New York Times’ Mark Oppenheimer Reviews “Heaven”

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On May 1st, 2010, Mark Oppenheimer reviewed “Heaven” in The New York Times:

About a year ago, our neighbor’s beloved mutt, Bruno, went to dog heaven, followed six months later by Bear, the sweet brown Newfoundland down the block. I am not speaking metaphorically but repeating the wisdom of my 3-year-old daughter, who learned her theology from “Dog Heaven,” a picture book by Cynthia Rylant. All dogs get biscuits in Dog Heaven, Rylant writes. Even better, “The dogs in Dog Heaven who had no real homes on Earth are given one in Heaven. . . . And each dog is petted and reminded how good he is, all day long.”

While reading Lisa Miller’s “Heaven,” I realized that Rylant’s is my idea of heaven, too. Miller aims “to write a book that might guide people through the thicket of their own views about heaven by holding up a mirror of other people’s beliefs, both current and past.” And she succeeds, with me anyway.

About The Author

Lisa Miller is a contributing editor at New York magazine. She is the former religion columnist for the Washington Post, former senior editor of Newsweek magazine, and author of “Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife.” She is a multi-year winner of the New York Newswomen’s Club prize for feature writing and has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award.

1 thought on “New York Times’ Mark Oppenheimer Reviews “Heaven””

  1. Alan

    Not sure what the Premise of this Book is? Is it about man-kinds perceived untheological history of what is heaven? The bible is very Clear what happens when we die. we become nothing, our thoughts cease, PERIOD! All death is, is a time warp to the Future, to the day when EVERYONE who has ever lived shall be resurrected here on EARTH! in a new body. Our Creator Jesus, Describes death is if we are sleeping. When you sleep and wake up 8 hrs later, it seems like a blink of an eye. When we are Resurrected in a new Body a 1000 years from now,
    it will seem like a blink of an eye. thats why when Jesus was on the Cross and he told the man next to him. “Today you shall be in Paradise”, [ Here on EARTH!] After our Creator returns, to restore law and order on this planet. This Whole planet shall be redesigned for that Great day of the Resurrection of Everyone who has ever lived.

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