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Q: I'm sincere in wishing we could sit down and talk about Heaven – it's SO much more than "the reward for righteous people.” Heaven is about RELATIONSHIP with God, just as this life is intended to be all about relationship with Him, and that connection positively impacting all our relationships, choices and behavior here. Besides that, both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures declare the sad reality that on our own merits, none of us deserve to be called righteous (Isaiah 64:6, Psalm 14:2-3, Ephesians 2:8-10). Which is why Father has graciously and lovingly provided that problem's solution: His Son! I always look forward to reading your column, which often expands my perception of an issue. I especially appreciate your kindness, reasonableness, and humor. – (From C)

A: Thanks, dear C, for your very kind words. Yes, let us take up Heaven in our God Squad journey.

We need to consider Heaven because we have just spent time talking about forgiveness, and one of the consequences of forgiving those who have trespassed against us in this life is the belief that after death their souls will be punished for their transgressions in the next life. Believing this allows us to more easily forgive here and now.

Heaven is, first and foremost, the place where goodness is fully rewarded and Hell is the place where evil is fully punished. This is called the belief in Providence, and it is common to all three of the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

We must understand that this belief in heaven came to us after the Bible in the rabbinic period of Judaism in the first two centuries of the common era. The Hebrew Bible does not speak about Heaven. The Hebrew word shamayim which is often mistranslated as heaven just means “sky”. The biblical covenant with God was limited to this earth and this life. After Aristotle’s philosophy of matter and form was assimilated into Judaism after the Greek conquest of 131 BCE there was suddenly a new vocabulary to speak about life after death. Our souls (the principal of form) survive the death of our bodies (the principal of matter) and continue their spiritual journey after death. Heaven became the reward for the righteous souls and Hell the punishment for evil souls.

As the beliefs in Heaven and Hell developed over time in Judaism, Christianity and Islam differences emerged in their respective teachings.

One of the big differences is over the question of whether non-believers could enter Heaven. Judaism took the universalist view about Heaven (called in Hebrew olam ha-bah the World To Come) that,“The righteous of all nations have a share in the World To Come.” (Mishna Sanhedrin 10:1). This is the belief that right conduct is more important than right belief. Christianity developed a more restrictive view in which, following John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

This is the first great question about Heaven and presents a difficult dilemma no matter which belief one affirms. If the Jewish way is right, that all righteous people get into Heaven, then what is the purpose or value or distinctiveness of Judaism? Being a good person is enough. That is a problem for Judaism.

If, for Christianity, specific belief in Jesus as the son of God whose death and resurrection atones for the sins of humanity is necessary for entrance into Heaven, that seems terribly unfair to people who lived good lives but never had the opportunity to affirm the Gospel or who had the opportunity to become Christians but decided to live a righteous life in another faith. Condemning the Buddha or Gandhi or Maimonides to Hell because they were not Christians is a big problem for Christianity and yet believing in Jesus as the Christ who is necessary for salvation remains at the heart of Christian belief.

I want to praise your wonderful insight that Heaven is not so much a place of reward from God but rather a place of relationship with God. Heaven as a reward for goodness seems to me to deprive goodness of its purity. Doing the right thing with the expectation of a reward is not really doing the right thing. It is just trying to get paid. The philosopher Immanuel Kant had this insight in his Critique of Practical Reasoning. The only reason to do good is because it is good. If God and Heaven follow from that pure ethical motivation, then so much the better. However, seeking Heaven because we seek a deeper, eternal relationship with the God we love – now that is a Heaven worth a life of anticipation and joy.

Tell me your thoughts about Heaven while we wait.

God bless!

(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman. Also, the new God Squad podcast is now available.)

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