartes (2007)
The Philosophy of Jesus (2007)
Before I Go (2007)
I Surf Therefore I Am (2008)
Because God Is Real: Sixteen Questions, One Answer (2008)
Jesus-Shock (2008)
Socrates Meets Kant (2009)
If Einstein Had Been a Surfer (2009)
Between Allah & Jesus: what Christians Can Learn from Muslims (2010)
Socrates Meets Hume (2010)
An Ocean Full of Angels (2011)
Summa Philosophica (2012)
Jacob's Ladder (2013)
Charisms: Visions, Tongues, Healing, etc. (feat. Dave Nevins) (2013)
Socrates Meets Kierkegaard (2014)
52 Big Ideas (2020)
Practical Theology (2014)
Letters to an Atheist (2014)
Philosophy 101 by Socrates: An Introduction to Philosophy Via Plato's Apology : (Forty Things Philosophy is According to History's First and Wisest Philosopher (2014)
I Burned for Your Peace: Augustine's Confessions Unpacked (2016)
How to Be Holy (2016)
Catholics and Protestants (2017)
Between One Faith and Another (2017)
Forty Reasons I am a Catholic (2018)
The Platonic Tradition (2018)
Socrates' Children, 4 vols. (2019)
How To Destroy Western Civilization And Other Ideas From The Cultural Abyss (2021)
The Greatest Philosopher Who Ever Lived (2021)
Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings 3 vols. (2023)
What Would Socrates Say? (2024)
…
Contributed to:
Contributed to:
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Articles That Mention Kreeft:
Opus Dei
Opus Dei Part II
Catholic Catechism Dialogue blog
4 Resources
Opus Dei
Opus Dei Part II
Catholic Catechism Dialogue blog
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