Questioning Heaven
So a guy by the name of John Smulo has started a series on Questioning. In his first Questioning post, the topic of heaven is brought up. I would highly recommend you read the questions and comments here.
In the comments, Bruce linked an article from TIME. In it Bishop N.T. Wright is interviewed about Christians view on heaven. I must admit… Some of these things I struggled with about 4 years ago. I’ve never totally dealt with them, but Bishop Wright seems to put into words some of the different things I had thought about.
Catch the article here.
To be honest I’m sort of speechless right now, as this has brought up a lot of things in my head. Feel free to head on over and comment on John Smulo’s blog. Or if you feel more comfortable we can get a discussion going over here.
Once I get my thoughts straightened out more, I’ll delve into this topic in another post.
Thanks for raising this topic here as well, and for linking to the Wright article. I just read it, and can’t say I found it said a whole lot different than any other evangelical systematic theology I’ve read on this. I just found he was unclear about the intermediate state.
John Smulo said this on December 12, 2008 at 11:40 am
I’m not really well read on the subject. All I’ve heard is what everyone says at funerals and normal Sunday service. So I don’t have a whole lot to base my thoughts on. Thanks for stopping by.
Kenon Koffkey said this on December 12, 2008 at 2:09 pm
While John is right about the systematic theology issue……..unfortunately that is not what is preached in many Churches. It just doesn’t play well to say Grannie is NOT running around heaven with a new leg
I have been to a lot of funerals over the years. I have yet to hear a clear depiction of the state after death and the future hope of the resurrection (even in my own sad funeral sermons) Scriptures that deal with the resurrection are often misappropriated for use as “heaven” passages.
Everything in the Christian faith should point to Resurrection. Yet, what is often the focus? The cross. Is the cross the focus of the Christian faith? No. The empty tomb is. While the cross is important, without resurrection it is meaningless.
Bruce
Bruce said this on December 14, 2008 at 12:36 pm
This is the same theology that is put forth quite well in Randy Alcorn’s “Heaven”. If you want to know more, I suggest reading that book, as he is probably the most studied person on the subject today.
Joel said this on December 15, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I might look into it, thanks Joel. My brother is going to let me borrow a book by Millard J. Erickson titled Christian Doctrine. It’s been sparking some pretty good discussions within my family.
Kenon Koffkey said this on December 15, 2008 at 6:22 pm