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Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

Title:	Discussions from a Christian Perspective
Notice:	Prostitutes and tax collectors welcome!
Moderator:	CSC32::J_CHRISTIE

Created:	Mon Sep 17 1990
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1362
Total number of notes:	61362

1340.0. "Where's God? Where's Heaven?" by SMARTT::DGAUTHIER () Mon Mar 31 1997 14:43

    I read something the other day which made mew think about writing this
    note.  There was an elementary school in India which had students of
    both Hindu and Christian faiths.  The group was asked to point to where
    God was.  The Christian students pointed up to the sky, the Hindu students
    pointed to their hearts.  These children were, of course, just mimicing 
    what they had been taught.

    The previous note about Heaven's Gate raised the same question.  Was
    God in some physical place?  Where's "heaven"?  Do our bodies go there
    or does spirit go to a non-physical spiritual realm?  

    It's said that Jesus' body rose from the tomb and eventually ascended
    to the Father in heaven.  Does this mean that heaven is a physical
    place which contains Jesus' physical body?  (this is a serious
    question)

    
    Where's God?

    Where's Heaven?
    
    (Where's the ketchup?)

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1340.1	Heaven is upward	PHXSS1::HEISER	Maranatha!	`Mon Mar 31 1997 14:52`	7
	- Jesus descended to earth to become the God-Man. - Jesus ascended to heaven after the resurrection. - Jesus will return as He left at the Second Coming. - We're told "look UP, for your redemption draweth nigh" with respect to the return of Christ. - When Christ prayed the Lord's Prayer in John 17, verse 1 says He lifted His eyes to heaven to speak to the Father.
1340.2		SMARTT::DGAUTHIER		`Mon Mar 31 1997 15:56`	11
	Indeed. I did a search on "heaven" in the on-line Bible and found it to be repleat with references to heaven being "up". God is "up" in heaven, Jesus came "down" from heaven, angels came "down" from heaven, etc... . Other passages likened heaven, or should I say the kingdom, to something internal, like a mustard seed in every individual. Something which one should nurture from within. But the notion of a physical heaven being "up" doesn't help much given a spherical planet. -dave
1340.3	spiritual	PHXSS1::HEISER	Maranatha!	`Mon Mar 31 1997 16:26`	1
	It's in another dimension ;-)
1340.4	Also see topic 802	CSC32::J_CHRISTIE	Spigot of pithiness	`Tue Apr 01 1997 16:34`	11
	<<< LGP30::RJF$DISK:[NOTES$LIBRARY]CHRISTIAN-PERSPECTIVE.NOTE;2 >>> -< Discussions from a Christian Perspective >- ================================================================================ Note 802.0 The cosmology of the Old Testament 12 replies CSC32::J_CHRISTIE "On loan from God" 5 lines 18-DEC-1993 19:53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What was the cosmology of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible)? Peace, Richard
1340.5		SMARTT::DGAUTHIER		`Fri May 30 1997 15:41`	16
	These are the secret words spoken by the Living Jesus, and recorded by Didymus Judas Thomas. "If your guides claim that the kingdom is in the sky, The birds of the sky will be there before you. If they see it is in the sea, The fishes of the sea will be there before you. The kingdom is within you and without you. When you know yourselves, you will be known. Then you shall know that you are Sons of the Living Father. But if you do not know yourselves You are in poverty, and you are poverty."