Ah, heaven! Everyone has an opinion about it, and no one knows a blessed thing about it. During the years I went to churches, I found that lots of people imagine heaven to be a sort of idealized version of Earthly life — nice weather, no sickness, no work, and NO DAMNED ATHEISTIC LIBERALS!

“During the years I went to churches, I found that lots of people imagine heaven to be a sort of idealized version of Earthly life — nice weather, no sickness, no work, and NO DAMNED ATHEISTIC LIBERALS!”
(close eyes, sigh of unimaginable pleasure)
God bless.

Of course as people grow older their understanding of an after-life grows. After all, as your time remaining on earth grows smaller, you begin to realize that if this is all there is, you’ve been terribly cheated. As far as knowing what Heaven is like, John 14 and Revelation 21 and 22 are where I get my concept of Heaven. And as far as there being no atheistic liberals in Heaven, well, there won’t be any, but there will be many former atheistic liberals. There won’t be any Christian fundamentalists in Heaven either, for that matter. All will be there because at some point in their lives they turned from what they were to faith in Jesus Christ and nothing else will matter. Unlike those in the survey, however, my belief in Heaven was just as strong when I was 21 as it is now that I am 66.

My own view is that we should live and enjoy this life to it’s fullest and leave the rest to “God”.

jd70,
I have to agree with you on this. That there is an afterlife, I feel absolutely certain. That it is better than this life, also seems to be certain. What it looks like or who is there, is not my concern as that is the Creator’s business and I trust that the Creator is much wiser about such things than any of us.
I’m reminded of an old joke about a man who died and went to heaven. During his tour by St. Peter, he notices all the diversity of people, from every conceivable group, happily spending eternity together. Then he comes upon a wall and asked Peter what was on the other side. Peter replies “oh the (fill in some exclusive group’s name) are over there. They think they are the only ones here.”

Everyone wants to have someplace to go. When yu are young the multitude of places is staggering and enchanting. As we age, the places get crossed off either because we have “been there-done that – sent the postcard” or because we can either not afford the time or money, or simply decided it is not worth the effort. So, as the list narrows and our options fade, “Heaven” becomes that last Big Trip. My fear is that, like many theme parks, it will not meet our expectations. Like theme parks, “Heaven” may let just anyone in, and wouldn’t that simply ruuin our sense of “Who’s got the good ticket?!”. Of course, the good part is, imagine who you might meet in line! It is fun to guess, to create,a nd to anticipate. And anyone who claims they have a map of the attractions in “Heaven” is simply trying to sell you a metaphysical Timeshare – steer clear of them!

When I was five I was in a field with my Mother at sunset, just walking, picking flowers and talking (she was my best friend). I remember looking up at the sky and saying Mother do you know we live forever? She said no honey we all have to die someday. I said no we all live forever. Nobody, including the Lutheran Church or any other I have ever belonged to could change my mind, and nothing will.

Its hard to go to heaven for any person who wishes ANYBODY be damned. Especially if that anybody is some nobody who did nothing to hurt you. Isn’t it?

The reason I believe the belief in an afterlife grows with age is that as we age we become more aware of the reality that there is an essence in each human called the life force that leaves the body at death. Many people have had near death experiences and know the sense of separating body and spirit. The older we get the more people we know who have had such experiences or the more we have learned and read. So what is our spirit life like after we die? I believe it is a lot like we believe it will be and if we live in fear rather than love that will go with us to our next adventure.

Actually, as I get older I have come to believe that life after death is highly unlikely. However, the belief is comforting to some.

Isn’t this the “Big” question of all time. Our human way of understanding our position in the universe…or perhaps the fear of our own death. As I’ve grown older, the concept of heaven changed for me; as well as the questions regarding it. As I shifted away from only understanding life from my Christian upbringing and began to investigate other cultures/religions viewpoints, I also began to change my own viewpoint. Today I no longer worry or ponder that question. I’ve learned it’s much more exciting and gratifying to live my life to the fullest and live every day like it’s my last. Certainly it’s hard to do that daily, but changing the focus has brought me more joy and flexibility. The universe and life is so full of potential,so everchanging, so exciting, so beautiful that I realize I am already experiencing the greatness of beauty and heaven right here on earth! Anyone who asks “Is this all there is” fails to open their eyes to the beauty all around them. Perhaps if our world and spiritual viewpoints relected this thought we wouldn’t ravage our planet and ourselves as we do.

If by “after-life” you mean fertilizer then yes, there is life after death. Don’t be buried in an air-tight casket lined with foam and fabric to absorb your rotted corpse. Instead, have your body dumped in the ocean or left in the woods to rot and your energy will go back to the earth and be recycled, forever and ever, amen.

Mrs Jestr and I have decided that our ashes will become part of an aritifical reef. In that way we will continue to provide shelter and support for many of God’s creatures. If the great-grands and more want to visit a memorial, they will have to go snorkeling. In no way to be want to be crated into a hermentically sealing metal womb, and there is almost as little sense being cremated and left in an urn. We’d rather help a little even in our demise. So my afterlife will be in the briny deep with the sharks and parrotfish, barracudas and manatees.

There is no god, no heaven, no hell, NO AFTERLIFE. People, live in the now, do all your good works here on earth, and make you life count for something real.

the concept of ‘heaven’ looks like a lot of wishful thinking to me.
could it be that so many people have fouled-up so much of their individual opportunities here on earth – and on some level, they realize it – that their lives would simply become too unbearable to endure if they really believed that they had failed miserably at their only chance to experience a meaningful existance?

Whose afterlife is best? The position you take is always consistent with what religion you believe. The fact that people will kill to defend their position only demonstrates the insecurity of their beliefs.
Freud pointed this out in his, “The Future of an Illusion”. Perhaps if people can accept that there is no afterlife can we better appreciate and value this life. We won’t send our young to be killed in meaningless wars or see people dies of hunger and disease.We can help others live a better life and move toward a more caring world.
The older you are, the more you can appreciate time and how fleeting life is. Perhaps you can find solace believing in angels, tales and afterlifes. But that is just a denial of reality. We are here to keep our species viable.
In America our major handicap is a belief of a god. (read Thomas Jefferson, one of our founders).

The fact that there is such a diversity of opinion demonstrates that what comes after our demise is unknowable, beyond our ability to grasp. It’s the equivalent of an amoeba being able to see and understand the meaning of a stop sign, or a Japanese comic book. It’s too large, and the context is incomprehensible.
Maybe there’s an afterlife and maybe there isn’t. If you are comforted by the belief that there is, then believe. If not, don’t. Just be respectful of those who believe otherwise.

i spent nine years in a catholic school, and as i got older,i became more of a disbeliever…i firmly believe that the process of sleep is a prelude to what death is like.when you’re dead, that’s all there is..your days are over,and i feel comfortable with that..that’s all there is.but, like many say, if believing in a god of some sort is your gig, go for it.At 68 years old, i feel even more so that you make your mark here, good or bad.this is your heaven.

When my time comes and the energy leaves my body, it will go back to the universe, from whence it came. My husband and I will be cremated…and our ashes scattered…probably off the coast of the state we live in (if we are still in this state).
One of my sisters is concerned that I won’t meet her in heaven (which she believes in) and I have told her not to worry about it. I will enjoy her here.
Live life like this is all there is…no one knows if there is more.

Personally, I think older people are more likely to believe in an afterlife simply because they’re getting closer to death and they find the concept of heaven comforting.
I don’t blame them. Reunification with friends and loved ones, eternal bliss and paradise… it sounds too good to be true. Maybe it is.
I agree with PaganSister in that we should live this life to the fullest because it may be all we have.

Less than 4 weeks ago my husband had the big Widow Maker Heart attack. No I am not a Widow thanks to my recently deceased Mother-in-Law intervened in the life here after to tell her son, “It’s not your time. Get back down there and I mean right now.” Being the good Son that he was, he did what she requested. Later the Cath Tech said my husband was within 10 seconds of being pronounced deceased when life starting coming back to him. So count these two mid 50 year olds as believers.