
:''For the 2002 motion picture, see Heaven (film)'' The heavens are the sky, the celestial sphere, or outer space. Indeed, ''sky'' is the original meaning of the word ''wikt:Heaven''. ---- Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many world religions or spirituality philosophy. Those who believe in heaven generally hold that it (or Hell) is the final afterlife destination of many or all humans. In unusual instances, humans have had, according to the claims of many testimonies and traditions, personal knowledge of Heaven. They presume this is for the purpose of teaching the rest of humanity about life, Heaven, and God. ==Conceptions of Heaven== [[Image:Dore-empyrean.jpg|thumb|Dante Alighieri and Beatrice Portinari gaze upon the highest Heaven; from Gustave Doré's illustrations to the ''Divine Comedy''.]] While there are abundant and varied sources for conceptions of Heaven, the typical believer's view appears to depend largely on his particular religious tradition. Various religions have described Heaven as being populated by angels, demons, deity, and/or heroes. Heaven is generally construed as a place of eternity happiness. The relationship between this concept and the celestial sphere is generally believed to have been first proposed by the ancient history astronomer-priests (see also: astrologer). In Eastern religions (and some Western traditions), with their emphasis on reincarnation, the concept of Heaven is not as prominent, but it still is present. In Buddhism, for example, there are several heavens, and those who accumulate good karma will be reborn in a heaven; however their stay in the heaven is not eternal — eventually they will use up their good karma and be reincarnated in another realm, for example as demi-god, human, animal, hungry ghost or even hell-being. In the native Chinese Taoist traditions Heaven is an important concept, where the ancestors reside and from which emperors drew their mandate to rule in their dynastic propaganda, for example. In Hindu belief, likewise, heaven—called Swarga loka—is seen as transitory place for souls who did good deeds but whose actions are not enough for moksha or ''absolute bliss with God''. It is important to remember that the popular notion by believers of most faiths, especially in the West, is that one enters heaven at the moment of death; this is ''not'' part of the doctrine of almost all of Christianity (see Swedenborgianism for a Christian religion that ''does'' have this doctrine) or any other major religion, that still maintain that entry into Heaven awaits such time as, "When the form of this world has passed away." (*[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_21071999_en.html JPII], also see eschatology, afterlife) ==Location of Heaven== The idea as to whether or not Heaven is a physical place has been in existence since the dawn of religion and human civilization. In the early religions (such as the Egyptian mythology), Heaven was a physical place far above the Earth in a "dark area" of space where there were no stars. Departed souls would undergo a literal journey to reach Heaven, along the way to which there could exist hazards and other entities attempting to deny the reaching of Heaven. The medieval Christian view of Heaven was that it existed as a physical place above the clouds and that God and the Angels were physically above, watching over Man. With the dawn of the The Age of Enlightenment, science began to challenge this notion, however Heaven as a physical place survived in the concept that it was located far out into space, and that the stars were "lights shining through from heaven". The work of Dante Alighieri clearly identifies that Heaven was a physical place, existing in a sphere around the Earth, the Sun, and the Stars. In science fiction, several films and literature sources have suggested that, through advanced technology, Heaven can be reached by the living through conventional means. Such was the case in the Disney film ''The Black Hole'', in which a manned spacecraft found both Heaven and Hell located at the bottom of a Black Hole. In today’s modern society of science and space flight, most people assume that Heaven is not a physical place in the universe nor can it be reached by conventional travel. Religious views, however, still hold Heaven as having a dual status as a concept of mind but also possibly still a physical place existing on another "plane of existence". To date, however, there is no scientific evidence for the existence of such a dimension, an area of the universe, or alternate reality where Heaven physically exists. ==Getting into Heaven== Religions which have a heaven differ on how (and if) one gets into it. Some (i.e., followers of universalism) provide that everyone will go to Heaven, no matter what they have done on earth. In others, entrance to Heaven is conditional on having lived a "good life" (within the terms of the spiritual system). Some religions state that those who do not go to heaven go to place of punishment, Hell. Historically, Christianity has been divided over how people gain entry into Heaven. From the 16th to the late 19th century, Christendom was divided between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox views on the one hand, and the Protestant views on the other. In the Roman Catholicism Eastern Orthodox, entry into Heaven depends upon the Christian receiving God's grace through the activities of the church. This would include Baptism, the Eucharist and Confession. Even though Heaven was promised to these Christians, some, especially Roman Catholics, believed that entering Purgatory after death would help cleanse their sins and make them acceptable to entering Heaven. Many within the Anglican Church also hold to this belief, despite their Protestant history. In the Protestant, entry into Heaven depends upon the Christian placing their faith in Jesus. Protestant theology holds strongly that when Jesus died on the cross, he took upon himself the punishment for the world's sins. Therefore, any person who has faith in Christ and asks for his forgiveness will automatically be granted forgiveness for their sins and has the promise of going to Heaven. Within the Protestant faith there are two further strands of thought. Calvinism argues that entry into Heaven has already been predestination by God - that all those who are Christians have in fact been chosen from the beginning of time to be saved. Faith in Christ is still essential, but the reason why a Christian has faith is because God has chosen them beforehand. Arminianism holds that predeterminism is denied. In this case, a person can choose to have faith in Christ out of their free will and not be compelled to by divine power. A detailed examination of the differences between these two protestant strands of thought are examined in their respective articles. While this division still exists within the Protestant church, since the early 20th century many Protestant churches have adopted a Universalist approach which claims that all people will one day enjoy Heaven, regardless of their religious beliefs. Even within religions, such as Catholism and Protestantism, which dictate faith in Christ and receipt of the sacriments as a prerequiste for Heaven, there still exists in some opinions a "human factor" which prevents the blatantly evil from entering Heaven even if they are a practicing member of a faith. A prime example of this would be in the culture of the American Mafia, in which known mobsters and killers may be seen attending church on a daily basis and professing a belief in Christ. However, since such people choose to ignore the majority of the Church's teachings and engage in evil acts, there are those who believe that such persons will be denied entry into Heaven based on evil acts committed in this world. It is not enough to simply belong to a faith and verbally express a belief in Christ, but one must also live by His teachings and live a good and decent life. ==Heaven in Christianity== Heaven is an especially interesting doctrine in Christian thought, which has the resurrection of the body dominating the concept of afterlife. While the intermediate state (between death and the resurrection) is unclear, the final state of believers is in an incorruptible, resurrected body, living in the "New Jerusalem" in the "New Earth." The person was never meant to be disembodied. Death is an enemy, not a friend who frees the soul. The Greek "hê basileia tous ouranous", usually translated as "the Kingdom of Heaven", is indeed more literally "the rule of the skies", with "the skies" a codeword for God. Thus it describes a state, not a place. The present Roman Catholic Church teaching regarding Heaven is found in the ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'': "Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever... This perfect life with [God]....is called heaven. [It] is the ultimate end and fulfilment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness." Pope John Paul II has said (see link below), "[Heaven] is neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds, but a living, personal relationship with [God]...This final state, however, can be anticipated...in the gift of self through fraternal charity." The Eastern Orthodoxy teaching is that Heaven and Hell are the same "place"—the "New Jerusalem" and "New Earth", but the individual's perception of the place will determine whether or not one experiences it as Paradise or agony. This perception will be determined by one's relationship to God. Jehovah's Witnesses reject the idea of heaven as the final hope and home for humanity; in their view only a few people including the Apostles (John 14:1-3; Rev. 5:9,10; 14:1-5) will go to Heaven to rule the remainder of good people (including David and John the Baptist), who will inherit the Earth to live forever (Matt. 5:5; Acts 2:34; Rev. 21:3-5). Many Christians believe that the "wealth" of heaven is nonmaterial. I.e. the blessings which are forever, and cannot be tarnished or destroyed or taken away. Some of these will be enjoyed by redeemed people after death such as enjoying the actual presence of God (Rev 22.3-4), the absence of pain and sorrow (Rev 21.4), and some are enjoyed in this present life, such as peace (Ph 4.7) , joy (Jn 16.22). ==Heaven in Judaism== While the concept of heaven (malkuth shamaim - Kingdom of Heaven) is well-defined within the Christianity and Islam religions, the Jewish eschatology, sometimes known as "olam haba", the world to come, was never set forth in a systematic or official fashion as was done in Christianity and Islam. ==See also== *Afterlife *Astral projection *Elysium *Eschatology *Hell *Limbo *Mag Mell *Nirvana *Out-of-body experience *Purgatory *Pure Land Buddhism *Utopia *Valhalla ==External links== *[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_21071999_en.html July 21, 1999 statement of Pope John Paul II concerning the topic of Heaven.] *[http://www.near- . /experiences/research18.html The Near-Death Experience and Heaven] *[http://www.yourquotations.net/Heaven.html Famous Quotes on Heaven] *[http://www.religiousbook.net/Books/Online_books/Jt/Jesus_Teaching_5.html Sky - versus Heaven] *[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/heaven-hell/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Heaven and Hell] *[http://www.geocities.com/douglas36601/KYMAK.html Visions of Heaven on Earth] Jewish mysticism Christian eschatology
==Untitled bit== I find it very interesting that all of the religions of the earth, both modern and from the past, associate the abode of the gods as being in the sky, even the Chriatian concept of Heaven. This in itself should lead some weight to the belief that the gods are aliens who don't come just from anywhere in the sky, but a specific planet. The gods did not have as great a power as we think, but had technology that we now are just discovering. Some day our people may meet their gods and be surprised when they find out they are just as motal as we are. ------------------- This is obviously a major topic, and it was disappointing to see the idiotic comments someone else posted originally. I'd really like to see the concept of "The Afterlife" discussed in some depth, acknowledging the beliefs of not only the major religions, but also the beliefs of indigenous religions such as the Native American tribes, the various African Animist faiths, etc. This is certainly not my area of expertise, but it is well worthy of inclusion in the Wikipedia. ---- From :Heaven, third paragraph: "...those who do not meet the criteria go to a place of punishment, hell." "hell" should properly be capitalized here, no? +++++++++++++++ The idea of heaven (as viewed in a Christian POV) is far removed from what Christ Jesus taught. He viewed Heaven, not as a place where all righteous mankind (within spiritual context) were to reside, but as the capital city of God's Kingdom. "The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool," God said. (Isaiah 66:1) Person's who had lived a "good life" were not to go to Heaven, but reside on Earth. "The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it." (Psalm 37:29) "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."—Matthew 5:5 "Evildoers themselves will be cut off, but those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth."—Psalm 37:9 "The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it."—Proverbs 2:21, 22 So, the question arises for most Christianity, "If I lead a 'good life', why do I die, and what happens to me after I die?" The Bible says that sin causes death. It also states that when you die nothing remains of you. Romans 5:12 tells us: "Through one man [Adam, mankind's forefather] sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned [by inheriting imperfection, that is, sinful tendencies]." "You [will] return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19) Simply stated, the Bible teaches that death is the opposite of life. At Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, we read: "The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going." "Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs. His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish."-Psalm 146:3, 4 "The soul that is sinning-it itself will die," the Bible emphatically states. (Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Acts 3:23; Revelation 16:3) Here we see that Earth is not a "proving ground" and Heaven the reward. ---- Yes, this page could use some work. Why not take a scientific approach. Who says there is a heaven? Why do they say? Are there witnesses? Are there good eveidences? What do we mean by heaven? When we say heaven, are we atalking about the eternal world? User:Hawstom 07:38, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- I removed this POV interpretation that was added without attribution. I am not sure it ieven has place in the article. *Bible tells us that a few people including Apostles will go to heaven to rule the people in the earth (John 14:1-3; Rev. 5:9,10; 14:1-5), and the others including David will receive the earth to live forever(Matt. 5:5; Acts 2:34; Rev. 21:3-5). Please advise. User:Hawstom 16:59, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC) : I think you've made a defensible decision. User:Mkmcconn : I think so, too. Tom, please explain why you removed and why you are not sure.User:K.M. 05:50, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC) Well, I, Tom (Hawstom), think this article is primarily about what is Heaven like, and not about who is going to end up in heaven. And the quote above probably belongs better on the JW page. User:Hawstom 04:13, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC) Besides my belief that we should be moving this article away from being a discussion of who is going to heaven, I can see that K.M.'s edits are POV for two reasons. First, they are inserted with an apparent willingness to degrade article consistency and quality (something a veteran Wikipedian should be past) in order to get POV inserted. Second, the POV has been inserted in a POV manner ("the Bible says"). If the bad faith POV insertion had been done in a NPOV manner, it would have been hard to impugn (after all, we all have agendas that sometimes creep in). But when done without careful NPOVization, it is subject to reversion by the first Wikipedian who comes along. User:Hawstom 04:34, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC) But rather than simply edit or revert the questionable edit, I think this article could benefit from some group soul searching, and this edit may be just the occasion for it. So I propose we open the discussion on two issues: 1) How might K.M. fix his insertions? 2) What is this article about anyway? User:Hawstom 04:34, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC) :I changed my insertion, so please be cool. User:K.M. 05:35, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC) ==Heaven in Buddhism== Just a curious question. We apply the same word 天(Ten, jap. heaven) for the Heaven in Christianity and for Buddhism. IIRC 天 are one of six world types where all souls continue to reincarnate. The Pure Land is one of them. Some Boddhisattvas are predicted "coming from a certain Heaven" like Miroku-Boddhisattva from Tosotsu-ten. How call people this concept in English? Heaven or another term? My knowledge on this issue are very narrow and I'm regretful I cannot contribute well. User:KIZU 12:41, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC) The only terms that I can think of that might suffice are Heaven, Afterlife, or Eternity or Eternal World. I might more accurately call it the Real World. It sure is good to have you here contributing, and I hope to see some of your input and discussion. User:Hawstom 05:09, 25 Apr 2004 (UTC) Though I don't know closely Buddhist comcepts (it's not my belief and very complicated), according to the buddhist documents (Sutras), *There are many world, and they exists in some way simultinously. Some are bad, some are good. *There are six phases of the world, or simply there are six worlds, and Ten(Heaven) is one of them and the best. Interestingly those Buddhist "Heaven"s are not "Eternal Worlds", because there is nothing eternal according to their belief. Everyone reincarnates unless they reach to the Nirvana, so even in the Heaven people must die someday and go to the other world or reincarnate there in another shape. Even if they enjoyed a life of ten thousand years, they must die and reincarnate. As for Pure Land I read some Buddhist priests said "the purpose of the reborn in to the Pure Land is the return from there to here to spread the wonderfulness of the Pure Land. User:KIZU 13:34, 30 Apr 2004 (UTC) Hmm. It seems like it would be nice to have some kind of article that covers a general concept of an existence greater than this one. Your input from Buddhism is very insightful. I see that currently we have the following articles that deal more generally with this area, along with the definitions Wikipeida gives: *Afterlife, something spiritual that you experience when you die *Underworld, any place to which newly dead souls go, a term normally used (by unbelievers?) in mythology and religion studies *Heaven, a place not of this world or of happy rest or bliss *Hell, the place of the dead or alternatively of torment. Good umbrella article. Of course there are numberless other terms in other languages that have different shades of meaning for afterlife or underworld, but it would be good to mastermind the organization of all these articles under one or two umbrella articles about a real and amply referenced, but disputed and variously conceptualized, existence that is beyond this one. User:Hawstom 14:29, 1 May 2004 (UTC) I would hope that the general Buddhist contribution to the understanding of afterlife would be able to be distilled into some umbrella article. User:Hawstom 14:29, 1 May 2004 (UTC) :Your idea is smart, though I'm afraid I miss your point. It's good for Wikipedia to have a well-designed tree of articles. I saw in fr.wiki a guide at the end of each articles to guide. For example religion - Greek religion - and so on. Having both such a linear guide and a list of particular notions works well as far as they are well designed. Off course we engage a bunch of problematic notions, we cannot avoid disputing. For Buddhist notions I suppose it's better we call for contributions on some notepages of particular Buddhist concept such as Pure Land than we will try to make a scribble; we are laity on those subjects. BTW WikiLove is a good term, I like it. I thank you letting me know this idea, Tom. User:KIZU 15:59, 1 May 2004 (UTC) I propose Afterlife to be the organizational hub of this genre of article. The other contenders for a hub article would be underworld and eschatology, but I don't think either of those terms works as well as Afterlife. I am intrigued by your description of the fr.wiki hierarchy guides. Perhaps such could be added to these articles. User:Hawstom 14:32, 6 May 2004 (UTC) ==Afterlife Reorganization== I am starting the ball rolling on an afterlife articles reorganization. I will create a list of Articles about Afterlife and try to organize them all to reduce redundancy and improve utility. I made a few edits accordingly. User:Hawstom 20:44, 10 May 2004 (UTC) == capitalisation == I capitalised most of it. Heaven is a place, albeit a fictional one, and therefore should be capitalised. One however, can write of heavens in general with a small h. User:Duncharris|User talk:duncharris 10:23, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC) ==Calvinism== This may or may not stir up discussion. I removed the little bit that said that Calvinism was an example of how some religions thought that Predestination was the way they entered heaven. This is true... sort of. The problem is that in the sentence previous it outlines the Arminian position which states that only those who trust in the deity and in his method of salvation can enter heaven. Strangely enough this is the Calvinist position as well! To put it in more theological terms - both Arminians and Calvinists believe that Jesus was sent by God to die for the sins of the world. Both Arminians and Calvinists believe that only those who place their trust in the death and resurrection of Christ will go to heaven. Arminians and Calvinists differ over the place of free-will and determinism in how this placing of trust occurs. User:One Salient Oversight 01:28, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) :Well, can you say as much in the article? I think having the views properly attributed is desirable. User:Hawstom 02:47, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) ::Okay - I'll attempt it. User:One Salient Oversight 03:25, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) == Bible: where does it say you go to heaven when you die? == I notice that the article refers to the Bible in the section regarding the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses. Can anyone include some references to the relevant sections of the bible to substantiate the other Christian beliefs? i.e. that one will go to heaven even if that are not one of the 144,000? --User:Rebroad 23:59, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC) :Ok, I'll bite. You do have to apply a context to biblical passages - it's not a legal document that outlines each and every contingency and gives pertinent definitions. That's part of the reason that Jesus taught His disciples - so that they could spread the important parts of His message and explain what was meant by various things He & they had said. If you're looking for specific verses, I've got a couple that are ''generally'' taken to describe heaven and what happens when you die. *"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. . . . Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:2-4,6) *Paul (who would have a pretty good idea of what Jesus was talking about) has the best-known (if not directly explicit) explanation of God's promise: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him" (I Cor.2:9) :Now, clearly I'm no theologian, but I can find verses for a few things if I check the index on my Bible... Like I said, though, the Bible's not written to be a legal document. It takes interpretation. Priests and the Pope interpret for Catholics and their interpretations are all standardized, so you can check Catholic dogma if you're looking for detailed, legalese on heaven. Protestant views are, of course, more diverse and each group has slightly different versions of interpretations, but I think most would accept the few verses I give here as being a good starting point for understanding Heaven. --User:Abqwildcat 05:30, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC) :Hmm. My favorite would be "The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man" in which Lazarus goes to Abraham's bosom and the rich man goes to hell (good because its from the mouth of Jesus). User:Hawstom 18:51, Feb 11, 2005 (UTC) ==Heaven in Islam?== Wow, not even a word is mentioned.--User:Zereshk 03:20, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC) == Removing never never land == I removed the "See also" link to never never land. "Never Never Land" is a euphemism for death, not Heaven. It would be more appropriate to include a link to death. The very words "never" indicate the opposite of what Heaven (traditionally) signifies. -- User:Jwinters | User talk:Jwinters 18:03, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Heaven:
Heaven
Heaven
Heaven's_Gate
Heaven's_Gate
Heaven's_Gate_(band)
Heaven's_Gate_(cult)
Heaven's_Gate_(cult)
Heaven's_Gate_(movie)
Heaven's_Magic
Heaven's_Open
Heavener,_OK
Heavener,_Oklahoma
Heavener_Runestone
HeavenGames
HeavenGames
Heavengames
HeavenGames/Delete
Heavengames/Delete
Heavenly
Heavenly_(album)
Heavenly_(British_band)
Heavenly_(French_band)
Heavenly_(power_metal)
Heavenly_(twee_pop)
Heavenly_Creatures
Heavenly_Creatures
Heavenly_Discourse
Heavenly_Father
Heavenly_Handel
Heavenly_Handel
Heavenly_Kingdom_of_Taiping
Heavenly_Kings
Heavenly_Mother
Heavenly_Mother
Heavenly_Records
Heavenly_Records_artists
Heavenly_Ski_Resort
Heavenly_Ski_Resort
Heavenly_Stem
Heavenly_stem
Heavenly_Stems
Heavenly_stems
Heavenly_Sword_and_Dragon_Saber
Heavenonearth
Heavens
Heavens_to_Betsy
Heavens_to_betsy
Heaventop
Heaventop
Heaventree
Heavenz_Movie
Heaven_&_Earth
Heaven_(disambiguation)
Heaven_(film)
Heaven_(movie)
Heaven_17
Heaven_17
Heaven_and_Earth
Heaven_and_Hell
Heaven_and_Hell_(1975_album)
Heaven_and_Hell_(1975_album)
Heaven_And_Hell_(Black_Sabbath)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Black_Sabbath)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Black_Sabbath)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Joe_Jackson)
Heaven_and_Hell_(novel)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Vangelis_album)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Vangelis_album)
Heaven_Can_Wait
Heaven_Can_Wait_(1943)
Heaven_Can_Wait_(1978)
Heaven_Can_Wait_(1978_movie)
Heaven_Earth_&_Beyond
Heaven_Hill
Heaven_in_'74
Heaven_Knows,_Mr._Allison
Heaven_on_Earth
Heaven_Or_Las_Vegas
Heaven_Or_Las_Vegas
Heaven_or_Las_Vegas
Heaven_or_Las_Vegas
Heaven_Sect
Heaven_Shall_Burn
Heaven_shall_burn
Heaven_Tonight
Heaven_Tonight
Heaven
:''For the 2002 motion picture, see Heaven (film)'' The heavens are the sky, the celestial sphere, or outer space. Indeed, ''sky'' is the original meaning of the word ''wikt:Heaven''. ---- Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many world religions or spirituality philosophy. Those who believe in heaven generally hold that it (or Hell) is the final afterlife destination of many or all humans. In unusual instances, humans have had, according to the claims of many testimonies and traditions, personal knowledge of Heaven. They presume this is for the purpose of teaching the rest of humanity about life, Heaven, and God. ==Conceptions of Heaven== [[Image:Dore-empyrean.jpg|thumb|Dante Alighieri and Beatrice Portinari gaze upon the highest Heaven; from Gustave Doré's illustrations to the ''Divine Comedy''.]] While there are abundant and varied sources for conceptions of Heaven, the typical believer's view appears to depend largely on his particular religious tradition. Various religions have described Heaven as being populated by angels, demons, deity, and/or heroes. Heaven is generally construed as a place of eternity happiness. The relationship between this concept and the celestial sphere is generally believed to have been first proposed by the ancient history astronomer-priests (see also: astrologer). In Eastern religions (and some Western traditions), with their emphasis on reincarnation, the concept of Heaven is not as prominent, but it still is present. In Buddhism, for example, there are several heavens, and those who accumulate good karma will be reborn in a heaven; however their stay in the heaven is not eternal — eventually they will use up their good karma and be reincarnated in another realm, for example as demi-god, human, animal, hungry ghost or even hell-being. In the native Chinese Taoist traditions Heaven is an important concept, where the ancestors reside and from which emperors drew their mandate to rule in their dynastic propaganda, for example. In Hindu belief, likewise, heaven—called Swarga loka—is seen as transitory place for souls who did good deeds but whose actions are not enough for moksha or ''absolute bliss with God''. It is important to remember that the popular notion by believers of most faiths, especially in the West, is that one enters heaven at the moment of death; this is ''not'' part of the doctrine of almost all of Christianity (see Swedenborgianism for a Christian religion that ''does'' have this doctrine) or any other major religion, that still maintain that entry into Heaven awaits such time as, "When the form of this world has passed away." (*[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_21071999_en.html JPII], also see eschatology, afterlife) ==Location of Heaven== The idea as to whether or not Heaven is a physical place has been in existence since the dawn of religion and human civilization. In the early religions (such as the Egyptian mythology), Heaven was a physical place far above the Earth in a "dark area" of space where there were no stars. Departed souls would undergo a literal journey to reach Heaven, along the way to which there could exist hazards and other entities attempting to deny the reaching of Heaven. The medieval Christian view of Heaven was that it existed as a physical place above the clouds and that God and the Angels were physically above, watching over Man. With the dawn of the The Age of Enlightenment, science began to challenge this notion, however Heaven as a physical place survived in the concept that it was located far out into space, and that the stars were "lights shining through from heaven". The work of Dante Alighieri clearly identifies that Heaven was a physical place, existing in a sphere around the Earth, the Sun, and the Stars. In science fiction, several films and literature sources have suggested that, through advanced technology, Heaven can be reached by the living through conventional means. Such was the case in the Disney film ''The Black Hole'', in which a manned spacecraft found both Heaven and Hell located at the bottom of a Black Hole. In today’s modern society of science and space flight, most people assume that Heaven is not a physical place in the universe nor can it be reached by conventional travel. Religious views, however, still hold Heaven as having a dual status as a concept of mind but also possibly still a physical place existing on another "plane of existence". To date, however, there is no scientific evidence for the existence of such a dimension, an area of the universe, or alternate reality where Heaven physically exists. ==Getting into Heaven== Religions which have a heaven differ on how (and if) one gets into it. Some (i.e., followers of universalism) provide that everyone will go to Heaven, no matter what they have done on earth. In others, entrance to Heaven is conditional on having lived a "good life" (within the terms of the spiritual system). Some religions state that those who do not go to heaven go to place of punishment, Hell. Historically, Christianity has been divided over how people gain entry into Heaven. From the 16th to the late 19th century, Christendom was divided between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox views on the one hand, and the Protestant views on the other. In the Roman Catholicism Eastern Orthodox, entry into Heaven depends upon the Christian receiving God's grace through the activities of the church. This would include Baptism, the Eucharist and Confession. Even though Heaven was promised to these Christians, some, especially Roman Catholics, believed that entering Purgatory after death would help cleanse their sins and make them acceptable to entering Heaven. Many within the Anglican Church also hold to this belief, despite their Protestant history. In the Protestant, entry into Heaven depends upon the Christian placing their faith in Jesus. Protestant theology holds strongly that when Jesus died on the cross, he took upon himself the punishment for the world's sins. Therefore, any person who has faith in Christ and asks for his forgiveness will automatically be granted forgiveness for their sins and has the promise of going to Heaven. Within the Protestant faith there are two further strands of thought. Calvinism argues that entry into Heaven has already been predestination by God - that all those who are Christians have in fact been chosen from the beginning of time to be saved. Faith in Christ is still essential, but the reason why a Christian has faith is because God has chosen them beforehand. Arminianism holds that predeterminism is denied. In this case, a person can choose to have faith in Christ out of their free will and not be compelled to by divine power. A detailed examination of the differences between these two protestant strands of thought are examined in their respective articles. While this division still exists within the Protestant church, since the early 20th century many Protestant churches have adopted a Universalist approach which claims that all people will one day enjoy Heaven, regardless of their religious beliefs. Even within religions, such as Catholism and Protestantism, which dictate faith in Christ and receipt of the sacriments as a prerequiste for Heaven, there still exists in some opinions a "human factor" which prevents the blatantly evil from entering Heaven even if they are a practicing member of a faith. A prime example of this would be in the culture of the American Mafia, in which known mobsters and killers may be seen attending church on a daily basis and professing a belief in Christ. However, since such people choose to ignore the majority of the Church's teachings and engage in evil acts, there are those who believe that such persons will be denied entry into Heaven based on evil acts committed in this world. It is not enough to simply belong to a faith and verbally express a belief in Christ, but one must also live by His teachings and live a good and decent life. ==Heaven in Christianity== Heaven is an especially interesting doctrine in Christian thought, which has the resurrection of the body dominating the concept of afterlife. While the intermediate state (between death and the resurrection) is unclear, the final state of believers is in an incorruptible, resurrected body, living in the "New Jerusalem" in the "New Earth." The person was never meant to be disembodied. Death is an enemy, not a friend who frees the soul. The Greek "hê basileia tous ouranous", usually translated as "the Kingdom of Heaven", is indeed more literally "the rule of the skies", with "the skies" a codeword for God. Thus it describes a state, not a place. The present Roman Catholic Church teaching regarding Heaven is found in the ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'': "Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever... This perfect life with [God]....is called heaven. [It] is the ultimate end and fulfilment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness." Pope John Paul II has said (see link below), "[Heaven] is neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds, but a living, personal relationship with [God]...This final state, however, can be anticipated...in the gift of self through fraternal charity." The Eastern Orthodoxy teaching is that Heaven and Hell are the same "place"—the "New Jerusalem" and "New Earth", but the individual's perception of the place will determine whether or not one experiences it as Paradise or agony. This perception will be determined by one's relationship to God. Jehovah's Witnesses reject the idea of heaven as the final hope and home for humanity; in their view only a few people including the Apostles (John 14:1-3; Rev. 5:9,10; 14:1-5) will go to Heaven to rule the remainder of good people (including David and John the Baptist), who will inherit the Earth to live forever (Matt. 5:5; Acts 2:34; Rev. 21:3-5). Many Christians believe that the "wealth" of heaven is nonmaterial. I.e. the blessings which are forever, and cannot be tarnished or destroyed or taken away. Some of these will be enjoyed by redeemed people after death such as enjoying the actual presence of God (Rev 22.3-4), the absence of pain and sorrow (Rev 21.4), and some are enjoyed in this present life, such as peace (Ph 4.7) , joy (Jn 16.22). ==Heaven in Judaism== While the concept of heaven (malkuth shamaim - Kingdom of Heaven) is well-defined within the Christianity and Islam religions, the Jewish eschatology, sometimes known as "olam haba", the world to come, was never set forth in a systematic or official fashion as was done in Christianity and Islam. ==See also== *Afterlife *Astral projection *Elysium *Eschatology *Hell *Limbo *Mag Mell *Nirvana *Out-of-body experience *Purgatory *Pure Land Buddhism *Utopia *Valhalla ==External links== *[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_21071999_en.html July 21, 1999 statement of Pope John Paul II concerning the topic of Heaven.] *[http://www.near- . /experiences/research18.html The Near-Death Experience and Heaven] *[http://www.yourquotations.net/Heaven.html Famous Quotes on Heaven] *[http://www.religiousbook.net/Books/Online_books/Jt/Jesus_Teaching_5.html Sky - versus Heaven] *[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/heaven-hell/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Heaven and Hell] *[http://www.geocities.com/douglas36601/KYMAK.html Visions of Heaven on Earth] Jewish mysticism Christian eschatology
Heaven
==Untitled bit== I find it very interesting that all of the religions of the earth, both modern and from the past, associate the abode of the gods as being in the sky, even the Chriatian concept of Heaven. This in itself should lead some weight to the belief that the gods are aliens who don't come just from anywhere in the sky, but a specific planet. The gods did not have as great a power as we think, but had technology that we now are just discovering. Some day our people may meet their gods and be surprised when they find out they are just as motal as we are. ------------------- This is obviously a major topic, and it was disappointing to see the idiotic comments someone else posted originally. I'd really like to see the concept of "The Afterlife" discussed in some depth, acknowledging the beliefs of not only the major religions, but also the beliefs of indigenous religions such as the Native American tribes, the various African Animist faiths, etc. This is certainly not my area of expertise, but it is well worthy of inclusion in the Wikipedia. ---- From :Heaven, third paragraph: "...those who do not meet the criteria go to a place of punishment, hell." "hell" should properly be capitalized here, no? +++++++++++++++ The idea of heaven (as viewed in a Christian POV) is far removed from what Christ Jesus taught. He viewed Heaven, not as a place where all righteous mankind (within spiritual context) were to reside, but as the capital city of God's Kingdom. "The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool," God said. (Isaiah 66:1) Person's who had lived a "good life" were not to go to Heaven, but reside on Earth. "The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it." (Psalm 37:29) "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."—Matthew 5:5 "Evildoers themselves will be cut off, but those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth."—Psalm 37:9 "The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it."—Proverbs 2:21, 22 So, the question arises for most Christianity, "If I lead a 'good life', why do I die, and what happens to me after I die?" The Bible says that sin causes death. It also states that when you die nothing remains of you. Romans 5:12 tells us: "Through one man [Adam, mankind's forefather] sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned [by inheriting imperfection, that is, sinful tendencies]." "You [will] return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19) Simply stated, the Bible teaches that death is the opposite of life. At Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, we read: "The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going." "Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs. His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish."-Psalm 146:3, 4 "The soul that is sinning-it itself will die," the Bible emphatically states. (Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Acts 3:23; Revelation 16:3) Here we see that Earth is not a "proving ground" and Heaven the reward. ---- Yes, this page could use some work. Why not take a scientific approach. Who says there is a heaven? Why do they say? Are there witnesses? Are there good eveidences? What do we mean by heaven? When we say heaven, are we atalking about the eternal world? User:Hawstom 07:38, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- I removed this POV interpretation that was added without attribution. I am not sure it ieven has place in the article. *Bible tells us that a few people including Apostles will go to heaven to rule the people in the earth (John 14:1-3; Rev. 5:9,10; 14:1-5), and the others including David will receive the earth to live forever(Matt. 5:5; Acts 2:34; Rev. 21:3-5). Please advise. User:Hawstom 16:59, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC) : I think you've made a defensible decision. User:Mkmcconn : I think so, too. Tom, please explain why you removed and why you are not sure.User:K.M. 05:50, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC) Well, I, Tom (Hawstom), think this article is primarily about what is Heaven like, and not about who is going to end up in heaven. And the quote above probably belongs better on the JW page. User:Hawstom 04:13, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC) Besides my belief that we should be moving this article away from being a discussion of who is going to heaven, I can see that K.M.'s edits are POV for two reasons. First, they are inserted with an apparent willingness to degrade article consistency and quality (something a veteran Wikipedian should be past) in order to get POV inserted. Second, the POV has been inserted in a POV manner ("the Bible says"). If the bad faith POV insertion had been done in a NPOV manner, it would have been hard to impugn (after all, we all have agendas that sometimes creep in). But when done without careful NPOVization, it is subject to reversion by the first Wikipedian who comes along. User:Hawstom 04:34, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC) But rather than simply edit or revert the questionable edit, I think this article could benefit from some group soul searching, and this edit may be just the occasion for it. So I propose we open the discussion on two issues: 1) How might K.M. fix his insertions? 2) What is this article about anyway? User:Hawstom 04:34, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC) :I changed my insertion, so please be cool. User:K.M. 05:35, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC) ==Heaven in Buddhism== Just a curious question. We apply the same word 天(Ten, jap. heaven) for the Heaven in Christianity and for Buddhism. IIRC 天 are one of six world types where all souls continue to reincarnate. The Pure Land is one of them. Some Boddhisattvas are predicted "coming from a certain Heaven" like Miroku-Boddhisattva from Tosotsu-ten. How call people this concept in English? Heaven or another term? My knowledge on this issue are very narrow and I'm regretful I cannot contribute well. User:KIZU 12:41, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC) The only terms that I can think of that might suffice are Heaven, Afterlife, or Eternity or Eternal World. I might more accurately call it the Real World. It sure is good to have you here contributing, and I hope to see some of your input and discussion. User:Hawstom 05:09, 25 Apr 2004 (UTC) Though I don't know closely Buddhist comcepts (it's not my belief and very complicated), according to the buddhist documents (Sutras), *There are many world, and they exists in some way simultinously. Some are bad, some are good. *There are six phases of the world, or simply there are six worlds, and Ten(Heaven) is one of them and the best. Interestingly those Buddhist "Heaven"s are not "Eternal Worlds", because there is nothing eternal according to their belief. Everyone reincarnates unless they reach to the Nirvana, so even in the Heaven people must die someday and go to the other world or reincarnate there in another shape. Even if they enjoyed a life of ten thousand years, they must die and reincarnate. As for Pure Land I read some Buddhist priests said "the purpose of the reborn in to the Pure Land is the return from there to here to spread the wonderfulness of the Pure Land. User:KIZU 13:34, 30 Apr 2004 (UTC) Hmm. It seems like it would be nice to have some kind of article that covers a general concept of an existence greater than this one. Your input from Buddhism is very insightful. I see that currently we have the following articles that deal more generally with this area, along with the definitions Wikipeida gives: *Afterlife, something spiritual that you experience when you die *Underworld, any place to which newly dead souls go, a term normally used (by unbelievers?) in mythology and religion studies *Heaven, a place not of this world or of happy rest or bliss *Hell, the place of the dead or alternatively of torment. Good umbrella article. Of course there are numberless other terms in other languages that have different shades of meaning for afterlife or underworld, but it would be good to mastermind the organization of all these articles under one or two umbrella articles about a real and amply referenced, but disputed and variously conceptualized, existence that is beyond this one. User:Hawstom 14:29, 1 May 2004 (UTC) I would hope that the general Buddhist contribution to the understanding of afterlife would be able to be distilled into some umbrella article. User:Hawstom 14:29, 1 May 2004 (UTC) :Your idea is smart, though I'm afraid I miss your point. It's good for Wikipedia to have a well-designed tree of articles. I saw in fr.wiki a guide at the end of each articles to guide. For example religion - Greek religion - and so on. Having both such a linear guide and a list of particular notions works well as far as they are well designed. Off course we engage a bunch of problematic notions, we cannot avoid disputing. For Buddhist notions I suppose it's better we call for contributions on some notepages of particular Buddhist concept such as Pure Land than we will try to make a scribble; we are laity on those subjects. BTW WikiLove is a good term, I like it. I thank you letting me know this idea, Tom. User:KIZU 15:59, 1 May 2004 (UTC) I propose Afterlife to be the organizational hub of this genre of article. The other contenders for a hub article would be underworld and eschatology, but I don't think either of those terms works as well as Afterlife. I am intrigued by your description of the fr.wiki hierarchy guides. Perhaps such could be added to these articles. User:Hawstom 14:32, 6 May 2004 (UTC) ==Afterlife Reorganization== I am starting the ball rolling on an afterlife articles reorganization. I will create a list of Articles about Afterlife and try to organize them all to reduce redundancy and improve utility. I made a few edits accordingly. User:Hawstom 20:44, 10 May 2004 (UTC) == capitalisation == I capitalised most of it. Heaven is a place, albeit a fictional one, and therefore should be capitalised. One however, can write of heavens in general with a small h. User:Duncharris|User talk:duncharris 10:23, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC) ==Calvinism== This may or may not stir up discussion. I removed the little bit that said that Calvinism was an example of how some religions thought that Predestination was the way they entered heaven. This is true... sort of. The problem is that in the sentence previous it outlines the Arminian position which states that only those who trust in the deity and in his method of salvation can enter heaven. Strangely enough this is the Calvinist position as well! To put it in more theological terms - both Arminians and Calvinists believe that Jesus was sent by God to die for the sins of the world. Both Arminians and Calvinists believe that only those who place their trust in the death and resurrection of Christ will go to heaven. Arminians and Calvinists differ over the place of free-will and determinism in how this placing of trust occurs. User:One Salient Oversight 01:28, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) :Well, can you say as much in the article? I think having the views properly attributed is desirable. User:Hawstom 02:47, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) ::Okay - I'll attempt it. User:One Salient Oversight 03:25, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) == Bible: where does it say you go to heaven when you die? == I notice that the article refers to the Bible in the section regarding the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses. Can anyone include some references to the relevant sections of the bible to substantiate the other Christian beliefs? i.e. that one will go to heaven even if that are not one of the 144,000? --User:Rebroad 23:59, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC) :Ok, I'll bite. You do have to apply a context to biblical passages - it's not a legal document that outlines each and every contingency and gives pertinent definitions. That's part of the reason that Jesus taught His disciples - so that they could spread the important parts of His message and explain what was meant by various things He & they had said. If you're looking for specific verses, I've got a couple that are ''generally'' taken to describe heaven and what happens when you die. *"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. . . . Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:2-4,6) *Paul (who would have a pretty good idea of what Jesus was talking about) has the best-known (if not directly explicit) explanation of God's promise: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him" (I Cor.2:9) :Now, clearly I'm no theologian, but I can find verses for a few things if I check the index on my Bible... Like I said, though, the Bible's not written to be a legal document. It takes interpretation. Priests and the Pope interpret for Catholics and their interpretations are all standardized, so you can check Catholic dogma if you're looking for detailed, legalese on heaven. Protestant views are, of course, more diverse and each group has slightly different versions of interpretations, but I think most would accept the few verses I give here as being a good starting point for understanding Heaven. --User:Abqwildcat 05:30, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC) :Hmm. My favorite would be "The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man" in which Lazarus goes to Abraham's bosom and the rich man goes to hell (good because its from the mouth of Jesus). User:Hawstom 18:51, Feb 11, 2005 (UTC) ==Heaven in Islam?== Wow, not even a word is mentioned.--User:Zereshk 03:20, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC) == Removing never never land == I removed the "See also" link to never never land. "Never Never Land" is a euphemism for death, not Heaven. It would be more appropriate to include a link to death. The very words "never" indicate the opposite of what Heaven (traditionally) signifies. -- User:Jwinters | User talk:Jwinters 18:03, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
H
HA | HB | HC | HD | HE | HF | HG | HI | HJ | HK | HL | HM | HN | HO | HP | HR | HS | HT | HU | HW | HX | HY | HZ |Words begining with Heaven:
Heaven
Heaven
Heaven's_Gate
Heaven's_Gate
Heaven's_Gate_(band)
Heaven's_Gate_(cult)
Heaven's_Gate_(cult)
Heaven's_Gate_(movie)
Heaven's_Magic
Heaven's_Open
Heavener,_OK
Heavener,_Oklahoma
Heavener_Runestone
HeavenGames
HeavenGames
Heavengames
HeavenGames/Delete
Heavengames/Delete
Heavenly
Heavenly_(album)
Heavenly_(British_band)
Heavenly_(French_band)
Heavenly_(power_metal)
Heavenly_(twee_pop)
Heavenly_Creatures
Heavenly_Creatures
Heavenly_Discourse
Heavenly_Father
Heavenly_Handel
Heavenly_Handel
Heavenly_Kingdom_of_Taiping
Heavenly_Kings
Heavenly_Mother
Heavenly_Mother
Heavenly_Records
Heavenly_Records_artists
Heavenly_Ski_Resort
Heavenly_Ski_Resort
Heavenly_Stem
Heavenly_stem
Heavenly_Stems
Heavenly_stems
Heavenly_Sword_and_Dragon_Saber
Heavenonearth
Heavens
Heavens_to_Betsy
Heavens_to_betsy
Heaventop
Heaventop
Heaventree
Heavenz_Movie
Heaven_&_Earth
Heaven_(disambiguation)
Heaven_(film)
Heaven_(movie)
Heaven_17
Heaven_17
Heaven_and_Earth
Heaven_and_Hell
Heaven_and_Hell_(1975_album)
Heaven_and_Hell_(1975_album)
Heaven_And_Hell_(Black_Sabbath)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Black_Sabbath)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Black_Sabbath)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Joe_Jackson)
Heaven_and_Hell_(novel)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Vangelis_album)
Heaven_and_Hell_(Vangelis_album)
Heaven_Can_Wait
Heaven_Can_Wait_(1943)
Heaven_Can_Wait_(1978)
Heaven_Can_Wait_(1978_movie)
Heaven_Earth_&_Beyond
Heaven_Hill
Heaven_in_'74
Heaven_Knows,_Mr._Allison
Heaven_on_Earth
Heaven_Or_Las_Vegas
Heaven_Or_Las_Vegas
Heaven_or_Las_Vegas
Heaven_or_Las_Vegas
Heaven_Sect
Heaven_Shall_Burn
Heaven_shall_burn
Heaven_Tonight
Heaven_Tonight
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