My relationship with Prof. Kreeft is probably one of the odder ones. For those who may not know of him, Prof. Kreeft has the most clout on campus of any professor at BC. He’s a really big player in the Catholic apologetics circuit, arguably the most prominent CS scholar in the world, and is a big reader and writer of books, having written over 80, including a best seller. He is also a top tier cross-examiner, at least in the opinion of my Cameroonian friend Anselm, who was a student in the Theology school.

As my Sophomore year was coming to an end, I had literally no plans for the summer (things ended up working out, was able to work in New York City, and discover the fear and loathing caused by the Long Island Rail Road), so I opted to take a class with this guy who I had heard so much about. The class was called Introduction to The Religions of the World.

The class itself was nice though long, in a personal growth sense, it was the first time I was exposed to The Dao De Jing, one of the books that has actually impacted the way I view the world.

Things went downhill when I had to write an essay for the final exam. I guess I must have been nervous to write one for a guy who I looked up to, but I actually ended up submitting the essay a full year late! It was the longest saga of my Boston College experience, with me having this essay over me for a full year. I eventually went to his next summer teaching of the class and submitted the essay, and a handwritten apology. Prof Kreeft actually accepted it! To this day I am so grateful to him for that.

I took one more class with Prof. Kreeft on CS Lewis. This went much smoother. I would also make it a habit to go to his office hours in order to talk to him about my random thoughts and to play chess with him. I almost beat him a few times. Randomly, I went to one final lecture of his, attending his class on the Dao De Jing with my friend Jacob Small. After the class, I got him to sign a copy of my book, and a photo. A few weeks later we were all sent home due to COVID-19. Reflecting now, I didn’t think that random class would be the last time I’d meet the philosopher as an undergraduate, but I am so happy that I did make the effort to say goodbye, all things considered with the coronavirus.  

Lessons learned:

Prof. Kreeft was the first professor I had who really wanted us to look at The Bible and Christianity not as some doctrine to be defended, but rather as a doctrine rich enough to want to be understood. I really appreciated that he did that, for so many people around the world do take The Bible as their main beacon of ethical, moral, and life guidance. 

also learned about the struggles you can personally face when you fall into academic debt. When an assignment becomes late, it immediately grows, and the superficial power that it has over you becomes ever increasingly real. What happens is the essay mutates from being just the specific assignment to it being a reflection of all the mistakes you made in submitting it, and more than that, the mistakes you made ever in your life. I was so lucky to have had a man like Prof. Kreeft to accept my mistake, and from this low, I learned this tough lesson first hand!