Time Magazine’s Kayla Webley on “Heaven”

As far as heaven goes, there are many more questions than answers: Will we all get our own mansions? Will we see our loved ones? Will our bodies look the way they did when we were 25? Will we even have bodies? The Bible, Koran and Torah leave much about the afterlife up in the air. That means many of us–including the 80% of Americans who say they believe in heaven–must fill in the blanks ourselves. In her new book, Newsweek religion editor Lisa Miller gives it a go, investigating the different concepts of eternity held by the world’s most prominent religions and talking to religious scholars, pastors, monks and common folk alike to get a better idea of what heaven might be. For some, it’s “a place that embodies the best of everything” and is full of “green, green pastures,” while for others it is simply “the home of God.” Naturally, Miller doesn’t come to a neat conclusion about what to expect when our last breath arrives. But she does offer a lot of faith for thought in this thorough and intelligent look at life after death.