I just finished a Tivo'd program with Barbara Walters about heaven and hell and how do we get there. Very interesting, and often humorous.
Cardinal McCarrick says we are not made for this world we are made for heaven, we are made for the future, all these years on earth are to get to the next place.
so then why? If we are here only to get to the next place, and the next place is so fabulous, why are we not killing ourselves to get there?
Imam Raff, says that the next life is the real life, and how we live this life determines where we will end up. I guess reality is subjective.
Has the idea of heaven really been reduced to a pitch line for advertisers. If it is so sacred why is it used to sell cream cheese and chicken wings? Now, I know some people who would say that fried chicken with a good scald on it is heavenly. How do advertisers draw the conclusion that the taste of their chicken is equivalent to basking in the light of GOD.
In the 80's were the GOGO's right? Should we stop looking to a make believe land far far away and just make heaven a place on earth?
We are told that when we go to heaven we all will be reunited with our family and pets. That we can fish with Hemmingway, chat with Einstien, or play the piano with Mozart. Can angels play the piano? Angels have most commonly been referred to as beings of light. Do they have hands? Are they energy or corporeal?
Is heaven just a wish? A comforting wish, somewhere over the rainbow., that we use to explain the unexplainable.
The early Christians believed that we were not worthy to enter the kingdom of GOD as flesh and blood, all people will be transformed to spiritual beings filling heaven with angels. We were spirited off in a fiery chariot.
Cardinal McCarrick said he believes the body goes to heaven, their is a resurrection of the body. We cremate and bury hundreds of people everyday. Corpses are often exhumed for DNA. If we find the corpse in the coffin are we to assume this person went to hell. If you are cremated do the ashes go to heaven. If they are in an urn on a mantel, did that person go to hell?
When asked if we look the same in heaven Father McCarrick said he hopes to get his hair back. So is the Hair Club for Men just an outreach program from heaven?
He then said we will look like we want to look. I can't wait to be dripping in diamonds and furs.
Reverend Calvin Butts said that heaven is in another dimension. Can heaven then be explained by quantum physics. Is it 2 or 3 dimensional?
Fizal Raoof said that in heaven we will be in comfortable homes, reclining on silk couches and have servants, young servants to regale us, we will be given the delights of food, wine, and sex all positive with no negatives. If overindulgence in wine and food is a sin, and sex is a carnal sin and a sin of the flesh, can these really be allowed in heaven?
If Jesus died on the cross to wash us clean of all sins, why do we need to be reborn. What is the purpose of baptism. How can we be born with original sin, if it has been cleansed by Jesus.
Pastor Haggard describes heaven as a place somewhere, more specifically that this place we are in is first heaven, outerspace is the second heaven and then there is the place god is. He went on to say that there are treasures in heaven, there is reward in heaven. He believes that there are neighborhoods in heaven, because Jesus said he went to prepare mansions for us. Heaven is a place in heaven where you can eat all you want and never get heavy, there is all kinds of food and pastries in heaven except devil's food cake. Heaven is not an abstract idea, it is not a state of mind, it's a place.
After hearing this, I couldn't help remembering the openings of The Twilight Zone. Rod Sterling used to prepare us for the science fiction to follow. Imagine if you will a place......
I find it interesting that heaven is a physical place. Not the look in a newborn's eyes. Not the feeling one gets from feeding the hungry, tending to the sick.
What if heaven is but a moment in time. What if heaven is no more that a fleeting single moment, The way the wind blows over a field of wild flowers. What if it is no more that a single raindrop. What if heaven is caught in the kiss from your mother. What if heaven is the time you spend playing catch with your dog.
What if you were so caught up in religion that you couldn't see heaven. What if the miracles were right in front of you all the time. What if the only evil there is in the world was not seeing the miracles.
I would love to believe that heaven is a huge gay disco, where the music is relentless and the bar never closes and I looked good in spandex.
Reality check... Heaven is not a private country club, a secret society, noone has to apply for membership. Water dunking is not required. The promise that you will be guaranteed eternal life, if you follow... is so last millennium. First, it's a guarantee you can't cash in on, until its too late. Why can't we be good for goodness sake. Why must the proverbial carrot be dangled in front of you, in order for you to love they neighbor. Is religion nothing more than "let's make a deal" you follow us, give us your money, and we will let you have what is behind curtain number 2, but only after you die. What if there was no prize, no curtain number 2 ? What if religion was a hoax, nothing more than a multi level marketing scheme.
You buy this invisible product, and the payment is only 10% of your earnings, and in return you will win a all expense paid trip to heaven, the catch is you get the vacation after death. How old are we? Do we only go to the dentist only for the lollipop? Is this life really a giant box of Cracker Jacks?
No one would really buy this, or would they. Economic chief Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani presented the Vatican's 2002 annual financial statement, showing revenue of $173,525,000. Yes that is 173 million dollars... This is just one religion. 173 million and yet there are still hungry and poor people all over the planet.
I think we are being ripped off. Why are we struggling to make ends meat, pay for medical insurance, when the Vatican has 173 million? Will any of it be ear marked for poverty, famine, disease??
Do I know for certain that there is a god..NO I do not think that there a place called heaven or hell. I believe that we make our own heaven and hell right here. If you decide to follow the yellow brick road, like Dorothy, you will not find what paradise, but just a man pulling some strings.
for me the purpose of life is to live a decent life for it's own sake, not for the reward.
love thy neighbor, just because.... not because of what you will get!!!!
You find peace and love on your journey
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