Is Heaven Real?
“What if … what if heaven is real, but only in moments? Like a glass of water on a hot day when you’re dying of thirst, or when someone’s nice to you for no reason, or …” Mam’s pancakes with Mars Bar sauce; Dad dashing up from the bar just to tell me, “Sleep tight don’t let the bedbugs bite"
I was reading a novel, and that part of the novel reminded me how peculiar and vague our idea of "heaven" is. For most people, heaven is a place where they see dead relatives who behaved well during their time on Earth. For others, it is a place where you don't have to worry about food or water or anything else, and you just live forever.
The more that I think about the heaven that religion paints for us, the more skeptical I become. Is living forever without any conflicts whatsoever truly heaven? What then becomes our purpose in heaven after becoming a spirit being and not having to worry about earthly wants and needs?
I read an article which said that heaven is what Earth will become after Christ's second coming and that mankind's ultimate reward (aside from becoming spirit beings) is to populate other planets. If you ask me, this reward makes more sense because it talks about a specific purpose.
I don't know about you, but an immortal life where there is absolutely nothing to do does not sound very inviting to me. A peaceful life sounds good to me but an everlasting peaceful life? How much peace can you actually take?
It is a fact that for good to exist, there has to be evil. Heat or warmth is impossible without cold. There can not be light without darkness. So in the heaven that religion teaches us, how can we appreciate peace in the absence of conflicts? Can you imagine eating Lechon everyday for all eternity? I'm sure at some point, you'll grow weary of it no matter how good it tastes.
For many people, these things shouldn't even be questioned. I, myself am scared to think about these things because I feel like it is blasphemy to do so. However, I think that if we spend a good deal of our lives looking forward to going to "heaven" and much of our decisions is centered on that thought, it is only right that we have a detailed and thorough knowledge of what "heaven" actually is.
But what about the religious people who are behaving very well in this life so that they will go to "heaven" one day? Do they have a good idea of what heaven is? Or do all that they see are fluffy clouds and harp-playing cherubs? Do they realize how shady "heaven" is? But a better question is: do people behave well on Earth because they want to go to heaven or because they are afraid of being roasted alive in "hell"?
I was reading a novel, and that part of the novel reminded me how peculiar and vague our idea of "heaven" is. For most people, heaven is a place where they see dead relatives who behaved well during their time on Earth. For others, it is a place where you don't have to worry about food or water or anything else, and you just live forever.
The more that I think about the heaven that religion paints for us, the more skeptical I become. Is living forever without any conflicts whatsoever truly heaven? What then becomes our purpose in heaven after becoming a spirit being and not having to worry about earthly wants and needs?
I read an article which said that heaven is what Earth will become after Christ's second coming and that mankind's ultimate reward (aside from becoming spirit beings) is to populate other planets. If you ask me, this reward makes more sense because it talks about a specific purpose.
I don't know about you, but an immortal life where there is absolutely nothing to do does not sound very inviting to me. A peaceful life sounds good to me but an everlasting peaceful life? How much peace can you actually take?
It is a fact that for good to exist, there has to be evil. Heat or warmth is impossible without cold. There can not be light without darkness. So in the heaven that religion teaches us, how can we appreciate peace in the absence of conflicts? Can you imagine eating Lechon everyday for all eternity? I'm sure at some point, you'll grow weary of it no matter how good it tastes.
For many people, these things shouldn't even be questioned. I, myself am scared to think about these things because I feel like it is blasphemy to do so. However, I think that if we spend a good deal of our lives looking forward to going to "heaven" and much of our decisions is centered on that thought, it is only right that we have a detailed and thorough knowledge of what "heaven" actually is.
But what about the religious people who are behaving very well in this life so that they will go to "heaven" one day? Do they have a good idea of what heaven is? Or do all that they see are fluffy clouds and harp-playing cherubs? Do they realize how shady "heaven" is? But a better question is: do people behave well on Earth because they want to go to heaven or because they are afraid of being roasted alive in "hell"?
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