Heaven
“Heaven is a place where nothing…nothing ever happens.”
If taken literally, this lyric from the mid-70’s to late 80’s pop group Talking Heads represents one view of heaven. In fact, there are as many different ideas about the nature of heaven as there are people who have speculated on it. Heaven is difficult to know about, because apparently one must die to experience its fullness. The Hebrew Old Testament (OT) emphasizes a select few outstanding individuals who will see God “face to face.” And some passages indicate that God resides in a “high” place (Psalm 19:2-5). But in the OT the dead also seem to, somewhat like the ancient Greek and Mesopotamian view, meet with their ancestors in an underworld (sheol). The “heavens” in the OT is an inverted dome above the disc of the earth, separating waters above and below (Genesis 1:6-9). In the Christian New Testament the aim of Jesus’ ministry is to invite all of God’s chosen to join him “at the right hand of the Father” in a new vision of heaven, a heaven where anyone is welcome. Several NT passages speak directly to “losing one’s life” in this passing world to gain a lasting, true existence in heaven. As for the constitution of heaven, Christ speaks in parables and metaphors because it is too glorious to be literally described. Throughout history orthodox and unorthodox Christians have depicted countless variants of heaven, some on the basis of mystical vision, others on the basis of speculation and others, one could argue, on the basis of some combination of mystical experience and cultural filters. Pseudo-Dionysus, or Dionysus the Areopagite, spoke of three levels of heaven, each inhabited by different types of spiritual beings. St. Thomas Aquinas notes that Dionysus’ view of heaven enjoys scriptural support. The general Christian understanding is also based on scripture, which says there are “many mansions” in God’s house (John 14:2). For some saints and – often ascetic – mystics, heaven can be partially experienced as a blessed union with God, united as ‘husband and wife.’ This may involve beholding the “face” and being “illumined” by the glory of God to become like an angel (Matthew 22:30, Mark: 12:25), “neither male nor female” (Galatians 3:28). For many good and decent worldly persons, heaven is usually taken to be a blissful, carefree environment where one reunites with deceased friends and loved ones. The Islamic Koran speaks of a land of “flowing, crystal streams” that awaits God’s elect. Some criticize Islam for having a simplistic view of heaven, while others say that the Koranic view is allegorical. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism affirm heavens, although these are not permanent abodes. By and large, the heavens of Asian religion are stepping stones for the reincarnating soul whose ultimate aim is to achieve the unity of atman-brahman (Hinduism), nirvana (Buddhism) and jin (liberation in Jainism). Although many schools of Buddhism don’t posit any soul whatsoever, only the illusion of one. Contemporary reports about the existence and character of heaven have come from those who have undergone Near Death Experiences (NDE). Carl Jung had a NDE but he did not experience heaven in the traditional sense. For Jung dying was like “stepping out of a tight-fitting shoe.” After viewing the Earth from space and experiencing deep serenity, Jung was resuscitated and unhappily returned to his body. Many religious and spiritually-minded people do not uncritically believe that aliens (ET’s) are representatives of heaven. The cosmic heavens of planets and stars, they say, are of a lower order than the heaven experienced by saints. Likewise, angels are often said to reside in an entirely different order of reality than the physical universe. Heaven is also said to be beyond and above so-called ‘astral’ realms where ‘energy beings’ are said to exist. Some pro-alien figures like Rael believe that angels and aliens are highly similar, if not identical. When Joseph Campbell argues in The Hero With a Thousand Faces that “heaven doesn’t exist” because it would take too long for the Virgin Mary travelling at the speed of light to get there, he reveals that, despite his impressive erudition, he entirely misunderstands the idea that heaven is of a different order, beyond and above the observable universe and its apparent laws of motion and time. » Abyss, Afterlife, Agape, Angels, Apocalypse, Archangel, Archetypal Image, Assumption, Aztecs, Book of Isaiah, Calvinism, Christianity, Clairaudience, Confucius, Cosmology, Darth Vader, Deva, Evil, Fallen Angels, Free Will, Gnosticism, Grace, Hermes Trismegistos, Holy Rosary, I Ching, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Karma, Levels of Knowledge, Mandala, Marley (Bob), Michael (St.), Miracles, Nicene Creed , Numinous, Origen, Paranormal, Peter (St.), Predestination, Purgatory, Reincarnation, Saint, Science, Self, Sin, Soul, Spiritual Attack, Square Cross, Swedenborg (Emanuel), Taoism, Teresa of Ávila (St.), Third Eye, Titans, Transubstantiation, Uranus, Virgin Mary (The Blessed), Winnowing
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