Three Philosophies of Life: Ecclesiastes--Life as Vanity, Job--Life as Suffering, Song of Songs--Life as Love

Peter Kreeft has the ability to sort out the weighty matters of life in a smooth and concise way. In the "Three Philosophies of Life:..." he manages to reveal the meaning of three Old Testament books, "Ecclesiastes," "Job," and "Song of Songs (Solomon)," and apply them lyrically to the patterns of our lives. His books are so stirring that they manage to sort us out as well as the subject matter. He shows us three aspects of life: "Much of our life is vanity," "the meaning of suffering," and "the manifestation and importance of love." He challenges the reader without ever being opaque--not an easy task with such deep material. Being straighforward and smooth, he seldom uses parenthetical matter to interrupt his own thoughts. This is a brilliant work from a brilliant author and teacher.

Kreeft's book is an insightful exegesis of some of the most difficult biblical text to understand. In a rough outline form, let me share what I found to be some of the best aspects of the book: 1) He makes a corollary from Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Solomon to passing from hell, purgatory, and heaven. He keeps the terms of this analogy well. For instance, he compares the meaningless vanity of Ecclesiastes to the tormenting void of desperation that is hell. 2) I disagree with a previous critic who said Kreeft was fallacious in reasoning. In fact, many of his arguments hinge on the necessity of logic: the fallacies of ambiguous definition (what IS "happiness" and "meaning"?), the logical necessity of syllogism (the famous Augustinian syllogism concerning God's goodness and omnipotence), and the principle of causality: what are the consequences of life choices? No; logic is central to each work of Kreeft's. 3) It is a great book to read as a supplement to biblical text for a time of devotion and reflection each day. 4) It is a great introduction to the questions concerning both philosophy of religion and theology; for instance- what is the role of experience in faith? Is fideism the appropriate stance of Christian faith? All in all, I think the book is fantastic.

Haven't read this book in four years (gave my copy to my cousin in the northern wilderness), but if memory serves, Kreeft's exegesis of these three Old Testament books was well thought out, occasionally colloquial, scholarly but not impenetrable, inspiring, apt, delightful.The readers who prefer the actual Biblical books being discussed to Kreeft's essays about those books are, of course, right in their preference -- but it should be added that, for this reader at least, Kreeft's "Philosophies" inspired us to take long, deep, reverent looks at the texts in question. Which we might not have done otherwise.We are perhaps entitled to disagree with a few of his notions, or argue that emphasis has been misplaced here or there -- but the reader who would not benefit in some way from Kreeft's engaging study is, I would venture to say, in a very small minority.We remember liking best the explication of the Song of Songs. The reader who is not stirred spi!ritually and intellectually by this part of the book, we believe, asymptotically approaches the inanimate.Have begun to read a fairly recent book by Dr Kreeft, his "Prayer for Beginners," also published by Ignatius Press. Do we exaggerate if we call Dr Kreeft a lay counterpart to the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen, an engaging lecturer-writer of unquestioned intellect and of companionable accessibility?

This is a fantastic book, but I'm afraid the title turns off many potential readers. In the book, the author Peter Kreeft indicates that the title, "The Three Philosophies of Life," was not his idea, but rather his publisher's, and that he had other ideas for the title. This book is more in the vein of practical and inspiring wisdom literature along the lines of Seneca, Epictetus, Epicurus, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, and Le Petit Prince, etc., than it is standard philosophy along the lines of Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, Sartre, etc. Maybe someday the publisher will reissue this book with a better title. In the meantime, check it out. This book is about life itself, in all of its depths and riches, heights and hardships. The author is a Catholic Christian, and the book deals with three books of the Hebrew Bible ("Old Testament"), yet the book is not preachy at all; I believe readers of any religion or no religion will find this book enjoyable and helpful. This book has a great deal in common with the Mitch Albom's bestseller "Tuesdays With Morrie." Check it out!

Until I read this book, all I knew about Ecclesiasties was that it was the source of the lyrics for that Byrds song. Kreeft opened my eyes to the wealth of philosophy (in the Bible? ) in this book. It's amazing how modern the thought presented here is. The idea that life has no meaning is by no means a new one, and the author of Ecclesiasties expounds on that fact as well as any modern philosopher. Kreeft says that when he teaches his Bible class at Boston College, he teaches Ecclesiasties first, because the rest of the Bible is the answer to the question Ecclesiasties poses.The other two sections of the book are just as eye-opening, but the one on Ecclesiasties surprised me the most. "Three Philosophies" is a great, thought-provoking little book.