Apologetics somehow became a dirty word for 20th-century Catholicism. While some apologists are cranks and misanthropes, apologetics is about convicting. By appealing to heart and mind, apologists draw us to know and love what is good and true.
Few thinkers in my lifetime have managed to do so more successfully than Peter Kreeft. A professor of philosophy at Boston College, a prolific author and a convert to Catholicism from a staunch Calvinist background, Kreeft has spent decades helping others see the truth, beauty and goodness of the Catholic faith. I first encountered his writings as a student; his work encouraged me to think with both rigor and wonder and to see, in the spiritual life, not a burden but a grand adventure.
So it was a particular joy for me to discuss two of the good professor’s most recent works with him: “From Calvinist to Catholic” (Ignatius), a moving account of his journey into the Church, and “The Mystery of Joy” (Ignatius), a timely reflection on the spiritual gift most needed in our anxious age.
The reluctant autobiographer
Kreeft has always been reluctant to write a personal memoir. “Autobiographies,” he told me with characteristic wit, “are misleading and a waste of time.” But with a bit of prompting from Ignatius Press publisher Mark Brumley — and inspiration from C.S. Lewis’ “Surprised by Joy” — Kreeft agreed to tell the story of his conversion. The result, he explained, is not an exhaustive chronicle of his life, but rather an account of how Christ drew him into the Catholic Church.
In his early years as a professor in the 1960s, Kreeft witnessed dramatic cultural changes among his students. The youthful overconfidence of the revolutionary generation gave way to a more individualistic retreat in the 1980s. Today, he says, students are overwhelmed by uncertainty and brokenness — but therein lies hope. “We’re living in a time of a serious spiritual disease,” he said, “and the Church always finds an antidote when the disease is serious.”
In that climate of spiritual hunger, truth has become newly attractive. Kreeft has long championed the use of beauty to evangelize — a strategy famously deployed by Bishop Robert Barron — but he also sees the direct proclamation of truth as powerful, especially for a generation starved for clarity. “Nature abhors a vacuum,” he said. “The absence of truth makes truth more attractive.”
‘It’s all there’
What led Kreeft to Rome? “Scripture,” he said simply. Like many others, including his friend Scott Hahn, Kreeft found the New Testament itself to be the strongest case for the Catholic Church. “The hierarchy, the sacraments, apostolic succession — it’s all there,” he said. And what startled him most was the early Church’s unwavering belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. “If that’s not true,” Kreeft said, “then it’s idolatry. And the Holy Spirit must have been asleep for 1,500 years.”
That said, he acknowledged that not all aspects of the Church’s teaching are easily embraced. Moral objections, particularly in the area of sexual ethics, often prove more divisive than doctrinal questions. Kreeft is blunt about this reality: “I think it’s mainly, ‘I love my boyfriend more than I love God.’ Not in so many words, but that’s about it.”
Reflecting on his own path to Rome, Kreeft recalled the steep theological barriers that faced him as a devout Calvinist. “The three ‘solas’ of Martin Luther were at the center of everything,” he explained, citing “sola fide,” “sola gratia,” and “sola Scriptura.” He viewed Catholicism, by contrast, with deep suspicion — even hostility. “My parents would have been less shocked if I had converted to anything else,” he admitted. And yet, through years of prayer, reading and conversation, he found that his intellectual objections began to crumble. Eventually, even his parents came to respect his choice, though they never embraced it themselves. “Even if you don’t win an argument,” Kreeft said, “you can win a person — especially if they love you.”
That principle — of speaking truth in love — is one Kreeft believes all evangelists must embrace. The digital age makes it easy to discover faith through compelling arguments online, but integrating that faith into real-life relationships remains a challenge for many young Catholics. “People are more complex than ideas,” Kreeft observed. “If there were a perfect theology book that could be dropped on every human being in the world, it still wouldn’t convert as many people as a few more saints like Mother Teresa who just loved people into Jesus.”
Among his many works, Kreeft holds a special place for his novel, “An Ocean Full of Angels: The Autobiography of ‘Isa Ben Adam” (St. Augustine’s Press), a sprawling supernatural thriller that he labored over for 20 years. It includes, among other things, mad Russian prophets, dead Vikings, popes, philosophers and Harvard undergraduates. “It’s kind of a God’s-eye view of the mess of the world,” he said, in the tradition of C.S. Lewis’ “That Hideous Strength.” It is, he admits, his most difficult and ambitious work.
When asked which of his nonfiction books he holds most dear, he pointed to “Jesus-Shock” (St. Augustine’s), a meditation on what happens when a person truly encounters Christ. He also recommended “Christianity for Modern Pagans” (Ignatius), his commentary on Pascal, and “I Burned for Your Peace” (Ignatius), his reflection on Augustine’s “Confessions,” which he calls “the greatest book ever written outside the Bible.”
More than a feeling
St. Augustine, in fact, played a pivotal role in Kreeft’s own conversion. The great Church Father was proof that early Christianity was far more Catholic than Protestant in character. Kreeft cited Augustine’s famous line: “I would not believe the Gospel if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so.” That kind of statement, he said, forced him to re-evaluate many of his assumptions.
Scripture was, for Kreeft as for many converts, a decisive factor in recognizing the authority and structure of the Catholic Church. The very formation of the New Testament, he noted, took place only after the Church already existed. “Sola Scriptura,” he said, “is self-contradictory. The Bible never teaches it.”
As we spoke about Kreeft’s most recent book, “The Mystery of Joy,” his voice softened. Joy, he insisted, is central to the Christian life. “It’s one of the fruits of the Spirit,” he reminded me. “If you love God, you will have joy.” But he was also honest: Joy is not always a feeling. “I’m a curmudgeon and a pessimist,” he confessed, adding with a smile that he had a crisis when the Boston Red Sox finally won the World Series. And joy? “Jesus is our joy,” he said. “If you love God, you’ll have joy. Give it away, and it will grow.”
He referenced Romans 8:28, calling it one of the most astonishing verses in the Bible: “All things work together for good for those who love God.” For Kreeft, that verse is not a sentimental promise but a firm truth. It means that even the messiest parts of our lives are permitted by God for a greater purpose. “If you don’t believe God,” he asked, “who else are you going to believe?”
Kreeft is quick to credit his influences. He draws deeply from the past, recommending authors like Boethius, Anselm, Justin Martyr, Pascal and, of course, C.S. Lewis. “Lewis is the master,” he said. “He taught me how to write simply, clearly and profoundly.”
In many ways, Peter Kreeft has taken up that mantle. With the humility of a lifelong student and the wisdom of a seasoned teacher, he continues to bring countless souls to the edge of eternity, pointing not to himself but always to Christ.
Advice to seekers and saints-in-the-making
When asked how to share the faith without compromising truth or alienating loved ones, Kreeft’s advice is simple and scriptural: “Speak the truth in love. Never run away from either one.” That’s the formula, he says, because that’s who God is.
For those yearning to go deeper into the faith, both “From Calvinist to Catholic” and “The Mystery of Joy” are worthy companions on the journey. Read them with an open heart — and perhaps, like Kreeft, you too will find that all things truly do work together for good for those who love God.
