Dreaming of Heaven Eric D. Kamstra Caleb P. Unema Mark P. Sanders Eric D. Kamstra Caleb P. Unema Mark P. Sanders

Heaven in Narnia

The Last Battle  Isaiah 40:29-31  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength, They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:29-31  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength, They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

The Last Battle  “They kept on stopping and to look round and look behind them, partly because there was something about it which they could not understand.”

The Last Battle  Lewis describes this world as a shadow of what Heaven will be.  Plato’s view  Lewis describes this world as a shadow of what Heaven will be.  Plato’s view

The Great Divorce

 “Because all answers deceive. If ye put the question from within Time and are asking about possibilities, the answer is certain. The choice is always before you. Neither is closed. Any man may choose eternal death. Those who choose it will have it. But if ye are trying to leap on into eternity, if ye are trying to see the final state of all things as it will be (for ye must speak) when there are no more possibilities left but for the Real, then ye ask what cannot be answered to mortal ears Time is the very lens through which ye see—small and clear, as men see through the wrong end of a telescope—something that would otherwise be too big for ye to see at all. That thing is Freedom: the gift whereby ye most resemble your Maker and are yourselves parts of eternal reality. But ye can see it only through the lens of Time, in a little clear picture, through the inverted telescope.”

The Great Divorce  “But I don’t understand, is judgment not final? Is there really a way out of Hell into Heaven?’ ‘It depends on the way ye’re using the words. If they leave that grey town behind ti will not have been hell. To any that leaves it, it is purgatory. And perhaps ye had better not call this country heaven. Not Deep Heaven, ye Valley of the Shadow of Life. And yet to those who stay here it will have been called Heaven from the first. And ye can call those sad streets in the town yonder the Valley of the Shadow of death: but to those who remain there they will have been Hell even from the beginning.”

The Great Divorce  “’But of course!’ said the Spirit, shining with love and mirth so that my eyes were dazzled. ‘That’s what we all find when we reach this country. We’ve all been wrong! That’s the great joke. There’s no need to go on pretending one was right! After that we begin living.’”

Mere Christianity

 “Hope… means … a continual looking forward to the eternal… It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next…It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither.”

Beyond the Shadowlands

Lewis’s Thoughts on Heaven and Hell  Heaven is being in the presence of God and enjoying all good things that flow from his character and creativity.  Heaven is utter reality; Hell is nearly nothing  Although Heaven is definite place, it is more relationship than place (not unlike the experience we have in our homes)  Heaven is the fulfillment of human potential; Hell is the drying up of human potential  We choose Heaven or Hell, daily becoming someone more suited for Heaven or someone who wouldn’t like the place even if it were offered  Hell is receiving our just desert; Heaven is all undeserved gift  Heaven is being in the presence of God and enjoying all good things that flow from his character and creativity.  Heaven is utter reality; Hell is nearly nothing  Although Heaven is definite place, it is more relationship than place (not unlike the experience we have in our homes)  Heaven is the fulfillment of human potential; Hell is the drying up of human potential  We choose Heaven or Hell, daily becoming someone more suited for Heaven or someone who wouldn’t like the place even if it were offered  Hell is receiving our just desert; Heaven is all undeserved gift

Lewis Remythologizes Heaven  Christ is the center of all things  Heaven is utterly real and our earthly life its shadow  Heaven flows from the character of God, which means it is fully integrated and love, reigns supreme, accompanied by goodness, justice, mercy, and creativity  Here humanity finds the fulfillment of its created potential—it is our true and natural home  All of our longings are at their core for Heaven  We choose Heaven by choosing the preeminence of Christ  Christ is the center of all things  Heaven is utterly real and our earthly life its shadow  Heaven flows from the character of God, which means it is fully integrated and love, reigns supreme, accompanied by goodness, justice, mercy, and creativity  Here humanity finds the fulfillment of its created potential—it is our true and natural home  All of our longings are at their core for Heaven  We choose Heaven by choosing the preeminence of Christ

Quote  If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.