Is Heaven a Place?

[elbriddicko]

onvention wisdom says “John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

My thoughts are these:

The bible refers to a place that exists outside of the now, outside of our current reality. Note: this is debatable among Christians but most will agree – Heaven is a place and this place is good. This place is where God dwells.

My logic sees things differently.

If heaven is a place, then it is a physical location.

If heaven is a physical location then we have the ability to choose in that physical location. For example, if I see a street, I have the ability to choose to walk on the left side or the right side of the road. If I see John on one side I may talk to him and bypass the chariot moving the opposite direction or I may take the latter option and jump on the chariot. John is often boring anyway

Choice is inherently tied to every conscious being in a physical location.

Therefore if heaven is a physical location, we also must have the ability to choose how we conduct ourselves there.

Again, I have to make this clear, choice is inherently tied to dualism.

If we have the ability to make any choice, we also have the ability to make a good choice or a bad choice, a choice that will make us feel a little better or one that will make us feel a little worse. This is the nature of choice; to allow a free will of sorts to “discover” the right answer. We must have the ability to make the ‘wrong’ choice so as long as any right choice is available. It’s the nature of free will.

If heaven we’re a place of choice, of free will, it must also be a place where ‘wrong’ decisions are available. If this were not the case and heaven we’re not a place of choice then it must also not be a physical location.

Luke 17:21

nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

Perhaps Heaven is a not a place but rather a state of being. A state of being that one can experience whilst when it’s raining or when the sun is shining. Perhaps Hell is also a state of being, a state of separateness from the wholeness that we inherently are.

And if there was the ability to not experience the bad, the suffering, could we really know what the good is?

 

[Fiddler]

If heaven were a place ,how could have we felt it without our physical body ?

If I were born as blind ,G-dforbid,how could you explain me the color thing?

 

[OneTwo]

Heaven is a place where only the souls of people will be, it is not physical in the way a street would be

 

[Fiddler]

So, what is a soul? is it materialistic ?

 

[OneTwo]

No human will know what a soul is, as none has seen one by itself. The soul is inside us, with our body as a physical appearance.

 

[Breathe]

I believe "Heaven" is a state of being; more so, I believe Heaven is true being, our natural state.

I am okay with saying "a place", so long as one does not include the childish notion of us reaching it through travelling through the cosmos, or that our souls will leave our bodies and "fly upwards" to Heaven, or anything like that. I find the idea that we fly to Heaven to be alien, but we can experience it whilst alive, and upon death and will ultimately go to it.

 

[kellykep]

Perhaps Heaven is a not a place but rather a state of being. A state of being that one can experience whilst when it’s raining or when the sun is shining. Perhaps Hell is also a state of being, a state of separateness from the wholeness that we inherently are.

And if there was the ability to not experience the bad, the suffering, could we really know what the good is?

Its like you telling a child not to play with the fire - it burns. The child knows that the fire burns but is not aware of the sensation of burning until he burns himself. The experience serves as a learning process to associate fire with burn, pain, danger, etc. Secondary reactions then began to develop subsequently in the presence of fire - anxiety, fear, remorse, etc.
From this the child grows up to know and understand the effects of fire and hows to handle it.

 

[chinu]

Is Heaven a Place?

Like doctorate is a state of affairs, or level, or place.
Similarly heaven is also a state of affairs, or level, or place.

 

[arthra]

Heaven is not a physical place but it is a spiritual condition... being close or near to God.

In the Gospel, Jesus said, "I am come from heaven."* Physically, he was born of a woman, but the Christ's reality is from the city of eternity, for the heaven is not a place but a state of consciousness.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 37

* as in John 6:38

 

[Super Universe]

onvention wisdom says “John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

My thoughts are these:

The bible refers to a place that exists outside of the now, outside of our current reality. Note: this is debatable among Christians but most will agree – Heaven is a place and this place is good. This place is where God dwells.

My logic sees things differently.

If heaven is a place, then it is a physical location.

If heaven is a physical location then we have the ability to choose in that physical location. For example, if I see a street, I have the ability to choose to walk on the left side or the right side of the road. If I see John on one side I may talk to him and bypass the chariot moving the opposite direction or I may take the latter option and jump on the chariot. John is often boring anyway

Choice is inherently tied to every conscious being in a physical location.

Therefore if heaven is a physical location, we also must have the ability to choose how we conduct ourselves there.

Again, I have to make this clear, choice is inherently tied to dualism.

If we have the ability to make any choice, we also have the ability to make a good choice or a bad choice, a choice that will make us feel a little better or one that will make us feel a little worse. This is the nature of choice; to allow a free will of sorts to “discover” the right answer. We must have the ability to make the ‘wrong’ choice so as long as any right choice is available. It’s the nature of free will.

If heaven we’re a place of choice, of free will, it must also be a place where ‘wrong’ decisions are available. If this were not the case and heaven we’re not a place of choice then it must also not be a physical location.

Luke 17:21

nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

Perhaps Heaven is a not a place but rather a state of being. A state of being that one can experience whilst when it’s raining or when the sun is shining. Perhaps Hell is also a state of being, a state of separateness from the wholeness that we inherently are.

And if there was the ability to not experience the bad, the suffering, could we really know what the good is?

Heaven is not a "physical" location. It does exist but it exists outside of the material universe.

You will always have free will. Wrong decisions are caused by one of two things, a being made a selfish choice or a being made a choice before they knew everything applicable to the outcome. Selfish beings are not allowed into heaven and by the time you get there you will know everything about how the universe works so you won't make wrong decisions anymore.

When the bible says that the kindgom of God is within you it's referring to the soul which is a fragment of God.

People often struggle to understand why God allows bad things to happen. One of the main reasons is so you can come to the realization that it's just not about you. It never was, and it never will be. Also, it's hoped that you will work to solve problems on your own. By wanting to improve (yourself and your surroundings) you are, in essence, seeking God.

 

[beerisit]

Heaven is a place in peoples beliefs.

 

[Tristesse]

No human will know what a soul is, as none has seen one by itself. The soul is inside us, with our body as a physical appearance.

If no human can know what a soul is, and I assume that you're a human, how can you assert that one exists and attribute properties to it?