Heaven: A History, Second edition

Rating:
Summary: Your pick of post-mortal destinations.
Review: "Heaven: A History" is an excellent account of the varied & always-changing beliefs of Christian afterlife. Written in a clear language with fine scholarhip by scholars.

Essentially chronological, Chapter One is titled "The Dawn of Heaven" & discusses Semite & Hellenistic Jewish beliefs as they existed at the time of Jesus. The final Chapter 10, "Heaven in Modern Christianity." looks at fundamentalist, Mormon, Catholic, liberal, existentialist & mainstream conceptions. The book ends with a short, thoughtful essay of summation & 40 pages of fine print notes.

Other chapters are: Jesus & the Christian Promise; Irenaeus & Augustine on our Heavenly Bodies; Medieval Promises; The Pleasures of Renaissance Paradise; God at the Center: Protestant & Catholic Reformers; Swedenborg & the Emergence of Modern Heaven; Love in the Heavenly Realm; Eternal Motion: Progress in the Other World.

Especially intriguing is how our concepts of heaven reflect our ideals & hopes in Earthly life. Christian Heaven is hardly static. It has something for everyone, from estatic, egoless communion with the Divine Spirit, to endless angelic songs of praise, to the middle class family unit in a perfected state. & yes, Grandpa sitting on a cloud watching over us.

Some denominations make claims as to the definitive knowledge of our post-mortal destination. Others leave it up to the believers. The point is, dying is the most intimate experience we will ever know, so we seek reassurance where & how we can, with scripture, faith, reason & tradition; from the Bible, from Dante's poetry, from Paul Tillich's theology; from Jack Chick's cartoons. Indeed, here is one House with many mansions.

The writing in this book is easily 5 stars. Knocked down to 4 for lack of a good bibliography or color illustration. The black & whites are excellent choices.