What's with all this "_____ is in Heaven" nonsense? It's not biblical!?

Question

Please read this before spouting off.

I know that Heaven is in the Bible. The part I don't get is that people think that dead folks are there NOW. Is there any Biblical evidence for this? I thought the dead were supposed to stay dead until the Rapture, and THEN they would be judged, and THEN they would go to Heaven or Hell.

I keep hearing Christians tell their kids about deceased loved ones looking down from Heaven, but I think the BIble would advise us to say "So-and-so is mouldering in the ground, and will rot there until the Rapture comes, at which point he'll jump out and we'll be reunited."

Couldn't lying to kids about this cause idolotry? If I'm wrong, please let me know how the Bible (or the Church, in the Roman Catholic tradition) resolves one plan with the other.

And while I've got your attention. Just how offensive do you think the phrase "Catholickin' good!" is? I had this crazy girlfriend once, from Norway, and well... mostly I want to know about the Heaven thing

About the idolotry thing: if kids think that Uncle Melvin is looking down from Heaven, I think there's a pretty good chance the kid would pray to him, especially in a crisis. That pretty much defines idolotry, when you worship something other than God.

Answer 1

you are right and here is some of the scriptures

Acts 2:31-35: Jesus ascended from sepulchre hell, David still in Sepulchre hell. Rev.20:1-6,12,13 [ raised up out of hell ]; Acts 24:15; John 5:26-29; Dan.12:2; Job.19:25,26; 33:4,22; 34:14,15; Psm.104:29,30; Isa.26:19; Eze.37:12-14; Luke 8:50,52,54,55 [ Eccl.12:7; Num.16:22]; Psm.49:14; 115:15-17; 146:3,4; For the new earth 1Cor.15: 22-28,51-53 = for new heavens too! and John 6:39,40,44; 14:3; 1Thes.4:15-17; Rev.14:1-7; Rev.20:1-6; Rev,3:12; Heb.12:22-24; Rev.21:1-5; 2Pet.3:13; Isa.65:17; 66:1,22;

Answer 2

I will even go a lot further than that and ask why anyone would believe anything that is said in the Bible or Koran or any of the religious superstition that is out there. I know they do but Why? I thought we would be beyond that now. Religions were created by man to control man. Civil law is more universal and so far has done a better job. Religion keeps interfering with it and messing it up. That is my view and I know others see it much different.

Answer 3

Well you are right. Preachers, Priests and lay people always say crap like that. People are in Heaven when the Bible says nothing of the sort. Everyon who has ever lived is dead and gone and they will not live again until the resurrection of the dead.

Answer 4

Heaven was created by man to ease the pain of losing oved ones and as a motivational tool to not be a rpist. murderer, etc.

Hell was created from the Gospel where Jesus says something along the lines of those who believe will live forever and those who do not will return to Ash. Ash comes from fire, which was twisted a bit and used as a scare tactic. Anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.

The bible means nothing anyway.

Answer 5

You see i am not a christian but i from what i have understood i think that all these books which have been written to guide ppl have written things in them which are conceptual. It dosent literally mean whats written in them. They always have an inner meaning. So i dont believe heaven is a place above clouds with only undeads watching over us...lol. But moreover heaven is a place with lots of nice ppl. Its obvious isnt it lots of nice ppl make that place a heaven.

Answer 6

The Bible doesn't prove anything. All it does is act as a reference of what MIGHT be, as well as a guide for how to live your life since you're stuck having to share the world with other people.

Answer 7

60: THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SPIRIT (1)

223
Having shown that the spirit of man exists, 1 we must prove its immortality.
The immortality of the spirit is mentioned in the Holy Books; it is the fundamental basis of the divine religions. Now punishments and rewards are said to be of two kinds: first, the rewards and punishments of this life; second, those of the other world. But the paradise and hell of existence are found in all the worlds of God, whether in this world or in the spiritual heavenly worlds. Gaining these rewards is the gaining of eternal life. That is why Christ said, “Act in such a way that you may find eternal life, and that you may be born of water and the spirit, so that you may enter into the Kingdom.” 2
The rewards of this life are the virtues and perfections which adorn the reality of man. For example, he was dark and becomes luminous; he was ignorant and becomes wise; he was neglectful and becomes vigilant; he was asleep and becomes awakened; he was dead and becomes living; he was blind and becomes a seer; he was deaf and becomes a hearer; he was earthly and becomes heavenly; he was material and becomes spiritual. Through these rewards he gains spiritual birth and becomes a new creature. He becomes the manifestation of the verse in the Gospel where it is said of the disciples that they “were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, 224 but of God” 3 —that is to say, they were delivered from the animal characteristics and qualities which are the characteristics of human nature, and they became qualified with the divine characteristics, which are the bounty of God. This is the meaning of the second birth. For such people there is no greater torture than being veiled from God, and no more severe punishment than sensual vices, dark qualities, lowness of nature, engrossment in carnal desires. When they are delivered through the light of faith from the darkness of these vices, and become illuminated with the radiance of the sun of reality, and ennobled with all the virtues, they esteem this the greatest reward, and they know it to be the true paradise. In the same way they consider that the spiritual punishment—that is to say, the torture and punishment of existence—is to be subjected to the world of nature; to be veiled from God; to be brutal and ignorant; to fall into carnal lusts; to be absorbed in animal frailties; to be characterized with dark qualities, such as falsehood, tyranny, cruelty, attachment to the affairs of the world, and being immersed in satanic ideas. For them, these are the greatest punishments and tortures.
Likewise, the rewards of the other world are the eternal life which is clearly mentioned in all the Holy Books, the divine perfections, the eternal bounties and everlasting felicity. The rewards of the other world are the perfections and the peace obtained in the spiritual worlds after leaving this world, while the rewards of this life are the real luminous perfections which are realized in this world, and which are the cause of eternal life, for they are the very progress of existence. It is like the man who passes from the embryonic world to the state of maturity and becomes the manifestation of these words: “Blessed, therefore, be God, the most excellent of Makers.” 4 The rewards of the 225 other world are peace, the spiritual graces, the various spiritual gifts in the Kingdom of God, the gaining of the desires of the heart and the soul, and the meeting of God in the world of eternity. In the same way the punishments of the other world—that is to say, the torments of the other world—consist in being deprived of the special divine blessings and the absolute bounties, and falling into the lowest degrees of existence. He who is deprived of these divine favors, although he continues after death, is considered as dead by the people of truth.
The logical proof of the immortality of the spirit is this, that no sign can come from a nonexisting thing—that is to say, it is impossible that from absolute nonexistence signs should appear—for the signs are the consequence of an existence, and the consequence depends upon the existence of the principle. So from a nonexisting sun no light can radiate; from a nonexisting sea no waves appear; from a nonexisting cloud no rain falls; a nonexisting tree yields no fruit; a nonexisting man neither manifests nor produces anything. Therefore, as long as signs of existence appear, they are a proof that the possessor of the sign is existent.
Consider that today the Kingdom of Christ exists. From a nonexisting king how could such a great kingdom be manifested? How, from a nonexisting sea, can the waves mount so high? From a nonexisting garden, how can such fragrant breezes be wafted? Reflect that no effect, no trace, no influence remains of any being after its members are dispersed and its elements are decomposed, whether it be a mineral, a vegetable or an animal. There is only the human reality and the spirit of man which, after the disintegration of the members, dispersing of the particles, and the destruction of the composition, persists and continues to act and to have power.
This question is extremely subtle: consider it attentively. This is a rational proof which we are giving, so that 226 the wise may weigh it in the balance of reason and justice. But if the human spirit will rejoice and be attracted to the Kingdom of God, if the inner sight becomes opened, and the spiritual hearing strengthened, and the spiritual feelings predominant, he will see the immortality of the spirit as clearly as he sees the sun, and the glad tidings and signs of God will encompass him.
Tomorrow we will give other proofs.
1. Cf. “The Difference between Man and the Animal,” p. 185. [ Back To Reference]
2. Cf. John 3:5. [ Back To Reference]
3. John 1:13. [ Back To Reference]
4. Qur’án 23:14. [ Back To Reference]

Answer 8

you are right some one answered your question and backed it up with bible verses to prove it but they were reported and the answer was removed. the bible says the dead is dead and the dead knows nothing. there are a lot of scriptures to back up what you are saying.

Answer 9

Depends which book you read. Jesus, for instance, rose to heaven immediately after his supposed resurrection. Revelations says differently about what happens when we die.

I'm a fan of the "Catholickin' Good" phrase. Makes me crave KFC.