Heaven Author: Visit Amazon's Randy Alcorn Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0842379428 | Format: PDF
Heaven Description
From Publishers Weekly
According to Alcorn (
The Treasure Principle;
Deadline;
Safely Home), the subject of heaven rates as one of the least accurately discussed subjects in the whole of Christendom. Even seminarians fail to give appropriate time and attention to heaven as described throughout the Bible because other themes take pre-eminence both chronologically and preferentially. Alcorn is likewise astounded that the majority of Christians who do take time to consider heaven often possess faulty, nonbiblical assumptions, one of the most common being the misconception of heaven as a place of unending church services. The author, who is also the founder of the nonprofit organization Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), has spent years studying what the Bible says about heaven, and in this compelling and comprehensive resource, he offers every conceivable question about heaven, or the "New Earth," as a Christian believer's ultimate destination. Alcorn answers the expected queries on heavenly life as well as quirkier ones: will Christians drink coffee in heaven? Will there be homeownership, and what about sex? Will our pets be in heaven? Evangelical scholars and laypersons alike will appreciate Alcorn's expansive—though perhaps long-winded—musings on this neglected subject, a real boon in a time when many people are eager to understand what happens after death.
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About the Author
Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM). Prior to 1990, when he started EPM, he served as a pastor for fourteen years. He has spoken around the world and has taught on the adjunct faculties of Multnomah Bible College and Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon.
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- Series: Alcorn, Randy
- Hardcover: 560 pages
- Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Hardcover edition (October 1, 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0842379428
- ISBN-13: 978-0842379427
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
In his new book on heaven, appropriately titled HEAVEN, Randy Alcorn tells the story of an English vicar. When asked by a colleague what he expected after death, he replied, "Well, if it comes to that, I suppose I shall enter into eternal bliss, but I really wish you wouldn't bring up such depressing subjects."
If we're honest, a lot of us might agree with that vicar. The thought of spending eternity floating about on a cloud, strumming the proverbial harp, sounds a bit, well, boring. Huckleberry Finn certainly thought so.
"She (Miss Watson) went on and told me all about the good place. She said all a body would have to do was go around all day long with a harp and sing forever and ever. So didn't think much of it.... I asked her if she thought Tom Sawyer would go there, and she said not by a considerable sight. I was glad about that because I wanted him and me to be together."
It's exactly this kind of bland vision of eternity that Alcorn's book seeks to dispel.
"The pious Miss Watson had nothing to say about Heaven that appealed to Huck. What would have attracted him was a place where he could do meaningful and pleasurable things with enjoyable people. In fact, that's a far more accurate description of what Heaven will actually be like. If Miss Watson had told Huck what the Bible says about living in a resurrected body and being with people we love on a resurrected Earth with gardens and rivers and mountains and untold adventures --- now that would have gotten his attention!"
Indeed, and it got my attention too. Despite my education at a Bible college, I've spent little time thinking about or studying the logistics of eternity. And I'm not alone.
The first thing most people do when they pick up a book is to check the endorsements. Heaven by Randy Alcorn comes with an array of them. Interestingly enough, Jerry Jenkins--co-author of the Left Behind series--and Hank Hanegraaff--author of The Apocalypse Code--both give Alcorn's book the thumbs up. While Jenkins and Hanegraaff have written about cosmic eschatology and the book of Revelation, it is interesting to see two people with divergent views on eschatological issues endorsing a book dealing with eschatology. The obvious question is, "What has Alcorn done in this book!?"
Alcorn is a former pastor, and the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries. He has authored numerous books, including a few on Heaven, ethics, and some fiction volumes. He has taught at Western Seminary and Multnomah Bible College. In some ways, his book Heaven is a sort of magnum opus for someone who has studied, written and taught about Heaven and the related theological issues.
Heaven contains two appendices, which Alcorn commends to the reader at different points throughout the book. However, it is possible that they should be read first, as it will help to understand where he is coming from and where he is going. The first is called "Christoplatonism's False Assumptions," and it deals with the dualism pervading most of Christianity--a sort of matter is bad, spirit is good. He asserts that Christians have, in a sense, baptized this Platonic philosophy, and therefore constantly interpret matters, such as heaven, in a purely spiritual manner. The second is called "Literal and Figurative Interpretation." Here, he asserts that medieval theologians began to allegorize much of Scripture, particularly about
Heaven, and that those allegorizations have been maintained until the present.
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