It's Laurel, our 15 year old who just returned from mandated Bible study at her Grandmother's house.
"It sounds absolutely horrible if you can't do anything you like, the fun stuff, and have to hang around people who don't want to do anything except ... not do anything!"
"Next time you're at your grandmother's Bible study," I offer, "raise you hand and ask why she maintains such an anthropomorphic view of Heaven?"
I love that word, paid damn good money to learn it in Seminary and use it whenever I can work it into any conversation!
Anthropomorphic means applying human characteristics to other things ... like Heaven for example.
We have no idea what Heaven's like, if there is an actual paradise, so we use human traits and values to describe it because it's the only way we really know how.
For example, "the streets in Heaven are made of gold" (Revelation 21:21).
Nobody knows that and whoever wrote the Biblical book of Revelation did indeed say it but according to tradition, John was living alone exiled to the island of Patmos, a Greek Island with beautiful beaches, clear blue skies and great weather.
Who knows what the old Apostle was doing when he dreamed up his version of Heaven and had no one to bounce it off of before writing it down?
What John, or whoever it was who wrote Revelation, was envisioning is finally getting to God and living where God lives ... all of the time!
The old prophet or his Disciples used the language they knew to convey what it'd be like.
The importance is not in the details but the fact that we'll end up with God and that's a whole different kind of party altogether!
"Whatdayamean?" I can hear Laurel asking.
"Take the best parties you've ever been to, the best times you've had so far, the party's God's throwing will blow your Grandmother's mind and I'm certain she'd be uncomfortable as Hell if she chooses to attend."
