Reviews for Heaven : The Heart's Deepest Longing

The average rating for Heaven : The Heart's Deepest Longing based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-07-30 00:00:00 Charles Kirschenbaum I just started this book, and I think I'm really going to like it. I am very impressed with the author's intelligence and knowledge. He is definitely very well read! In chapter one he discusses a thought experiment proposed by St. Augustine: "Imagine God appeared to you and said, 'I'll make a deal with you if you wish. I'll give you anything and everything you ask: pleasure, power, honor, wealth, freedom, even peace of mind and a good conscience. Nothing will be a sin; nothing will be forbidden; and nothing will be impossible for you. You will never be bored and you will never die. Only . . . you shall never see my face.'" The author continues: "Did you notice that unspeakable chill in your deepest heart at those last words? Did your surface desire leap after the first part of God's deal and your deepest desire freeze in standstill shock at 'you shall never see my face'? Your surface mind, which is in touch with your surface desires, may not admit it, but your deepest mind, which knows your deepest desires, knows it: you want God more than everything else in the world. Your heart too is restless until it rests in him." Ah yes, I'm going to enjoy this book! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * As a cat-lover I found this interesting: "If earth is part of heaven, does that mean all earthly things are parts of heaven? Is there dirt in heaven? Cats? Do they eat cat food? Is there sex in heaven? How about beer? How much earth is in heaven? Well, remember that everything real and valuable on earth came from heaven to begin with. A cat is not merely evolved molecules in motion; it is a divine idea, a work of art, and a sign. It is a natural sign: it has something of what it signifies, and what it signifies is heavenly; so there is something of heaven in the cat. And heaven does not die. God does not throw his artwork into the wastebasket; God doesn't make junk. All his work has eternal value." (p. 120) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A quote from last night's reading: "'Thy will be done' is the infallible road to total joy. It is testable and provable in daily and hourly experience. Time after time, active willing God's will, 'Yes' to God, leads out of meaninglessness, passivity, depression, or sorrow into joy. And time after time the pursuit of joy as if it were mine leads to disappointment, emptiness, and restless boredom. Life teaches us by millions of repetitions, yet we need millions more. Every time we truly say, 'Thy will be done', we find joy and peace; every time we die, we rise. The saint finds heavenly ecstasy in picking up a pin for God. No lesson is more ubiquitously taught. Yet none is more doubted by unbelievers or disobeyed by believers. We are quite insane." (p. 158, emphasis in original)

Review # 2 was written on 2008-07-07 00:00:00 Bernard Quick Peter Kreeft. My teacher of philosophy at BC, he's a Calvinist turned Catholic who's an expert on CS Lewis and Tolkien and Socrates. I took every class he taught, for 6 years. So yeah, I know his arguments and his books. I haven't read his book about the philosophy of Tolkien, but I took his Lord of the Rings class. It was pretty cool.