So Socrates, Nietzsche and other great philosophers a

Socratic Philosophy + Christian Fundamentalism = NONSENSE

I could not understand what logic Christians follow when they claim that such great philosophers as Socrates and Nietzsche are in any ways sympathizers of delusional Christian fundamentalism. If anything Socrates if present today will be a naturalistic freethinker, questioning the authority of the church and of the God himself. Such renowed Socratic phrase: "Is it moral because the God says so, or God say so because it is moral" clearly shows that morality and religion aren't identical. I am wondering, for example, how Socrates can feel anything but disgust after reading the old testament, where God commands to do such "moral things" as killing babies happily: "O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." (Psalm 137:8-9)

Even in the New Testament, Socrates would find Jesus' arrogant remarks and ultimatums in no better light than he saw many Olympic gods. I don't see how, for example, after encountering such phrase as spoken by Jesus: "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." (John 15:6) Socrates would not arise with other feelings that resentment against such a dictatorial God.

In summary the "conclusions" seemed to be drawn from the premises were in much part through a fallacious way. And any person familiar with logic can easily see that. To claim that the real Socrates could ever drawn such fallacies is too insult this great philosopher.

I got to about page 150 of this book before throwing it down in disgust. The other review on here was right on the money, this is not Plato's Socrates. It seems every other line in this book Socrates is excited about something with !!! and !! all over. Never would Socrates abandon reason and allow his spirited part of his soul run around with hippie like intoxication. All you Kreeft riders should read The Republic...

On a side note A Refutation of Moral Relativism isn't too bad.

I have read many popular logic, philosophy, and religious books and Peter Kreeft uniquely combines the clearest and best of these items. If you have a mind and you want to think, then I would suggest you read books by Kreeft (especially this one!). If you are a know-it-all, or can't think, or are just mean spirited, then write a review without reading Kreeft's books.

I thought this book was excellent. Many of the other critics in this forum have blasted it for the supposed ignorance of Sal the "seeker" and the sometimes trite expressions and literary form. I hope they did not expect literature. It is meant, if anything, to be as directly close to human dialogue as possible. This serves the purpose of identifying directly with the reader. If readers have a problem with the simplicity of "sal", they must not understand that he is a person who is written to be as ignorant towards religion as possible. This is so he asks every single question a non believer would tend to ask. Chris is meant to be highly learned because he has to logically answer any question a non believer would ask. Those extremes are necessary for any book that seeks to instruct. This book, if approached open minded, will reveal some very interesting questions people could have about the Christian faith as well as logical answers. The reader also needs to understand there are some issues in Christianity still debated to this day, and that is the reason for whatever vagueness one might find. I personally found very little. I highly reccomend it to anyone.

kreeft does not do a couple things. 1 is that he does not definitely answer every question. 2 is that he does not apologize when he does not have the answer. there are a few times when questions presented are of a nature that appeal more to the various mysteries of faith than they do to logic or reason- at these times, the author concedes these things. between these times, sal asks about every question that an average non-believer asks and drawing heavily on C.S. Lewis and other Christian writers, Kreeft presents answers to many of these questions. some of the answers are irrefutable, really. others are open to conversations that alone would be longer than this book is. as such, this book is not an end-all on the topic. but it's the best start i've seen. i'd quickly follow this up with C.S. Lewis' classic "Mere Christianity."

If you are searching and unsure of the Christian Faith, this is a book for you. If you approach this book with your mind made up already, then this book will largely be of little use to you- but that's true of anything. someone who absolutely refuses to believe in evolution will think darwin is an idiot no matter what he says or how clearly he expresses himself- even in places where he is irrefutable as well (and antibiotic-resistant bacteria alone shows he had some things right).

if you are more open-minded than that, this is a great and fast read.

Let me first say that this book isn't for everyone. Kreeft, who is a master at creating Socratic-like dialogue and employing logic to bring about a point, has created a series of dialogues between Sal the Seeker and Chris the Christian.

The dialogue is not meant to simulate real-life conversation, but employs wit, irony, and logic to bring about the points that Kreeft wants to make - namely proving that God exists, explaining the problem of evil, Heaven, Hell and the other "big" questions.

For those that do not care to read dialogue-centered books this will not be for them.

For those seeking answers to such question, however, they will find that Kreeft does a masterful job of raising the tough questions and leading one to the true answers. This is a wonderful book for a beginning logic, philosophy, or theology student.

I found this book to be riddled with innaccuracies of a theogical nature. Should we really teach our children that God does not help them?

In question and answer format, Peter Kreeft addresses, for teenagers and young adults, the questions of the ages: What's the purpose of this life? Where did I come from? Where am I now? Where am I going? What really matters? From a fully Catholic perspective Kreeft takes on these and many more concerns of young people and uses the Bible and Tradition to provide God's profound answers. Kreeft questions many complicated and perplexing issues in life: sex, drugs, rock and roll, abortion, marriage, loneliness, indecision, suffering, sin, death, faith,... and offers comfort, guidance and hope. Kreeft gives the reader scriptural foundation and solid reasoning to make sense of our lives, and encourages him to combine religion and "real life" into a satisfying and spiritual journey.