Heaven by Randy C. Alcorn
ISBN-13: 9780842379427
Pub. Date: October 2004
From Barnes And Noble.com:
Synopsis
We all have questions about what heaven will be like. Randy Alcorn helps answer some of these questions by sharing his extensive research on the topic—all from a biblical perspective. His writing will surprise readers and stretch their thinking beyond anything they’ve imagined heaven to be like. And Heaven will help readers strive for eternity while they’re living on earth.
I’ll be blogging about this book here and there, every once in a while. Reason being, it’s a non-fiction title, and for those that know me well, I don’t read a whole lot of non-fiction, and when I do, it’s usually in bits and pieces over a span of time before I finish the entire book. I just started this book, and I’ve only read a few pages so far. Here are my thoughts about what I’ve read.
I think it’s kind of sad how a lot of Christians have a skewed view of Heaven. Randy used the skewed example of Heaven as it was portrayed in Tom Sawyer, and also, he gave an example of a clergyman who had skewed view as to what Heaven was really like.
Another thing he mentioned, which I felt was pretty bad, was that in a lot of seminary and divinity schools, they don’t really teach a required course about Heaven, and if they do, it’s as an afterthought, after focusing on other study items. Randy said that Heaven is living in a New Earth in our resurrected bodies, and usually clergymen, and others, don’t portray Heaven as such. Surprisingly, I have studied this aspect of Heaven before (long story as to where and why) so this information was not new to me.
The pastor at my church did a series on Heaven and I believe he stated he got a lot of the information from his sermons from Randy’s book. My pastor said that Heaven would be living on a New Earth with our resurrected bodies. A lot of this is goes back to Revelations (I believe it’s chapter 21?), but I don’t have the exact chapters and verses in front of me.
If you’ve read this book, I’d like to know your thoughts and opinions about it. It’s hard to say when I’ll be finished with the book, though.
Cecelia, Randy’s book is kind of like a textbook on Heaven, but it is one of the best books I’ve read – and I’m only halfway through it so far! Our minister is also using it as a sermon source, but it is great for anyone to read. My sister-in-law – who lost her 26-year-old daughter to cancer – has been reading and finding great comfort in it.