An Ocean Full of Angels

A haunted coastline. A Muslim philosopher. A prophecy about “hastening the sun.” In his only novel, Peter Kreeft trades syllogisms for sea storms and gives us ‘Isa ben Adam—philosopher, fighter, lover, possible messiah, definite troublemaker. Raised on the rocky shores of New England, ‘Isa grows up believing the ocean breathes because an angel lives inside it. He may be right.What follows is not a tidy interfaith parable but a theological carnival. In one improbable household gather a Dutch Calvinist seminarian, a sharp-tongued Black feminist allergic to religious pretension, mystics who may be saints or madmen, skeptics, seekers, and accidental prophets arguing about God over dinner while history burns outside the door. There are sea serpents and rogue waves, a demon named Hurricano, and something suspiciously like Armageddon at Fenway Park.Playful, tragic, and audaciously hopeful, An Ocean Full of Angels explores the unseen drama beneath modern history, where Islam and Christianity collide and grace moves like a hidden tide beneath ordinary lives. Kreeft writes with the wit of Chesterton and the moral fire of Dostoevsky, inviting readers to discover a world far more crowded—and far more meaningful—than it appears. Read more