IS HEAVEN REALLY FOR REAL?

Heaven, it seems, is a hot topic these days. And not just in the Church. Many are interested and willing to speak of their experiences of dying, going to heaven and then being brought back to life. As great as this sounds, there are skeptics. And the skeptics are not just atheists.

One example of an after death experience that has grown popular, especially with conservative Christians, is the story of Colton Burpo. Burpo is the subject of the popular book tilted: Heaven is for Real. To date the book has sold more than 8 million copies.

Some of the biggest fans of this book are those who are committed to the Bible as the ultimate authority by which all knowledge should be judged. Even so, they see Burpo’s experience as evidence that confirms their belief in heaven that is rooted in their understanding of Scripture and theology.

This should come as no surprise. Often, whenever experiences or evidence confirm one’s beliefs, those experiences and evidence are clung to with great hope. For they prove what one believes to be true. Which raises a question: How much should experience or evidence inform, confirm and validate our understanding of Scripture and theology?

Before we answer that too quickly, let’s consider another angle on experiences and evidence. There are times when experiences or evidence is at odds with the Bible or one’s theology. Rather than confirm one’s beliefs, it challenges and undermines them. When this happens one often uses their understanding of the Bible or theology to explain away why the evidence is wrong, or why we should not trust the experience.

Which raises a second question: How should we respond when experiences or evidence contradicts our understanding of Scripture and theology?

And, before we answer too quickly, let’s consider one last thing.

If we are going to accept experiences that confirm our understanding of the Bible as good and true, then it stands to reason that we have to honestly grapple with experiences and evidence that disagree with the Bible. We cannot accept one and while simply dismissing the other. We must hold both honestly.

This is what was going through my mind when I read CNN Belief Blog’s article titled, “Proof of Heaven Popular, Except With the Church” by John Blake.

While many within the Church love to contemplate and consider heaven, and many love to hear stories about the afterlife – there is one thing that stood out to me. In his article, Blake points to the fact that there is much in common with these near-death experiences. People spoke of “traveling through a tunnel, greeting family and friends who had died, and meeting a luminous being that gave them a detailed review of their life and asked them whether they had spent their life loving others."

These experiences were not just reserved for Christians like Colton Burpo, whose father is an Evangelical pastor. These experiences of heaven and a luminous divine being were experienced by people around the world who had varying beliefs regarding God, religion, faith, death and the after life.

Which raises another question: If Christians are going to trust experiences like Burpo’s because they confirm our beliefs about heaven; then do we have to trust the experiences of others that were nearly the same as Burpo's – even if those people were non-Christians?

What do you think? Should we accept all experiences or only those that confirm our beliefs? What do we gain or lose by only accepting experiences with which we agree? What about evidences that stands against the Bible? Can we or should we explain that away, or can it sharpen how we see our world? Would love to hear your thoughts ...