death as meaningful event

In one of his most penetrating books, Kreeft ponders the meaning of a terminal illness we all have: 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 vision: the meaning of our existence, and of death, is the fulfillment of our deepest desire for the infinite joy and love of God.

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.

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Sources:

[1] Peter Kreeft Ph.D., Love Is Stronger Than Death, pp. 56-57
[2] Ibid., p. 48. ( )