What on Earth Do We Know about Heaven?: 20 Questions and Answers about Life after Death

by Randal Rauser

Overview

There's been a curious upsurge in interest about the afterlife lately, but we're too often limited in our concept of heaven. The reality is we all do have questions about heaven: What does a resurrected person look like? What does a resurrected earth look like? Do we get our heart's desire in heaven? In What on Earth Do We Know about Heaven?, Randal Rauser considers twenty thought-provoking questions, each of which winds back to the core concept of heaven: what it is and what it isn't. Rauser uses Scripture to remind us that God's ultimate purpose is that the whole creation will be transformed and renewed, guiding readers through a vision of a glorious afterlife, consisting of a perfected earth, perfected bodies, perfected human culture, and perfected relationships.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441242709
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/01/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	846 KB

About the Author

Randal Rauser (PhD, King's College London) is associate professor of historical theology at Taylor Seminary, Edmonton, Canada. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including God or Godless?, Finding God in the Shack, and The Swedish Atheist, the Scuba Diver, and Other Apologetic Rabbit Trails. He is a popular speaker who seeks to bring the truth of Scripture to bear on today's real-life issues. He lives in Alberta and blogs at RandalRauser.com.
Randal Rauser (MCS, Regent College; PhD, King's College London) is associate professor of historical theology at Taylor Seminary, Edmonton, Canada. He is the author of several books, including Finding God in the Shack, You're Not as Crazy as I Think, and The Swedish Atheist, the Scuba Diver, and Other Apologetic Rabbit Trails. He is a popular speaker and gifted communicator who seeks to bring the truth of Scripture to bear on the real-life issues of today and who blogs regularly at www.randalrauser.com. He lives in Alberta.

Table of Contents

A Most Heavenly Equation 11

Part 1 A World Multiplied by Perfection

Question 1 Where Is Heaven Now? 17

Question 2 What Does It Mean That Heaven Will Be the Earth Perfected? 26

Question 3 Will the New Earth Include Other Galaxies? 33

Question 4 What Is God Saving the Universe From? 39

Question 5 Will We Recognize the Earth When It Is Renewed? 45

Part 2 Perfect People in a Perfect World

Question 6 How Old Will We Be-and Will We Get Older? 53

Question 7 Will We All Be Beautiful? 60

Question 8 Will Anyone Be Deaf? 68

Question 9 Will We Still Get Thirsty, Hungry, and Sleepy? 73

Question 10 Will There Be Sweet Melancholy? 80

Part 3 Exploring the Perfect Earthiness of Heaven

Question 11 Will the Titanic Sail Again? 87

Question 12 Will God Resurrect Entire Cultural Neighborhoods? 92

Question 13 Will God Resurrect Insects? 99

Question 14 Will Tigers Still Hunt Wild Boar? 106

Part 4 Relationships Perfected

Question 15 Will We Walk with Jesus in the Garden? 115

Question 16 Will We Love Everyone the Same, or Will We Have Special Friends? 121

Question 17 Will We Find Intelligent Aliens There? 126

Question 18 Will We Still Have Free Will? 134

Part 5 Hell

Question 19 If My Child Goes to Hell, Will I Know and Will I Care? 141

Question 20 Should We Hope That Everyone Will Be Saved? 149

Afterword: Waiting for the Dream Car 157

Acknowledgments 159

Notes 161