The Boston College philosophy professor ponders life’s deepest questions on the edge of the ocean.If you’re starting to think about a good book to take to the beach this summer, and your tastes range beyond the usual light fare, consider not a book but a podcast: Peter Kreeft’s interview on The Table.
Kreeft, long time philosophy professor at Boston College, is also a lifelong surfer, so the beach is kind of a natural place to listen to his musings while looking out over the ocean’s vastness.
The opening minutes of this podcast, in fact, set the scene right on the edge of land. Host Evan Rosa of Biola University calls to mind the story of St. Augustine encountering a boy as he walked along the beach. He asked the lad why he kept carrying shells full of ocean water and pouring it into a hole he’d dug in the sand.
“Can’t you see? I’m going to put this ocean in this hole I dug,” the boy told him. When the elder stated the obvious, that it was an impossible task, the youngster shot back with something that surely occupied the saint’s mind for the rest of the day.
“I’ll put this ocean into this small pool much sooner than you will fit the mystery of God into your head,” he said.
The rest of the 37-minute podcast gives Kreeft ample space to ponder the mysteries of God and the universe, all done through stories that are both accessible and thought-provoking. Topics he ponders include C.S. Lewis, the soul, love, and mythology.
It’s almost like going surfing with Peter Kreeft and having a conversation with the great philosopher while taking breaks.
Check out the podcast here.
