“It is not what we don’t know that hurts us. It is what we do know that just ain’t so that hurts us.” -various
If you have questions about The Shack – the movie and the book. . .
https://www.lifestream.org/whos-afraid-big-bad-shack/
https://illustratedgrace.com/2017/03/07/my-response-to-those-in-the-church-boycotting-the-shack/
http://screenfish.net/how-the-shack-unpacks-the-problem-of-evil-and-you-should-too/
An excellent article by Tim Challies, who serves as a pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, is co-founder of Cruciform Press, and has written three books: “The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment” (Crossway, 2007), Sexual Detox: A Guide For Guys Who Are Sick of Porn (Cruciform Press, 2010), The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion (Zondervan, 2011)
Here is an excerpt from the Tim Challies article (Tim makes reference to another book also) . . . .
“First, the Bible gives us no indication whatsoever that God will work in this way and that he will call one of us to heaven and then cause us to return. It is for man to die once and then the resurrection.
“To allow a man (or a boy) to experience heaven and then to bring him back would not be grace but cruelty. The only biblical example we have of a man being caught up to heaven is Paul and it’s very interesting that he was forbidden to tell anything about it. And the reason he even mentioned this experience was not to offer encouragement that heaven exists, but to serve as a part of his “gospel boasting.” He saw heaven and was told to say nothing about it. This was a unique experience in a unique time and for a unique reason.
“The second ground refers to the reason each of these authors offers—that through their experience we now find confidence that what God says is true. This kind of proof is exactly the kind of proof we should not need and should not want. Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe. Don Piper insisted that he was called to be the Minister of Hope. If hope is to be found in any person, it will be found in the person of Christ. It is the Spirit working through the Word who will give us confidence in our faith. And what is faith? It is simply believing that what God says in his Word is true. We do not need tales of heaven or stories of those who claim to be there.
“If you struggle believing what the Bible says, but learn to find security in the testimony of a toddler, well, I feel sorry for you. And I do not mean this in a condescending way. If God’s Word is not sufficient for you, if the testimony of his Spirit, given to believers, is not enough for you, you will not find any true hope in the unproven tales of a child. This hope may last for a moment, but it will not sustain you, it will not bless you, in those times when hope is waning and times are hard.”
Here is a video by David Platt, the senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. David is also the author of the New York Times Best Seller “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream” and also the books “Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God” and “Follow Me: A Call to Die. a Call to Live”. Platt recently founded a resource ministry, Radical.net, dedicated to serving the church and making disciples of all nations.
http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2014/04/16/is-heaven-is-for-real-real/
Here is an excerpt from that page . . .
According to Platt, “Scripture definitely says that people do not go to heaven and come back. ‘Who has ascended to heaven and come down?’ (Proverbs 30:4). Answer: ‘No one has ascended into heaven except he who has descended from heaven — the Son of Man’” (John 3:13).
“Four biblical authors had visions about heaven and wrote about what they saw: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Paul and John,” Platt said. “All of them were prophetic visions, not near-death experiences. Not one person raised from dead in the Old Testament or the New Testament ever wrote down what he or she experienced in heaven, including Lazarus, who had a lot of time in a grave — four days.”
But all of the biblical authors agree perfectly: “Their visions are all fixated on the glory of God which defines heaven and illuminates everything there. They are overwhelmed, chagrined, petrified, and put to silence by the sheer majesty of God’s holiness.” Platt said that notably missing from all the biblical accounts are “the frivolous features and juvenile attractions that seem to dominate every account of heaven currently on the bestseller list.”
Platt said we need to “minimize the thoughts of man and magnify, trust — let’s bank our lives and our understanding of the future on — the truth of God.” He said that rather than relying on traditions, we should depend on the word of God. “There’s too much at stake in our lives and others’ lives for that.”
Doug Batchelor offers an article and a 25 minute video to watch. Doug Batchelor is an evangelist and author of several books including The Richest Caveman. His primary ministry is Amazing Facts – a worldwide television and radio broadcast ministry based in Sacramento, California.
http://www.isheavenforreal.com/
Doug mentions Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (ERV) “Don’t sacrifice your sons or daughters in the fires on your altars. Don’t try to learn what will happen in the future by talking to a fortuneteller or by going to a magician, a witch, or a sorcerer. Don’t let anyone try to put magic spells on other people. Don’t let any of your people become a medium or a wizard. And no one should try to talk with someone who has died. The Lord hates anyone who does these things. And because these other nations do these terrible things, the Lord your God will force them out of the land as you enter it.”
An article by T.A. McMahon, who has a ministry of encouraging spiritual discernment. McMahon publishes the newsletter The Berean Call. Behind every article is the exhortation to believers to get back into the Word of God instead of being “carried about by every wind of doctrine.”
http://www.thebereancall.org/content/heaven-real-real-exercise-discernment-0
Here is an excerpt from McMahon’s article. . .
“Then, nearly three years after Colton’s surgery, he was shown a portrait of Jesus painted by a young girl named Akiane, who also claims to have have visited Heaven beginning at the age of four. Colton’s reaction was, “Dad, that one’s right.”
“In Exodus, we find a definitive statement against anyone attempting to make an image of God (Exodus:20:4-5). That applies to images of Jesus, whether of statues or great religious paintings or on the silver screen. One of the many problems is that they inevitably lead to idolatry, which in turn breeds superstition and occultism. Another related problem is that they must all be false representations because they have no basis in Scripture–other than being condemned. Jesus therefore could not encourage a young girl to paint His portrait.”
An article by John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California and president of The Master’s College and Seminary
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v9/n2/visits-to-heaven
Here are a few excerpts from John’s article . . . .
“Colton’s descriptions of heaven are full of fanciful features and peculiar details that bear all the earmarks of a child’s vivid imagination. There’s nothing transcendent or even particularly enlightening about Colton’s heaven. It is completely devoid of the breathtaking glory featured in every biblical description of the heavenly realm.
“Stories like Colton’s are as dangerous as they are seductive. Readers not only get a twisted, unbiblical picture of heaven; they also imbibe a subjective, superstitious, shallow brand of spirituality. Studying mystical accounts of supposed journeys into the afterlife yields nothing but confusion, contradiction, false hope, bad doctrine, and a host of similar evils.
“There is simply no reason to believe anyone who claims to have gone to heaven and returned. John 3:13 says, “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” And John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God at any time.”
I was troubled by the people with wings and halos – again, things that can be seen in paintings, but not in scriptures.
I’m perplexed that Todd thought it was impossible that Colton would have known about Sonja’s miscarriage. Colton does have a (living) older sister, does he not? She or Colton could easily have heard about their mother’s miscarriage from – or overheard – a church member.
Colton said that he had conversations with several dead people. But, isn’t that necromancy, and forbidden by God?
“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord…”Deuteronomy 18:10-12a (NIV)
I guess the thing that troubles me most is that there are so many peoples who are willing to base their theology upon the retold experience of a young – very young – child, rather than upon Scriptures. I see this as an either-or situation. Either we believe Scriptures or Todd and Colton Burpo – we cannot have it both ways.
Here is the way I understand scriptures: No one goes to Heaven alone. No one goes there and returns again. Please read the following . . .
Hebrews 9:27 “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment”
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
Revelation 19:6-9 “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people. Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
Included in forthcoming posts are several links to what others have written about this book.
Ricky's theology questions 