05-07-2019, 10:13 PM
(05-07-2019, 02:58 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:(05-06-2019, 07:33 PM)taramarie Wrote: I also have to ask.....what is heaven? For me it is an individual state of mind as well as a physical reality of life for people and animals alike on this earth. If in death I see my loved ones all together waiting for me whether it is in the stereotype of heaven or not, its still something that would be lovely for me to see my loved ones and be with them once more. That would be my definition of heaven. Everyone has their own definition I believe.
I don't know, I haven't seen it yet. I know some people who had a glimpse of what heaven is like. According to them, it's a very peaceful/tranquil environment/ experience for them. One person told that he was pretty upset about the doctors bringing him back to life. I think most people have their own view of heaven and understanding of what heaven is for them. I'd say most view it the same way as you. Heaven is the place where you get to see and be with your loved ones again for eternity. Me, I never had the feeling my loved ones ever left. I've always felt their presence in my life. I think my daughter has met my grandmother. I knew the moment when my grandmother passed away. I knew the moment when my aunt passed away. I knew the moment when my father passed away. Were they all coincidences? I don't think so. I wasn't raised a believer. I was raised agnostic. I became a believer. I often get the impression that I'm a life traveler. In other words, I have a strong feeling that I've lived before and most likely will live again. I don't know, I can't say for sure because it's just a feeling of mine.
Said the master to the slave: you will still be a slave, for that is necessary in the Sweet Bye-and-Bye. Let us be careful about what we pray for: God might make a slave of the master and a master from the slave.
My idea of Heaven is a composite dude ranch and Chautauqua -- stimulation of body and mind. People are free from economic concerns. Maybe it is a different experience for different people. For some a yeshiva would be paradise -- and for some it would be the scariest place possible.
The souls in any Heaven are kind, caring, and generous. People get to know their Creator as they never could in This World -- and who knows -- practically everyone will find out that he got it all wrong. Anyone who could create the laws that underpin the Universe must be way beyond us.
What of the evil? Out of sight and out of mind, for we no longer need be aware of Hitler, Stalin, Saddam, etc. Maybe we get a short peek through a telescope or a video device to see what the Afterlife is like for such types as Nazis -- enough to show us how right we are. Watching Cerberus (the three-headed dog) rip Hitler to shreds would get very old very fast.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.