Heaven is for Real - Part Three

Writing this last blog in the series has been on my "to do" list, but I admit that I haven't felt much motivation to do it.  And then I realized that considering some of the stuff I was planning to put up here, it likely would not get any easier.  So I should get crackalacking.

The first part of this post, I'm just going to point out how it seems to me that Colton's vision of heaven is not consistent with the Bible.  I'm not saying it contradicts the Bible.  I'm saying it's not consistent with Scripture.  There is a difference, and I recognize that some people feel that contradiction is the standard for rejecting personal revelation.  I would say that something that seems inconsistent with Scripture would be something I'd have a lot of trouble recognizing as a revelation of any kind.  I  respect that Todd Burpo has tried to prove that Colton's dream was consistent with Scripture.  If you have read the book, then you have read his point of view.  And now I tell you the problems I have with it.  And you can be the judge.

And then me state again that I find it a fearful thing to have to say that a very nice family with a very nice story contains elements that are "off."  I realize that if I say that Colton's vision does not line up with the Bible, that people are going to be wondering what that vision was.  And that turning to other explanations for it... well, some those explanations might not be nice ones.  I didn't enjoy that aspect of my critique.  I'll set that part of it aside for later, and just show you what I see.  You are fully free to disagree.

First and foremost, Colton's vision of heaven just seems to smack of a three or four year old idea of heaven.  It is actually, once you get down to the brass tacks of it... pretty mundane...  That is a generalization.  Here is a list of the things I find troubling, unsupported by Scripture, and make me vaguely uneasy taking this as an actual vision of heaven:

1. Jesus has a rainbow-coloured horse.
2. Jesus gives Colton "homework" and helps him with it.
3. The Holy Spirit is up there in a visible manifestation and is simply... "blue."
4. There is a throne to the left and the right of God's throne and Gabriel the angel sits on the left side...
5. Human beings in heaven have wings...
6. A baby that died in utero and went to heaven appears to have been "growing up" in heaven ever since...??
7.  That same little girl still does not have a name... because she is waiting for her parents to get to heaven to name her.
8. There is no mention or description of any of the heavenly beings that others have seen in heaven.  (cross-references included later)
9. Colton appears to have also seen Satan, though the angels must keep him out of heaven with swords...?

Let me go through some of these with a bit of explanation, and keep in mind that I am not saying that these things directly contradict Scripture, but that to me, they just don't match up with other visions of heaven.  I'm not going to comment on every one, because that would be too long.  And besides, you are smart.  You do the homework, and see if you agree with me, or think I'm "off" myself.

#1.  Jesus may have a rainbow horse.  The Bible never says he doesn't have one.  But when Christ is described on a horse, it is a white horse.  Maybe the rainbow horse is just for fun, I don't know, but it seems less heavenly, and more 3 yr old-ish.


#3.  A visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit, which was simply "blue."  Again, I can't say this is contradicted in the Bible.  The Bible never mentions the Holy Spirit being like anything but : a tongue of fire (or some form of fire), a rushing wind, a white dove.  Did I miss anything?  Anyway, this description just feels a bit "off" to me, you might say.

#5. The wings.  I'm going to spend a bit of time on this one.  It needs some explanation.  I think it is one of the "biggies" here, odd as that may seem.  At first glance, you might say "Couldn't we have wings in heaven?"  O.K...  So here are a coupla problems I see with that.  The disciples never mention seeing any wings on Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration... ?  Human beings are never mentioned with wings in heaven.  You might say we will be like the angels in heaven, but then I'd have to point out that THAT verse says we are not like them in MARITAL STATUS. 

Further more, when Jesus talks about that, He is actually speaking of the resurrection.  Which is sort of another problem.  What does it mean to say that people have wings in heaven, or for that matter that they look like themselves, but a younger version?  Because  in heaven, we have not yet received our resurrection body, right?  According to 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff, the resurrection where we get a physical body (which is like Jesus' body, not like the angels) is not until all Christians are caught up to be with Jesus.  And I'm still here. 

I'm not saying that when Moses and Elijah appear on the Mount, they don't have an appearance of a body.  I'm saying "What do I do with those wings?  Are they permanent?  Do they have some sort of 'spiritual' meaning?  Are they of a practical nature?"  No, I realize that heaven is mysterious, and there are lots of spiritual mysteries I don't yet understand.  I'm just saying that the "wings" part of Colton's vision seems mysterious, but not in the same way.  It doesn't seem like the Burpos believe Colton's vision is "symbolic," yet there are these wings.  I don't know what to do with them, do you?

At no point in Revelation are the saints every mentioned as having wings.  John describes some pretty strange sights, but he leaves any mention of wings on humans totally out of the picture.

Not even all "angels" (which really is the word for "messenger") have wings.  In fact, most are not mentioned with wings.  There are heavenly beings with wings, and we call them angels.  There are the cherubim on the Ark, which have wings and may have had bodies like lions.  Then if you really want to see a biblical vision of heaven, you can read Ezekiel chapter one.  It will kinda blow your mind, by which I mean that you may see why I say Colton's vision was "mundane."  There are more about these heavenly creatures in Ezekiel chapter 10, where they are also called cherubim.  And you can find more very interesting beings, these ones with SIX wings, in Isaiah chapter 6.  You can cross reference those visions with Revelation chapter 4:6ff.

Other than the rainbow colours and the throne of God... I'm not sure that anything from Colton's vision really matches up with these biblical visions...  does it?  Here is an example of Ezekiel's description of the throne of God (in case you are too lazy to check it out yourself  ;)  )

"...there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.  And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around... Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.  Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord."

Am I missing something big here?   I'm not talking about detail.  Yes, both have a throne, and yes both talk about rainbows.  I'm talking about the "atmosphere" if you will.  Ezekiel doesn't even say "there was a throne."  He says "there was a likeness of a throne."  It is so hard for him to explain it using earthly words that he says ""the appearance of the likeness" of God's glory.  Do you get the sense that Ezekiel is struggling to convey what he saw without giving you the wrong idea, because there are no accurate words for the reality of it?  The sense that heaven might be pretty different from earth?  The sense of the holy, the sacred, the mysterious?  Awe, and wonder.? That sort of thing...

Then, once again, I'm going to mention the argument from silence in the Bible.  Yes, an argument from silence is only an argument from silence.  Still... you be the judge.  Lazarus was dead for 4 days, Jairus' daughter was dead for some amount of time, and Dorcas as well, just as some examples of people who might have been "in heaven."  At no point does Scripture related any of their experiences...  and that's not to mention Paul's vision of heaven which he was not allowed to write about. 

I realize that the Burpos don't actually claim Colton came back from the dead, but rather that he had a vision of heaven.  My point is, what he relates does not correspond with biblical visions.  And neither does it correspond with "back from the dead" stories from the Bible, because none of those people seem to have written any memoirs about it.  I think that is a bit telling.

Then there is a very interesting story that Jesus tells about the Rich Man and Lazarus.  (not the same Lazarus as the one who is resurrected.  We actually don't know if this story is a parable, or an actual event, but either way, it speaks here)  In this story the rich man wishes that Lazarus would be allowed to go back and warn his five brothers about hell, and that they might end up there.  What did Jesus say to them?  "If they do not hear Moses and the other prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead."  (Luke 16:31)

I find that interesting.  It's in the Bible, so you might say I'm predisposed to believe it is true. 

Let me get personal here.  When I was told about the book, I did think about reading it.  You might say that when I came across the book in the local book store, I was tempted to buy it...  You might say that I was susceptible to that sort of temptation, because I had just recently released my own sweet baby into a place I had never seen based on a trust I had in God and who He is, with no "concrete" evidence, other than what I could find in the Bible.  You might say it, because it is the truth.

But I thought about what I was saying in buying the book.  What was I saying to God...??  "God, I believe the Bible is Your Word, and I trust You.  But I still just would like something to make me feel a bit more sure..."  I'm not saying that is what YOU were saying in your heart when you bought/read the book.  I'm saying, that was MY temptation.

And I realized something.  Faith IS an action.  And actions ARE faith.  I said in my heart "Am I going to need this book?  DO I NEED THIS BOOK?"  And I realized that no, I was going to leave the book on the shelf.  And in that moment, I had more faith than I had ever had, that God had Joel in a very good place, waiting for me.  I'm not saying that cured every moment of doubt.  No.  But faith is what we do.  If you want to have faith, you must act on what you trust in.  And that moment of walking away from the book was a big moment of affirmation of belief for me.  I realized because I could walk away, that I did believe.   And I could continue to believe, because I did walk away. 

And I'm writing this to encourage you not to throw away a precious, precious promise.  When Thomas had to see Jesus' wounds on His resurrected body in order to believe, Jesus said "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  That is a promise I'm holding onto.  I don't want to throw those precious words away.  And I don't want you to either.  We have never seen Christ resurrected and standing before us as proof.  But we believe.  Heaven IS for real.  We don't really need Colton's word to believe it, do we?  I choose the blessing.  I choose the blessing.

Finally, for those who just really want to know what explanation I have for Colton's vision, I'm going to say that after reading the book, I felt that most of the things could have a natural explanation.  And that is the explanation I'd like to believe, because the other choices would not be as nice.  I believe the Burpo's are sincere.  I think they might have had a predisposition to believe in visions like this.  I think that it is possible that the sickness Colton had, coupled with surgery medications, etc. might have given him some pretty vivid dreams.  I know this can happen from my own experience with my father when he was very ill for many days and had surgery.  He never shared a vision of heaven, no.  But he had some confused ideas, and, for example, he really thought he had been taken from hospital to hospital all through his home province, even days after the meds wore off and his fever was gone.

I just don't have time to go into all the details, but for example, the Burpos maintain that Colton couldnt' have known about the baby they lost.  They are honest enough, though to admit they told their oldest child.  And I kinda think, from what I know about children, that could explain how Colton knew.  Most of the details about heaven are ones that Colton really could have picked up, as a child in a pastor's home, from adult conversations around him, from church sermons, etc.  I know my my own son that he has picked up stuff that baffles and bewilders me.  I ask him many times "Where did you hear that?"  And I usually never find out.

I think the Burpos are well intentioned, I think they truly believe that their son had a vision of heaven, and I think that they didn't see any harm in sharing their story.  I believe they hoped it would be encouraging.  But I think they really were open to hearing about an experience like that and when Colton shared a child's dream about heaven brought on by fever, illness, and surgery, they sort of took it and ran with it.  If anyone would like to ask me any questions about my explanation, please feel free to comment on this blog.  I admit that I might have made a mistake or missed something.  Which is why I wrote #2 blog first.  My main concern with their story is the impact it has on personal versus general revelation and the Bible.  My thoughts on why I don't believe the vision is from God are secondary to that concern and I don't feel as passionate about convincing you on that.  I just want us all to be very careful about what we believe is God's word.

If you are still reading, then thanks for slogging through this.  I hope, in the least, that I have provided food for thought.  And that maybe, just maybe, I have encouraged you to go to God's word and hang on to the promises there.

Heaven is for Real - part 2

If you haven't yet read part one, please read that one first.  That is why it says "Part 1."  ;)  Unless you are a friend who hates having things "prefaced."  Not mentioning names, but I might have a friend like that, and she prefers things blunt and straight to the point...  :)  But the rest of you, please, read the first part.

So, here is the unpleasant task... being "critical" of a book that has "over two million copies in print" and has been the NY Times bestseller...

Bluntly, and to the point, I remain unconvinced that Colton Burpo has had a vision of heaven.  More on that later.

First of all, let me say why I believe that this book should not have been written, even IF Colton DID have a vision of heaven.

And that is not going to make people like me.  I realize.  Not only do I disbelieve the vision, but I think a lovable, sincere family did the wrong thing in writing a book and "sharing" it with everyone...

Which brings me to an important disclaimer.  If you do NOT share in a profession of belief in the Bible, then my words mostly have no weight for you.  This book will be like any other book about life after death experiences or visions of heaven.  (and there are many.  Many, many.)  Most of those stories/books present "evidence" similar to what is found in HifR about people knowing things they could only know if what happened was real.  I'm pretty suspicious of that sort of evidence.

I'm critiquing this book in particular, because it is written inside of the Bible-based world view.  And the biggest part of my criticism comes out of that.  This particular blog is NOT meant to cover "near death experiences" is what I am saying.  I'm just dealing with what I think about Christians writing about "personal revelations," dreams, visions, etc.  (to simplify, I'm just going to say "Christian" even though I acknowledge that not everyone who says they are a Christian believes in the Bible as some sort of authority on spiritual things.  That sounds crazy, yet it is true...  Strange world we live in, I say.)

Let's suppose that Colton "really" had a vision of heaven.  (Because as his father admits, at no time did Colton stop breathing or have his heart stop, therefore his father himself calls this a "vision.")  I don't believe that he did... but let's be (on my side) hypothetical. 

What do we do with this??  Is this a general revelation that is on par in authority with the Bible?  Well, no, I'm sure most Bible believers would emphatically deny that.  In fact, Todd Burpo is very careful to explain that he examined Colton's revelations against scripture and they were not contradictory to it.  So the vision has been "subject" to the authority of the Bible.

Indeed...  but if Colton's revelations are NOT authoritative... yet come from God ... what are they?  I mean, to US, the body of those who believe the Bible.  Now, because Colton says that in heaven we have wings, and that is not contradicted in the Bible, do I believe that my son, Joel, is in heaven with wings??  Either this vision is from the Lord or it is not.  If it is from God, then it is true!  Then Colton IS revealing GENERAL REVELATION.  How can it be any other way?

Notice the story of the lady who came to ask Todd Burpo if her child was also in heaven?  Why?  She could not go to the Bible.  The Bible could not tell her.  So she went to another authority, Todd Burpo...  I admit he said it made him uncomfortable and he did his best to deal with the question.  But what was the outcome here?  A lady went to Todd Burpo for an authoritative answer, because the Bible was not enough...

If God had revealed to the Burpo family a private and personal vision to comfort them or ?? (fill in some reason) then it should have remained private.  To share it to the world at large is to invite other Christians to believe what the vision revealed as a revelation additional to the Bible.  But Christians are NOT to add to the revelation of scripture.

This is not someone saying "God showed me that He wants me to be a missionary in Africa."  This is someone sharing information about heaven.  It's more like someone saying "God has told me that every Christian in America needs to move to Africa."  That wouldn't really be a "personal" revelation... it's for everybody.  And if you tell other people that your son had a vision from God that revealed things about heaven, well...??  Even the apostle Paul, who had some sort of vision or trip to heaven, was not allowed to share it with us.  (2 Corinthians 12:1-ff)  That was before the canon of Scripture was closed...  So... er... did God change His mind now, after 2,000 years, about what we should know about heaven?

Still not sure about the way this errodes the special authority of Biblical revelation?  Here is a quote from the 'blurbs' at the front: "Colton's story could have been in the New Testament - but God has chosen to speak to us in this twenty-first century..."  Are you sure you agree with this idea?  (I realize the Burpo's didn't make this claim, but isn't it sort of a logical conclusion?)  Colton's story could have been in the New Testament??  But God left it out and let a whole wack of people live without it until now?  So even though it is 2,000 years later, we can hold Colton's story on par with the Bible?

Do you see the problem I'm talking about here?  It might seem a small thing, the detail about having wings in heaven, for example.  We so often get misled this way, because things seems small.  But the principle is the same.  If I accept that there are winged saints in heaven, do I not then open myself up to all sorts of things?  By the same token of it being outside of Scripture, I reject doctrines like the immaculate birth of Mary, her bodily resurrection, and that "priests" must not marry.

When I give this criticism, I recognize that there are people who DO believe in continuing general revelation.  And I can't likely change their minds about that.  What I am saying is, be aware of what is going on in your mind.  Be aware of what you are believing.  Examine it carefully.  Are you committed to the Bible as THE ultimate authority for spiritual life?  Be aware that in accepting visions like Colton's, ultimately you are saying that there IS an ongoing general revelation outside of the Bible.  That is where this will lead you.

You might be OK with that.  I am not.  And that is why, even if the vision were true, I say that the Burpos should not have published their book.  They are tempting people to view Colton's vision as a "new revelation."  And opening the door to more and more "new revelations."  Don't believe me?  What about the next book that has come along?  Have Heart: Bridging the Gulf Between Heaven and Earth?  This book, also written by sincere Christians, claims that a dead son has come back to visit his parents and tells them that those who die in Christ come back on "missions" to earth...  So if you accept Colton's vision, on what basis will you reject this couples testimony?

This is the sort of thing that concerns me... this is the sort of thing that makes my heart cry out.  Because I too have lost a son, and I know how painful that is.  I can understand the temptation that visions and revelations like this have.  But can't you also see the danger here?  Can you see how people like me, and like you, if you have a child that has died or is dying, can you see how we are vulnerable to deception and that if we leave the Bible, we will be on shaky ground...

I have a lot more to say about this, but I don't want the blog to get too long, plus there are currently three children in this house and who knows what they are getting up to while I type this.

So, to recap, Part 2 of this was me asking a question, under the hypothesis that Colton's vision really was "from God."  The question of what do Bible believing Christians do with a revelation that is outside of scripture...

In part 3, I'm going to write about why I think that Colton's vision was not contradictory to the Bible, but IS inconsistent with Scripture.  I find myself unsatisfied and unconvinced with the nature of the revelation itself, when compared to Scripture.  And I also might touch on how I don't find Colton's revealing knowledge that he "couldn't" know a convincing sign...

It is dicey waters here.  I read the book.  I cried.  I understand the emotions involved in the story.  I personally understand what the Burpos went through.  And I have much empathy.  I have put that aside, because sometimes emotions cloud my thinking.  I know it.  I have been a victim of emotion clouded thinking before.  And even though I am being critical here, it doesn't mean I don't find the Burpo family likable.  I disagree with their interpretation of events, and with their decision to write a book about it.

Heaven is for Real - Part One

Back in the summer, I became aware of a bit of a "fervour" going around about a book, titled Heaven is for Real.  People asked me if I read it, and some told me it was really good.

At that time, I choose NOT to read it.  Let me tell you something about me.  I am immediately a bit turned off and suspicious of anything that seems a bit "bandwagon-y" going around in the world.  Particularly when it is especially going around the "Christian community."  I'm not saying this is necessarily a good or bad thing.  I also, for the record, do not have a cell phone and I am a relatively young woman (I like to tell myself).  So, feel free to consider me "a character."

Maybe I would make a good "postmodern" after all, but I find that I mostly am questioning the wrong things.  (like cell phones.  Have you ever seen the look on a 12 year old face when you question why they NEED a cell phone?  Never mind that, picture the same thing, but to the parent...If you are parent of a 12 year old cell phone owner, I have now totally lost you.)  Even though Tony Jones says in his book that post modernists "question everything" and even though Rob Bell recommends this in his, I don't find that to be true.  That we postmodernists "question everything."  Ha!  I'm questioning the statement that we question everything!  How clever am I?  (Sorry, momentary lapse of seriousness, briefly, to lighten up what will become a pretty serious blog in a little while.)

Anyway, it seems to me that "question everything" really doesn't apply to everything.  It seems to me that there are some "sacred cows" out there that people don't question.  But that is another blog.  Might as well not go poking around at every single sleeping dog all at once.  Which is to say that I'm not really looking forward to the hornets nest I am stirring up, should anyone actually read this blog.

If you are still able to remember the start of this blog, it is about a book that I did not read this summer, for various reasons, one of which I already mentioned, that I was turned off by it's seeming universal and instant appeal...

That was one reason.

So, I finally did read the book.  Why?  Because I already knew from other people what it was about, and I already was thinking pretty critically around that knowledge.  Then I read some reviews of it that were also critical.  And from the start I had been a bit worried about the book and how so many people were reading it with ... glowing eyes?  (I know, I sound like a killjoy, eh?)  You could saw that this blog has been writing itself since the summer.

This is just the final, official product.  And when I read "final" then I think, oh, watch out for the hubris of that statement.  I think it is final.

You may have already got the impression that what I am going to say about the book, having finally read it, is that I'm not going to recommend reading it.  You might think this just means that I came to the book with expectations and then made sure that they were met.

There is that.  Instead of responding to that idea, I'm going to tell a personal story.  (Since researching the emerging/postmodern church, I see it everywhere in myself!  How postmodern of me to respond to a possible critique with a personal story.)

There was a time when I loved Rob Bell videos.  I am referring to what is known as the "Nooma" series.  They made me feel very encouraged.  They are warm, seem heart-felt, seem to touch that basic level of experience and speak to it.  I didn't watch the videos, I experienced them.  They made me cry.  They seemed at times profound.  And they made me feel good.

My father tried to warn me that there might be stuff in them that didn't really measure up to the Bible.  (If Rob Bell read that sentence, he'd be like 'Oh, here we go again, someone who thinks they can read the Bible without a bias and therefore give the "correct" interpretation.  I guess at this reaction, having finally read Velvet Elvis.  I bet if you read the book you know I am right)

The thing is, it hurt to hear him say stuff.  I felt, in my heart, crestfallen.  I felt defensive of Rob Bell and of myself.  "These videos HELPED me," I said to my Dad.  "There might be small things that are not perfect, because no one has a perfect view all the time, but how can you criticise something that has HELPED me?"

My Dad's criticism of Rob Bell stung me.  Why?  Because I had bought into him.  Not just the videos, those too, but him as a person.  A trustworthy and good guy.  And because if the videos were not really being based "on the truth," then what happened to the encouraged feeling I got from them...?  I was very emotionally invested in "Nooma" videos.

Later on, I realized my Dad was right... but that is another blog.

The reason I'm writing this to you, isn't because it is really connected to the book Heaven is for Real.  It is to say that if I write this little critique and it hurts you, I am sorry.  I really am. 

Because I know how unpleasant and painful it is.  Really.  In the years of my son's death and illness, I have been so fragile.  Small things hurt big.  And I am troubled to write to you, knowing that some people who have read HifR have also lost a loved one.  And they/you might have been encouraged by the book, and they/you might be emotionally invested in that book as true and good.  And this might be sort of painful when you are already feeling fragile and longing for encouragement.

This I recognize.  Again, I am sorry.  If you go away from this blog thinking that I am "judgemental" and "cynical" and a nasty killjoy, I understand that.  I felt that way about my father too.  I don't anymore, of course.  But I did.  And if you feel that way about me, I will understand that. 

I'm still going to write the truth here, though, about what I think about the book.  Because I have a couple of concerns about the book.  And I can't ignore them.  After I write my critique, you get to think over what I say and evaluate it.  If you feel I have been unfair and ignorant, I understand, like I said.  But please, please, recognize that part of the reason I wrote it is because this blog is about truth and love.  Together.  And I hope that at the end of the critique, you find that there IS encouragement after all...