Do Jews believe in heaven? I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve been asked this question. Modern people—and especially Jews raised in the Reform tradition—are flummoxed by the notion of heaven, and the rabbis are less than helpful. “Jews believe it is this life that matters, not the next”: You hear this …
There are those who believe that science will eventually explain everything—including our enduring belief in heaven. The thesis here is very simple: heaven is not a real place, or even a process or a supernatural event. It’s something that happens in your brain as you die. I first encountered this idea as I was researching …
Eighty percent of Americans believe in heaven, and yet, if you were to ask most people what they believed Heaven to be, it would be unlikely that you’d hear the same thing too often. Terrorists responsible for Sept. 11 were promised a heaven that included 72 virgins. Others think of heaven as a place where …
The Statesman’s Joshunda Sanders Interviews Lisa Read More »
On March 25th, Lisa appeared on NPR and WAMU’s “Diane Rehm Show. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the “listen” link in the top right corner of the show page. Or you can open to the show player directly here. local mirror of this podcast
Where contemporary culture has come to think of heaven as a place to chat, catch up with friends, and eat ice cream, conservative believers are concerned that God has been left out of the picture. A new book by Newsweek’s religion editor, Lisa Miller, covers this and other top stories on the celestial beat. Ten …
ReligionDispatches.org Ten Questions for Lisa Miller Read More »
Buy “Heaven” at HarperCollins.com
On March 22nd, 2010, Sally Quinn interviewed Lisa for the The Washington Post in a video called “Divine Impulses: Newsweek religion editor Lisa Miller on the decline of hell.” Miller talks about the “paradox” of heaven and the myths and truths behind claims of “72 virgins” for Muslim holy warriors.
Mark Twain quipped that people assume heaven will be green fields and harp music — an eternity of activities no one would enjoy for five minutes while still alive. Here is a central dilemma of our preoccupation with heaven. Our imaginations are limited by our experience. When we read fantasy, or science fiction, it is …
In her brainy, engaging book Heaven — a sweeping historical and literary geography of heaven — she talks to priests, a Dominican monk, Muslim clerics, rabbis, and professors (and even visits a psychic, who channels a balding Ed Asner look-alike — no one she knows, though she racks her brain). She doesn’t ignore pop culture, …
Entertainment Weekly’s Tina Jordan Gives “Heaven” an A- Read More »
