I thought heaven was spiritualistic not materialistic?

Question

Why is heaven filled with streets of gold, vines of grapes for wine, walls and gates,etc. when it is a spiritualistic place? Does wine nourish a spiritual body? Can a spiritualistic body be corraled between walls and gates?
Why is heaven so valuable and such a high regarded place, if it contains only those things used by people on earth.

Please help me understand this religious contradiction!!!!

Answer 1

I'll sell you my plot for 1million cash.

Answer 2

God wants only the best for his children. The earth is a very poor reflection of heaven but I believe there are things in heaven much like on the earth such as flowers and valleys. Heaven is more beautiful than we can imagine. Life will continue in eternity and we are not going to just float around on clouds. Also, we will have more than a spirit body.

Answer 3

Vedic Literatures states that Heaven and Kingdom of God are 2 different things.
While Kingdom of God is Spiritualistic, Heaven is materialistic.

Even in Bible it is clearly stated
Mathew 24:35: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
How can a Spritual thing Pass away?
Genisis 1.1: In the beginning God Created Heaven and Earth.
Where was God when he created Heaven? He was in his Eternal Kingdom.

Vedic scriptures state the reason for creation of Heaven. There are people who worship or follow God to get better facilities for enjoying life. They do not have love of God, but approach God to get desire of sense pleasure satisfied. They are called Pious People.

How ever even such service (with material motive) is also awarded by God and such people get to live in Heaven. But Heaven is also temporary as this earth and will pass away.

Answer 4

Quite the contrary. Streets of gold-gold being valuable to mankind-will be of such little value that we will be walking on it just as we do the dirt on the earth. The things of value will be the souls that get to heaven because of our lives on this earth, and the crowns that we will lay at the feet of Jesus as rewards for the sacrifices we have made during our lifetime--certainly you wouldn't come in the presence of the King without a gift, would you? Or will?

Answer 5

Heaven is supposed to be the most magnificent place to live. We call it valuable down here, but up there it is just a normal place to be. Nobody runs around going look at the gold lets go steal it. We will have freedom up there, and we will worship the Lord. God doesn't want us to be greedy down here. He has everything up there that we will ever need. Down here we accumulate it then we die, and can't take it with us. It isn't about materials in heaven. He just wants you to know it is such a beautiful to come, and live for all eternity.

Answer 6

for lots of the Pagans that i understand, inclusive of myself, it really is often, to in reality, non secular and spirituality is the position the emphasis is placed. in spite of the indisputable fact that, i think it relies upon on why a man or woman is drawn to Paganism first of all. i'd say that almost all of those who've been Pagan for a at the same time as are Pagan for non secular causes. lots of the more moderen persons to Paganism are there for non secular causes also. yet we must be truthful, a minimum of a few of "more moderen-to-Paganism" anybody is there for textile income, yet those type of persons do no longer stay interior Paganism for extraordinarily lengthy. it really is been my experience that even at the same time as some have come to Paganism as a results of "payoff" they stay as a results of spirituality that they locate and their own non secular boost will change into extra important than something textile. often speaking, a non secular-minded man or woman isn't a materialistic man or woman. they have needs and needs like anybody else, in spite of the indisputable fact that, they do no longer lean in the route of materialism. If a non secular-minded man or woman has money, you'll see them putting the money to sturdy use no longer only for themselves, yet for the ambience, sturdy charities, searching remedies, analyze, and helping others. Their problem isn't the final analysis or how a lot they get out of existence, yet how a lot they offer. and that is what I have discovered from my own reviews accordingly far.

Answer 7

ok simple, look at history. Back when this bible story was written, it was speaking to the poor, the trod-upons, the intouchables if you will. They needed reassurance that they will have a paradise AFTER they die, because they're LIVING in hell. Notice all the imagery is old school, it's not like WE would like some grapes for wine, no we'd want hops for beer, and streets of gold? COME ON, we'd use it differently. See, it's a story written at a specific TARGET AUDIENCE, because the rich HAD grapes for wine, streets of gold, gates guarded by dogs and soldiers with pointy sticks.

Answer 8

The Vedas tell us that beyond the limited material world is the infinite spiritual world, the abode of God and His expansions, and our original home as well. Everyone there is eternal and absorbed in ever-increasing happiness.

Transcendence is not static, but full of dynamic variety and rich with spiritual qualities. Spirit by nature is conscious, and every aspect of the spiritual world—plants, animals, people, hills, rivers, houses—is a fully God-conscious person.

The main feature of the spiritual world is that everyone there loves God , with the fullness of their being. When we purify our hearts and awaken our innate love for God, we become qualified to enter the spiritual world to take up our eternal service to the Lord. Once attaining the spiritual world, we souls never have to return to the material world.

"That which the Vedantists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns—that is My supreme abode." –Sri Krishna, Bhagavad-gita Chapter 8 Verse 21

There is no material contamination in the spiritual world, it is completely purified from gross and subtle contamination from the modes of material nature and the omnipresent difficulties of birth, death,old age and disease, or the distress we experience to the mind and body, distress from other living entities and distress from natural phenonmena, the spiritual world is known as Vaikuntha, which means place of no anxiety, this is our real home, which can be experienced by those in purified consciousness.

The heavenly planets however are material and self serving, they are attained through peity, but are also temporary and certainly not an objective goal of the pure devotee's, who understand that selfless love and service to the Supreme, devoid of material desire, is the original pure constitutional position of the soul or self.
To discuss further:-Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari ([e-mail])

Answer 9

here on earth, rare gems, gold and such are not common to most of us but these are things that we find beautiful and not just lying around everywhere, but in Heaven, this will be commonplace, everyone that reaches Heaven will experience these riches, but we won't look at them like we do here, they won't have any value to us. Our main concern, I think, will be being the presence of God and worshiping Him.

Answer 10

It's a spiritual place, as Jesus was resurrected to be a spirit in order to ascend to it. Those chosen to be a part of the first resurrection go to heaven to serve as overseers to those who live through Armageddon and those who are a part of the Second Resurrection of Revelations. Since this only last 1000 years, it doesn't say what happens to them afterwords.

Answer 11

I can't help you understand the contradiction. I do admire your bravery for asking the question though.

It does seem rather unusual that we should be asked to sell all our possessions and follow Jesus, in order to regain them all and more once we die.

Who knows...maybe it was a spiritual thing, not a materialistic ideal. It does make more sense in the spiritual concept.