''Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis, & Aldous Huxley'' is a novel by Peter Kreeft about U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

, and authors

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

(''

The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...

'') and Aldous Huxley ('' Brave New World'') meeting in

Purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

and engaging in a philosophical discussion on faith. It was inspired by the fact that all three men died on the same day: November 22, 1963. We see from the three points of view: Kennedy's "modern Christian" view, Lewis's "conservative Christian" or " mere Christian" view, and Huxley's "Orientalized Christian" view. The book progresses as Lewis and Kennedy discuss

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

's being

God incarnate Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

, to Lewis and Huxley discussing whether or not Jesus was a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

or "just a good person." An expanded edition was published by InterVarsity Press on May 16, 2008.

Reception

In '' Mythlore'', Nancy Patterson praised ''Between Heaven and Hell'' as "an entertaining hour's read", but noted that the discussion between the characters "does not range very widely", and questioned whether it was fair and accurate to depict actual historical figures so narrowly as to have them represent a single philosophical stance.Aldous, Clive Staples, and John
by Nancy Patterson, in '' Mythlore'' Vol. 10, No. 2 (36) (Summer 1983), p. 42; via

JSTOR JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...

In ''Christianity and Literature'', Max H. James considered the book's central premise to be "a clever idea", but stated that despite Kreeft's "admiration of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and C.S. Lewis, ecannot in the least write like either of them;" James also observed that Kreeft introduces topics "sometimes cleverly but often tediously", and faulted him for his use of

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

s, for his "lack of distinction between religious statements (...) and empirical statements", and for his depiction of Kennedy as ignorant and "babbl nglike a moron".''Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialogue Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley'' by Peter Kreeft
reviewed by Max H. James; in ''Christianity and Literature''; Vol. 33, No. 3 (SPRING 1984), pp. 73-74; via

In ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'', John Garth was similarly critical of Kreeft's portrayal of Kennedy, to the extent that he felt Kreeft "had no more interest in capturing character than in providing a plot".Three Great Men Died That Day: JFK, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley: On November 22, 1963, three towering figures of the 20th century died. John F. Kennedy is the one that we all remember, but let's consider the others.
by John Garth; in ''

''; originally published in ''

Oxford Today ''Oxford Today: The University Magazine'' was a magazine for the alumni of Oxford University.Contact details

''; published November 3, 2013; retrieved June 14, 2021

References

1982 American novels American philosophical novels American Christian novels Novels about politicians Books about John F. Kennedy Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy C. S. Lewis Aldous Huxley