cover image EXPLORING HEAVEN: What Great Christian Thinkers Tell Us About Our Afterlife with God

EXPLORING HEAVEN: What Great Christian Thinkers Tell Us About Our Afterlife with God

Arthur O. Roberts, . . Harper San Francisco, $21.95 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-06-053068-6

What does eternal life really mean? Who inhabits heaven? Is there a society in heaven? Using such important questions about heaven, Roberts (Messengers of God; Drawn by the Light) offers numerous Christian theories about this alluring celestial destination. For instance, he suggests several possibilities for the "location" of heaven: it could be an illusion carried over from a less evolved era of the human race, a spiritual world that co-exists with the natural one, or a moment of union with the divine. Roberts draws from Scripture and Christian leaders as well as less predictable sources, such as the Chinese scholar Mo Tzu, the philosopher Plato, and poet Vachel Lindsay ("General William Booth Enters Heaven"). Roberts, a professor at large at George Fox University and a Quaker philosopher, is an overt and opinionated narrator who dutifully presents many interpretations of heaven, but makes it clear what he thinks of each one. This willingness to step forward saves the book from being a droning, neutral, academic tome. Roberts takes a great personal risk when he discusses evidences for an afterlife; although he possesses a general skepticism regarding séances and mediums, he admits to hearing reassuring words from a deceased friend. "It wasn't something that could be laboratory tested as a repeatable occurrence; but it was an intimation of immortality, a flicker of light in the shadow of death." This exploration of heaven reads like a highly engaging and intelligent conversation. (Aug.)