[caroldiem]

Hi Everyone,

Growing up a Christian i have always believed in God and Jesus coming from a family with very strong faith, i have been praying since i was a little girl. Losing my son Michael in July 2012 has made me more fascinated about Heaven and my mum has seen my son and my Nene together in a dream both dressed in white looking very happy and peaceful in a beautiful garden. I am a little jealous that neither of them have come to me in a dream yet i keep praying for it but nothing happens.

I found this story fascinating of a young boy who died and went to heaven and he came back to earth because Jesus had to answer the son's fathers prayer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdUGoFTfP7w

So do you believe in Heaven and Hell?

[Saecularis Angel...]

I am so very sorry for your loss.

I don't believe in the cartoon versions of heaven and hell; you know, angels with harps and fluffy clouds and pearly gates, or demons with pitchforks and lava filled caverns.

I do believe in the kingdom of heaven, but to me that's more about God's reign on this earth in our lifetime. I think that hell is a way of talking about eternal destruction.

I do believe in eternal life, after the resurrection, but I think that those who have died are in a sense sleeping in God's care until that time. That's my understanding of what the Bible promises and the church has understood through the ages.

Revelation does talk about those who are with God being robed in white, so perhaps your mother's dream is a legitimate source of comfort for you.

[la di dah]

I believe in Heaven but not in Hell. However, I am not a Christian, so my view is very shaped by that.

I am so sorry for your loss and wish you comfort and healing.

[Cath42]

My beliefs are very similar to Ange Vert's. The Bible teaches that the vast majority of people who die will 'sleep' until the resurrection. Some people will go to Heaven to form Jesus' government, but most will be resurrected to eternal life on Earth. We will see our loved ones again as the resurrection occurs. I know everyone has different beliefs, but those are mine.

[raven74]

Nope. I think they are states of emotion/spirituality that are experieced while living, not dead.
But then, I do not believe in god either.

[kim27]

My beliefs are very similar to Ange Vert's. The Bible teaches that the vast majority of people who die will 'sleep' until the resurrection. Some people will go to Heaven to form Jesus' government, but most will be resurrected to eternal life on Earth. We will see our loved ones again as the resurrection occurs. I know everyone has different beliefs, but those are mine.

This is why I find it hard to believe in such things. I we all 'sleep' until our eternal life on earth then surely you wouldn't be able to move for all the people!

[jessietroy]

I don't believe in either. Once I am in the ground jam in the ground.......

[howdo]

Not exactly. Not in the traditional sense, but I believe we existed before we came here, and we will exist afterwards. I believe that there is a place where our spirit goes after we pass from this life and that there will come a time when we will live again. I don't think there is a fiery pit or anything. Hell to me is more a prison of our own making where the choices we make in spite of knowing what's right, will make us ultimately unhappy. So we might be happy but there's always a part of us that isn't totally fulfilled and knows what we are 'missing out on' and thus we will have those moments or spaces of 'hell', but it isn't a place and it isn't a burning.

[Mishu]

I was raised a Catholic but have been questioning a few things lately, so this isn't from a particular 'faith' point of view. I have just finished reading a book by Eben Alexander called "Proof of Heaven". He is a neurosurgeon who goes into a coma with a brain infection, which (by all medical accounts) had a zero chance of surviving. He spontaneously comes out of the coma seven days later, to share his near-death experience of the afterlife. It is a fascinating read, not only because as a neurosurgeon he explores all the possible scientific explanations for his experience, but also for his account of the afterlife/heaven.

It is one of those books that is almost impossible to put down. And has left me with a lot of food for thought.

[Home body]

Yes!!! I do believe in heaven and hell.

Sorry to hear that you lost your son Michael