The idea of heaven (or paradise) sounds so...heavenly. And yet when I think about it, it doesn't make a lot of sense.
The idea of heaven implies a place where there is nothing but happiness. So to me, that means that I will be among the friends and family that I love. I don't think I can be happy all the time if I'm always on my own. Certainly when I have gone to Christian funerals, the implication has been that we're going to see the deceased person in heaven. On the other hand, there are some things about friends and family that I find annoying at times (and vice versa I'm sure). I mean, nobody is perfect, after all. So - if these people are going to be in my heaven making me happy, then at some point I am going to find myself annoyed by them! That contradicts the idea of heaven, because if I'm annoyed how can I be in heaven after all?
One solution could be to remove all annoying qualities from my friends and family before they get to heaven. That would work for me. But, altering their personalities in that way would probably not make them happy. Turning the tables, would I want my own ornery personality to be changed by some divine process to please my friends? Not a chance. So my conclusion is that we are all going to be unhappy at some point whilst in heaven. The only alternative is for a person to be alone in heaven. But is it possible to be happy and be completely alone, for eternity? And doesn't that contradict what we have been told about re-joining our deceased friends and relatives?
2 comments:
I have different ideas about 'Heaven' and also'Hell'. They both happen at the same time and is at the present, not after our death. It is Heaven for people living happily in life, and Hell for those living miserably.
Only when we are alive can we feel happiness and pain. Death is like reformatting the hard disk, all memories are wiped and start all over again.
I hope you're right about only being able to feel pain when we're alive!
Post a Comment