Dear reader: in today’s post I want to do a deeper examination of Heaven. Recently, a reader commented on one of earlier posts from this year in which I wrote about Heaven.
Fellow blogger GROG wrote:
GROG’s comment is in response to my post titled Have You Wondered What Heaven Is Like?
GROG is an acronym that stands for Get Rid of God.
As you are undoubtedly well aware, the concept of Heaven varies among different cultures and religions. For some, Heaven is a real place or a state of existence believed to be accessible in the afterlife. For others, Heaven may be viewed as a metaphorical or symbolic idea. Still for others, the concept of an afterlife and a place called Heaven is foolish and misguided.
Certainly, what a person believes about Heaven depends on what they think about faith. Doubters don’t believe in the existence of Heaven due to the lack of empirical evidence. Heaven and the life hereafter is rooted in one’s faith and spirituality apart from what some might call hard evidence.
Heaven is a concept mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible. The Scriptures describe Heaven as a place of eternal joy and the dwelling place of God.
Some key New Testament passages that mention Heaven include:
- Matthew 6:20-21: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:1: “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
- Revelation 21:4: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
These passages, alongside others in the Bible, describe Heaven as a place of eternal life, joy, and communion with God. Heaven is a place where there is no suffering or sorrow. Those are the broad brushstrokes painting a thumbnail picture of Heaven.
The specifics of Heaven vary among Christian denominations and interpretations because as people of faith actively work out their beliefs and convictions we recognize none of us have all the answers.
Scripture gives us a glimpse of what Heaven is like while not giving us a full picture. How do you adequately describe an indescribable place that exceeds anything we might ever imagine?
Arguments against the existence of Heaven usually stem from a more naturalistic worldview and sincere skepticism about supernatural claims. Let’s face it: It’s hard to understand what you can’t comprehend.
A few of the more common arguments discounting the existence of Heaven are:
- A Lack of Empirical Evidence: Secular and atheist viewpoints typically demand empirical evidence for claims. They want to see the hard evidence. Doubters contend that there is no scientifically verifiable proof pointing to the existence of Heaven. They not only argue that belief in Heaven and an afterlife are unfounded, but dangerous to humanity.
- Heaven is Incompatible with Science and Reason: Skeptics argue that the concept of Heaven contradicts scientific understanding and reason because it relies on supernatural elements that are not supported by reason or any known laws of nature.
- The Problem of Evil: Critics wonder how an all-powerful and benevolent God would allow suffering and evil to exist on Earth. If Heaven is a perfect and eternal paradise, why is there so much disease, darkness, and death? Scoffers find it difficult to embrace the notion of a just and loving God.
It’s important to note that these arguments are not universally held by every secular or atheist individual. Beliefs and perspectives vary widely within these groups just as they do among other groups of people. These points simply represent some of the common objections to the concept of Heaven from a secular and atheistic standpoint.
You can learn more about GROG and RD‘s personal perspective on Heaven and God on his website . I encourage you to check out his blog because I believe engaging our culture in these conversations is important.
What do you think about Heaven? How would you describe Heaven to someone who asked you to tell them more about it?
As for me, I’ve simply seen too much, experienced too much, and overcome too much to deny that there is a God and a real place called Heaven.
Happy blogging,
The Devotional Guy™
Rainer Bantau
The Devotional Guy™ 
Thanks Dean. I believe that I get your point and understand your perspective. You don’t believe a god(s) exists and that at best heaven is an imaginary realm. In your view, to believe otherwise is delusional —or at least not the work of a sound mind. Is that accurate?
Like Heaven, I believe Hell is a real place.
Do I have an address or can I see
where in the Universe Heaven and Hell are located? No, I can’t.
So why do I believe it is real? Because the same God who rescued me from the depths of my depravity tells me so in His Word (the Bible). Yes, I believe that the Bible is sacred and I believe the stories it shares.
And I get that this is difficult for you to grasp and comprehend(You seem like a very logical, rational human being). Once upon a time, it was for me, too.
Houdini did magic. God works miracles. I’m praying that He does one in your life as well.
With great love and utmost grace,
The Devotional Guy™
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DevotionalGuy and friends:
I think there is one thing missing in your understanding of my position. It is not about believing or not believing in heaven. It is about where we believe heaven exists.
The faithful believe that heaven is somewhere outside of their mind and can see it in their imagination. For them, it is all real.
I don’t believe that. I believe it is just imagination created by the human mind. Everyone can imagine heaven, but believing it is a “real” place outside of the human mind is an illusion.
There is no heaven therefore there can be no gods.
For anyone who reads this, a question about hell. Where is hell in relationship with heaven? Is it a separate realm or a suburb of heaven?
Thanks guys, GROG
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True. Without faith, where is Hope? Without hope, where are we? Lost. I think it benefits us significantly to live our one life on earth with an eternal perspective.
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I think one reason to believe in Heaven is to keep up the reminder there is a reason to continue on Earth. I think if there is no Heaven, our lives are futile and a lot of people might just bow out, sooner..of their own accord.
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I’m sorry to hear about your experience with Mormonism. There’s a lot about Mormon’s I don’t know, so I’ll leave it there.
The world is full of religions that depend on hocus pocus and there are many who misguide and even fleece the people they are entrusted to shepherd and care after. People, and the world, can be downright ugly and dark.
For me, I came to depend on Jesus—a real person who I believe is the Son of God.
Thankfully, my dependence on Christ isn’t relying on me as a person, but on Jesus himself and the solid foundation He laid for me to experience life abundantly and eternally.
I can only tell you that while my life has not been free of challenges, it has been better because of my faith in Christ. Honestly, I don’t know that I would be alive to tell you about it apart from Jesus.
Perhaps that makes me weak or feeble-minded in your book. What I know is that it works for me and I believe it works and can work for others, too. And I’m as unlikely a person to be sharing this as anyone might imagine.
When I was a child, I believed in Santa Claus. As an adult, I found Jesus much more satisfying.
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Polite reply. Thanks. Another book by Ehrman is Lost Christianities about the early struggles with competing ideas as to what was true scripture. The pagans in the Roman Empire at the time were an easy target for the proselytizers.
As for the heavenly delusion thing: I was raised in a Mormon community. Even have connections to Joseph Smith through my GG grandfather. The tale of the one and only true church didn’t stick. It was only after about 75 that I took a serious look at religion. There have been so many and they each depend on magic and the immaterial (spirits and souls) supernatural realm.
I’ll thank my mother, when I ask about Santa Claus, for telling me that he is the spirit of Christmas.
GROG
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Thanks GROG—I’m very familiar with Ehrman. When I was first introduced to his work about a decade ago I learned that not all Bible scholars actually believe in the Bible itself. Although I know that not everyone believes in God or the existence of a real Heaven, this came as a surprise to me. I guess I didn’t quite get why someone who didn’t actually believe in the Bible would invest so much time in studying it.
One of the best debates he had is one he had with Dan Wallace, also a NT scholar who points to the “embarrassment of riches” that exist supporting the accuracy and truthfulness of the Bible.
Anyways, I appreciate your point of view and your willingness to engage in this conversation.
I’m curious if you’ve always held the position that believing in a life after death is delusional or if it is something you came to believe over time and through your life experience?
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I agree!
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Hey, guys. If you would like to hear of the glorious hereafter talk with the Mormons. For them as soon as you die you step through the veil to meet all your dead friends and relatives. Enough said about the glories.
One problem I see from your comments is that you believe the stories of the Holy Bible. I recommend you listen to Prof. Bart Ehrman. He is a biblical scholar and teaches at UNC Chapel Hill. You can find him on YouTube. So much for the Holy Bible.
You have missed my point. It isn’t about what heaven is like or the Holy Bible. It is about the very existence of heaven. The fact that it doesn’t exist exposes all religions as fraudulent. I know you think that everyone believes in heaven and most people do in some form or other. Many people believe in spirits, like the spirit of a dead pet, and they imagine it exists. It exists in pet heaven. And, it does exist, but only as a memory and they can see it in their mind. That is where heaven is. Imagine and it’s with you all the time. It is a delusion to believe that heaven exists outside of your imagination.
Heaven? Where does the light come from? Can the resurrected speak and hear? How does the brain function? Religions really don’t have anything without magic, real magic, supernatural magic.
Believe and pray as you please and don’t forget to pay your fees, in dollars.
Cheers! GROG
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Amen, David. Yes, Jesus speaks about Heaven on several occasions in the Gospels. And as believers, Jesus saying it should be good enough.
I agree—reasoning and logic alone won’t get you there.
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I believe in heaven because Christ Himself said it exists–“I go to prepare a place for you.”
Human reasoning will never be able eclipse the sovereignty and providence of God. Really smart people, like Franklin and Jefferson couldn’t do it, and neither can GROG. I’m with you, brother, I’ve seen too much and lived through too much to not believe in a real God and a real heaven.
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