What on Earth’s happening to Heaven?
‘W
E believe in life before death.’ Some years ago Christian Aid campaigned with that phrase. ‘Great slogan,’ I thought, ‘but do we still believe in life after death?’ A similar idea occurred to the Anglican priest and broadcaster Angela Tilby, who wrote in the Church Times in April 2020, ‘I personally know many priests who do not believe in life after death, preferring to dwell on hope for a better world.’ Such views are not limited to Anglicans. Via Zoom I recently attended the funeral of an exemplary Christian – a lifelong activist in the local church and in society. But we were told that the deceased was not concerned about whether she would be reunited with God. To know and serve him here below was sufficient. Contrast that with the faith of the New Testament, which affirms that Christ is risen indeed and that believers will be raised with him. The apostle Paul was in no doubt: ‘If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied’ (1 Corinthians 15:19). If people’s hope of Heaven is fading, let’s consider why.
CHANGING TIMES, CHANGING ATTITUDES Life in the ancient world, without anaesthetics or adequate sanitation, could be nasty and short-lived. No wonder people hoped for something better in the great beyond. But today heart transplants and hip replacements can help to prolong our existence here below. I often hear heartfelt testimonies, but few of them look forward to the joys of Eternity. Great advances in neuroscience have
revealed the close link between our brains and our personalities. Blips in my grey matter keep me company as I write this article and occur in yours as you read it. But if the essential ‘me’ is so closely linked with my physical brain, then does ‘brain-dead’ mean ‘done for’? Arguments such as these can seem sadly persuasive to the modern mind and help to erode the Christian hope of Heaven. PERSONS-IN-RELATIONSHIP Yet such reductionist ideas are selfcontradictory. Cut my head open and you will find grey gunge, not thoughts. Nonetheless, thinking is still real. You can share my thoughts as well as having your own responses while reading this article. You can even understand the thinking of someone long since dead by looking at words on a page. Yes, our brains work through electrical impulses, but the world of the mind and mutual awareness are real. We can understand each other’s thinking and get to know and love each other. So, while thanking God for every advance in neuroscience, we can affirm the reality of persons-in-relationship – which we could call ‘souls’. But souls don’t have to be immortal, so let’s turn to the idea of resurrection. THE GOD OF THE LIVING Consider the debate between Jesus and the sceptical Sadducees, who try to ridicule the very idea of resurrection by asking a trick question about a woman who was married to seven men in a row (see Mark 12:18–27). They call for proof
Thinkalou d b y John Coutts
from their Scriptures, the Law of Moses. Jesus replies by telling them that the idea of resurrection is implicit in the revelation of God at the burning bush. ‘I am ... the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’ (Exodus 3:6), God told Moses, not the ‘late Abraham, the deceased Isaac and the much-lamented Jacob’. Far from playing with words, our Lord affirms that God’s goodness is not restricted to space and time. His love for the patriarchs – and by extension us – extends far beyond the bounds of space-time, overflowing from here into eternity. Let’s not be afraid to affirm the good news of life before and after death. NOTIONS OF HEAVEN This still leaves us wondering what Heaven could be like. Many traditional ideas from bygone centuries – harps, crowns and robes of white – seem slightly comical nowadays. Once again help comes from Paul, who quotes Isaiah: ‘“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” – [these are] the things God has prepared for those who love him’ (1 Corinthians 2:9). The reality of Heaven goes far beyond our limited imaginations. In Luke 13:29 our Lord compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a great feast, where no doubt a good time is had by all. I’m happy to hope for that.
JOHN SOLDIERS AT STIRLING Salvationist 22 January 2022
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