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We hear about heaven and the supernatural on late-night TV far more often than in church, and many Christians never hear it mentioned seriously from the pulpit. Everyone has something to say about their hopes and fears for the afterlife, but the topic of eternity is usually left to the talk shows. Ironically heaven is ignored by contemporary Christian preachers who stress the dailiness and Athis-worldliness@ of religious faith. That emphasis is salutary, but it does tend to marginalize the subject of eternity rather than challenging and deepening our ideas through theological reflection.
Each of the authors in this book was asked to write a short personal on the subject of heaven. This collection of essays gathers the hopes and reflections of theologians, novelists, and poets. The authors include Rick Moody, Nora Gallagher, Robert Orsi, Barbara Brown Taylor, Phyllis Tickle, Malcolm Boyd, Alan Jones, Cynthia Bourgeault, Donna Schaper, Susan Wheeler, and many others. These writings, which mix autobiography, story-telling, and theological reflection, are so poignant and wide-ranging that we can all find ourselves in them - and start telling our own stories about heaven.
An excerpt from Alan Jones' essay
Christians inherit two basic views of heaven. The popular Western version tends to be of the static angels-and-harps variety. I prefer the Eastern version. It has more of the flavor of dynamic continuity. We move “from glory to glory” right now, not simply after we’re dead. In the Eastern tradition, human beings long for the infinite, We are not fixed entities, but beings-in-process, defined by an infinite longing which pulls the soul forward in an infinite progression. We live out the questions, and it might take longer than a lifetime.
Clergy Book Review
"This is a great collection of great modern voices (including our Dean, Alan Jones) sharing both personal and theological musings about heaven. Very readable and thought-provoking."
The Rev. Mark E. Stanger, Canon Precentor
Paperback, 224 pages |
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