The topic of heaven is one of the most controversial in any type of religious discussion. Where is heaven? What does it look like? Will we see our loved ones there? Who gets to go to heaven? Will we turn into angels once we're there?
These questions and others have caused great debate among scholars and lay people alike. The Bible says a lot about the afterlife and heaven, but some of what the Bible says seems contradictory and people interpret it differently.
What do you think? What is your view of heaven? What has influenced your perceptions of heaven and the afterlife?
35 comments:
The bible does say a lot about the afterlife. I believe that our own perceptions of heaven and the afterlife are greatly influenced by tradition and what our parents believe it to be. On the other hand as discussed in class,physical appearance that is spiritually filled (no desires of this and that).... my only wonder is, without motives and desires, what do we do when we find our place in the kingdom of God? I guess my response to the questions entailed in this blog is unanswered. Where is heaven? what does it look like? Will we see our loved ones? basically i would say heaven is all that we imagined it'd be.
I honestly have no clue what heaven looks like, or where it is. Like others I go along with the majority and assume heaven is above us in the sky some where. Other than that I think heaven can be many different things. I think each person will have their own heaven in a way. The things that make each person happy and comfortable will be in their heaven. I also think that you will see family and friends that have died before you, and be able to look down on the ones still on earth. I’m not exactly sure where all my beliefs of heaven come from. I’m sure my parents have a huge impact on the thoughts, but so do others. My family and friends are not the only ones that have an impact on my thoughts. As much as I hate to admit it I’m sure the media has an impact on my thoughts and beliefs. What I see on television, movies, and read in books, newspapers, and magazines also influences my thoughts and beliefs of heaven.
I believe that heaven is a place where we feel nothing but joy. I think it is always bright in heaven and that we find our families and people we care most about. God is always present. I believe that we stay in the same shape and form as are body's are like on earth. No one really knows what heaven will be like but as long as we think of it as the place we want to get to then it is best to keep it a joyful place.
I think the mystery of heaven is what makes it so exciting. I think the Bible doesn't give a lot of detail because we are not supposed to know a lot about it. I think heaven is going to be here on earth, it is only for the saved, and it will be a place full of joy, without tears, pain, and sin. The gates of heaven will be made of gold, and there will be seas of jewels. We won't be angels, but we will all be singing praises to the Lord. We will physically walk with God. However, I don't think we will recognize our friends and families in heaven, nor will we be married there. The Bible has passages about this, plus it's supposed to be a joyful place and sometimes our loved ones make us cry. I think we will get new bodies before entering heaven, which will also make it hard to recognize people we knew here on earth. I believe these things about heaven because of what the Bible says, what my parents have told me, and from what I've been taught from my church.
I believe heaven is an actual place. This is mostly because how I was raised. I was always told to do good in life and I will go to heaven where you will never die and live a happy life. As far as how heaven looks, I have no idea. I read this book one time called "The Devine Revelation of Heaven", where this lady wrote about how she was taken into heaven and she explained alot about how heaven looked. This also played a part on how i viewed heaven. Heaven is something that alot of people base their lives on. The thought of obeying the 10 conmandments so that you can go to heaven is some of the reason that people act in good ways and stay out of trouble.
honestly, i don't really know what to think about heaven other then i pray that such a place exists. If i have a chance to be with the people i love then i will be such a happy person. There really isn't all that much for me to say about heaven other then i hope i am doing the work i need to be there one day, and i hope that my loved ones are there with me also, because they are the people who help me believe.
I think it's funny that everyone thinks heaven is whatever they want it to be. It sounds like we are just making it up because we want to feel good. As far as I'm concerned, heaven has just become whatever everyone wants it to be. It has little do with religion and has more to do with making us feel better about the mystery of death. Maybe that is all it ever was. I don't understand how we can have consciousness without our brains, we don't have consciousness before our brains develop and if we did continue to "live" without our brains we wouldn't be ourselves anymore because our brains make up a lot of who we are. I'm not sure if it is even worth bringing up because God can do anything so there's my answer. Not very satisfying.
I have no idea where heaven is at. Everyone always says that God is watching over us, so people think that it is in the sky somewhere. People also say that our loved ones who have passed away are also looking over us from Heaven. I would like to think we will be greeted by past loved ones when we go to heaven after we die. Regardless of how you live your life, I think God gives everyone the chance to get into heaven when they die. If they are truly sorry for their sins on earth, I think they will be able to have eternal life in heaven. I want to think that heaven is just like living on earth, but perfect. I don’t think we just go up and live in the clouds become angles. I think our spirits live on, but I don’t think that we will all wear white robes and have wings and halos. I really haven’t thought that much about this topic in the past, but I think mainly that my family and friends have influenced my ideas about heaven. Also, TV and movies have influenced my views because they try to perceive what heaven is like, and it’s up to the viewer to make an image for themselves.
Heaven is something not everyone talks about. When one does hear about Heaven though, he or she may think it's going to be a wonderful place where we get to do whatever we want. Number one, it will be a wonderful place, and will be the best place ANYONE could ever live at, but the doing whatever you want would probably not be possible to an extent. There is only one thing a person needs in Heaven, just one, and that is to be in the Presence of God. What would be better than being with Him and being able to communicate with Him, just being in his Presence and seeing the radiance of His glory in Heaven? That is the one thing I believe about Heaven. It would be awesome if we could have whatever we want, but all a person needs when he or she is in heaven is seeing the magnificence and the Glory of God.
I believe heaven is whatever the person really interpret it as. I see heaven as a place that I was told if I live by God's rule then I would get a chance to go when I finally pass, but I don't understand what if a person isn't able to repent for all of their sins before they die, do they not go to heaven or will they just go to hell. Everything that I think about heaven and afterlife was taught to me, and I just don't really have any true perceptions.
heaven is what God has said it is, and then what we think it should be. if we want to see our loved ones then they are there. and turning into Gods angels i don't think so. they are not human, but maybe we just float around and it wont matter. i think heave is all around us, not like in you room, but like God is in heaven looking at our universe and heave is huge. what does size matter to god? from quarks to verses, we can understand the concept, but when trying to grasp it we are lost. like a car, you get that it pushes itself but the whole process is insanely complex
I have not totally made up my mind about heaven. I debate with myself whether it’s real or not. Some days I think heaven must be real if so many people believe it exists. But then other days I think it’s just a made up place. And if there’s a heaven, then there must be a hell. Sometimes I think Hell was made up to scare people into living the way the church wants you to live. But I guess it doesn’t really matter what we think. We will find out when we die whether heaven exists or not, where it is, and what it’s like.
There are several things that influence my perceptions of heaven and the afterlife. Of course there are the obvious things like church, peers, and family. The media is also a big influence. There are lots of movies that have angels, death, heaven, and hell. And all these make me picture death, heaven, and hell in certain ways. Another thing that influences my perception is the Amish. I have many friends that are Amish and their church tells them if they sin, then they will “burn in the fire.” It seems to me that they are just scaring them into doing the “right” thing.
I believe that Heaven is unimaginable. I think that it's going to be more beautiful and wonderful than we can ever imagine! I do however believe that you can't get there by faith alone. And I don't for one second believe that it's going to be however we want it to be. I believe that in order to get to Heaven, one must not only have faith, but accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, repent for their sins, and turn away from those sins. Further more, Heaven has existed for hundreds of thousands of years and, I don't think that it changes to meet each persons individual desires. I believe we will be incredibly happy there, but what made us happy on earth, won't necessarily make us happy in Heaven.
I have no idea what heaven is or what it will be like. I don't particularly like the cliched idea of clouds and big gates with an angelic chorus singing. Pretty idea, but I believe heaven will simply be unique to everyone. It will be everything that makes you happy and it will last an eternity.
Jann brings up an interesting question, our life is made up of desires, it is what motivates us, so why don't we have them in heaven? I think that the Bible speaks of these desires in terms of temptations. I think that people will still experience desires in heaven, just not evil ones. As far as what I personally think of heaven, I am unsure. Some people think that heaven is here on earth, some think that it is amongst another place. Heaven is brought up in so many different ways in the Bible it is hard to decipher what it actually is like.
I don't know exactly what heaven is. I don't even know exactly where it is at. But, what I believe about heaven is that we don't know for a reason. I believe we will know all about heaven when the time is right(after death). I believe God wanted it this way. Because if we knew everything what would we have to look forward to? God would lose some of his power (the fact that He knows and we don't) if we knew everything about heaven. My perceptions have come from my family and my confirmation class.
My view of heaven has changed over the years and as I’ve grown. When I was little I used to think of my Grandma and Grandpa waiting to take my call (i.e. praying to them) sitting in a white phone booth made of clouds. They knew when it was time for me to pray so I wouldn’t be keeping them waiting, and then when I was done praying they would tell God my message. I still think of clouds, but I think of misty serene places full of life and nature. I think that all the people and things I love are there. The most profound influence I had that made me think about heaven and what it was like was the death of my Great-Grandma, I hadn’t had anyone close to me die until then and I wanted to make sure she was going to be in a great place that she would love it. Up until then I don’t think I had ever really thought about death and dying and what happens after that.
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I don't think that we can fathon what Heaven will be like. I tend not to worry about it or ask too many questions about it because nobody knows for sure! I do think it'll be awesome and I think it'll be a place where believers are in the presence of their God, but I don't think anyone can even imagine what it will be like. ...no eye has seen, no ear has heard what God has in store for those who love him... I think that verse is so true-because nobody really knows!
Heaven i beleive is a massive city. every family will get a mansion. Another thing i say is we will be large globs rolling around because all will look the same.
Back to the original subject. In my book i have a thing called a haven which is what i believe Heaven will be like. Every family has a mansion. but if a superhero dies they go to a massive tower known as hero tower. All the vile people do not go to hell because that is a planet. they are put in the Haven prison where they are locked up with mystical energy. what has influenced my perception of heaven? well i guess my imagination has a major influence on my perception. Heaven is an unknown thing no one is suppose to know what it is like. it is a mystical region. mystical regions are only known to the maker aka God the father.
as far as where is heaven i would like to think that it is up, way past the universe and all of that. I am not sure what heaven looks like, but in the bible it says that the streets are paved with gold and that there aremany mansions and that sounds good to me. I would like to think that our loved ones would be there but who truly knows. i feel that in order to get to heaven you have to be saved. I do not think we will turn into angels once in heaven either. god created angles in the Old testament and i think He made as many as He needed
First of all, anything I say can't really be confirmed. I believe heaven js on another plain more spiritual. I believe that it consist of whatever we wish to see. I believe that we will see our loved ones. I believe if we follow the scripture we will make it to heaven. I don't know about the angel part. I really think it's up to god.
well to tell you the truth I dont know what heaven is, i believe it exists, and I believe that if you mean well and try to do well you'll go there. But as far as wht it is, I really dont know. It could be a place, or a mind set, or for all we know we could really go up into the sky and become a star like the ancients thought. it could be beyond this universe in another dimension or it could be in a different galaxy. I think what ever heaven is or what you make of it, it is.
I believe in Heaven. I think that if you are a christian and believe and trust in the lord that you will go to heaven. I believe that your body doesnt go to heaven that just your soul does. I also believe that when you go to heaven you will remember your loved ones and get to spend enternity with them in heaven.
I believe that there is a heaven somewhere out there but who knows if it's really true. It's not like we can come back and say hey heaven is real. I believe if you are a good person and do good things. I don't ask many questions about it becuase you never know what it is like until you go. Some can precieve it differenet than others so everyone's heaven is different.
I personally don't believe in heaven or hell. My views on the afterlife tend to lean towards reincarnation, and I do believe that we are reunited with our loved ones...just in a different form.
Because heaven has never been seen and cannot truly be understood, each individual's perception of heaven tends to vary from one another. As far as my view of heaven, I thinks it's a place which indcludes whatever is needed in order to make each individual happy. And I believe outside influences such as my family and church are what has influenced my perception.
My favorite idea of heaven is the depiction found at the end of the novel, American Gods. The main character's heart is weighed by Anubis after he dies and is given a choice: heaven or nothingness. He chooses nothingness, where no feelings are felt and there is no existence. After the life he had, all he wanted to do was feel nothing and cease to exist. It makes me wonder if more people would select this option if given a choice.
The only thing i know about heaven is that i'm finally going to be able to see God and there is going to be pure happiness. For me it is really hard to imagine what something that is absolutely perfect will look like. I have a few ideas as to what heaven might be like, but i know that i'm underestimating the awesomeness of God's realm. My perceptions of heaven, like many of my religious beliefs, have been shaped by my family. My parents have provided me with a very religious based life.
Sorry to butt in on this class discussion, but it seems as though these questions about heaven are rather obtuse compared with the types of questions one might ask in a thoroughly critical environment. First off, there seems to be a real tendency to simply shrug off the sort of epistemological murk which makes statements like "well, i don't know much about heaven... but i believe in it, and i'm excited to see it..." much easier to just slog through.
Trying to think about heaven from some kind of empirically-based, phenomenological appreciation of the world, might lead one to understand heaven, or whatever kind of after-death processes or sensations might be had, as something much more aesthetically biological or ludic (as in a great fart-burp-puke-sneeze-gasm), as opposed to some kind of magical country-club/family reunion scenario where you play horseshoes with some white, bearded guy who tells you that he created everything and you get to compliment him on his workmanship.
This conceptual "heaven" is something that must be denaturalized and understood in terms of its historical and cultural processes of formulation before one can get properly hermeneutic about a personal understanding of heaven.
That said: If, as C.S. Peirce asserted, it is truly the case that thoughts are material, and we exist in them, and they in us, then perhaps my best guess at "heaven" (or "afterlife" or whatever signifier you'd like to pin on it) would be that the bio-power goes out, consciousness fades, and we die... poof! In a moment we are natural debris once more.
I don’t have religions and can’t image even what the God is.Even if the heaven is a beautiful place like people expected, it is still sad thing for me to die, and go to place where there I can’t see my family and friends.
If I can’t see my family and friends even in the heaven, the death means hell for me. And if I can’t see my friends and family in this real world, that means this world is hell for me.
If I could be with a person who I love, I would prefer to go to the hell, even if it contrays moral in this world.
I think heaven will be something beyond what we can even comprehend. I think heaven is here and now, but in another realm. I don't think we turn into angels, I think God already created all the angels there will ever be. I think heaven will be eternal oneness with God and better than we can ever imagine. God only knows (literally) who will get into heaven so all I can do is try.
I don't know what i think about heaven. I have to believe it is out there because i have too many people close to me that i believe are there. It is just really hard for me to accept some of the things the bible says about heaven. I know that if i get there, the first thing i want to do is have a beer with my grandpa's and my four good friends that i lost. But if what the bible says about heaven is true, i will not have any desire for material things like beer. But here is the real question; how can someone on earth who is writing the bible during their time know anything about the afterlife? I don't know man, i guess i will just have to wait until the time comes, and hopefully that is not any time soon.
Personally i'm not sure what i think about heaven. I do believe in it, but i'm not sure that it's up in the clouds. Of course, nobody can know for sure exactly what or where it is. I'm not even sure if heaven is the same for everybody, but i do think that it is a place where i think we'll see our loved ones. To me, speculating about heaven is never going to be more than speculation. Maybe we aren't suppose to know exactly what heaven is like because our imaginations are more fantastic and hopeful than our reality, and heaven is something we can't fathom.
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