When stars were still just the holes to heaven.
Jack Johnson, Holes to Heaven
You'd be forgiven (but wrong) if you thought having a degree in theology allowed me to answer this question easily. Answering such questions honestly and with integrity, in a way that is accessible to a child, is complex.
How is the concept of continuity of life beyond death to be balanced with the painful divide between these existences that we experience now? How do we explain the spatial references we use of heaven ('up', 'in', 'there') for a 'place' that does not reside in our universe? And what of the idea that heaven is where God is - isn't God within us. or at least in our midst, now?!
As Jack Johnson so poetically put it in his song, Holes to Heaven, the age we live in provides us with such amazing insight into the universe and our place within it. One of the tasks of theology is to consider (and reconsider) such questions as Anjali's in a way that is consistent with what we know through other disciplines, such as the sciences, as we attempt to reformulate our thinking and language in ways that affirm inquiring minds and encourage deeper reflection on such a wonderful hope and faith.
Well, in attempting to answer Anjali's question, I babbled out some inadequate answer that seemed to satisfy her curiosity on some level, while encouraging her to continue to voice such worthwhile questions.
Anjali's question has reminded me how theological pondering usually raise more good questions than provide tight answers, and inspired me to ask a few more of my own.
Well, in attempting to answer Anjali's question, I babbled out some inadequate answer that seemed to satisfy her curiosity on some level, while encouraging her to continue to voice such worthwhile questions.
Anjali's question has reminded me how theological pondering usually raise more good questions than provide tight answers, and inspired me to ask a few more of my own.
