Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Part 2

God is God and I am not. . .

Having declared that God necessarily exists, remains entirely perfect, is absolutely transcendent, created all things and is predisposed to loving said created things, Wittmer draws our attention to creation itself proclaiming in no uncertain terms that everything God created was and remains good. The last paragraph on page sixty-five is Wittmer’s thesis, complete with objective correlative. However, this is in diametric opposition to everything I have been taught about the “afterlife” and what I am living on earth for. Is earth a “training ground” for our heavenly “assignment”? What use is there in having “pearly gates” if they exist in front of an ethereal Disneyland? Why even have a heavenly vacation spot if the goal is to redeem our home? What is God waiting for?

So if creation is good, and material things are not intrinsically evil, then why does God curse the earth? What possible good is there in something cursed by God in the first-person?

Wittmer begins and ends the chapter with references to some of the more profane attempts at Christian marketing -- profane, not because the purveyors are capitalists, but because they are contributing to the gnostic-izing of the Western Church. In response to this, Wittmer writes on page sixty-seven, and a revelation occurs to me: “Our first responsibility is to find pleasure in our Father’s world.” And said pleasure is derived from our indwelling and groundedness within the material context of the created world, not apart from it. I am glad that someone with credentials in the field of Christian thought believes exactly as I do on the matter. My goal is not to deny myself all that is enjoyable on this planet for the sake of “sharing in Christ’s sufferings” but rather to look more like the picture painted in Genesis 3:8 where humans enjoy unbroken fellowship with God on all perceptible levels “in the cool of the day” when all other work is completed. I can simply marvel at the beauty of the things that God has given to humanity and remain content in the knowledge that it is all “very good” indeed.

Wittmer’s distinction between ethical and ontological (material) meanings of Scripture are refreshing. He calls to attention that our sins are at the root of our problem, and it is our sin that we should retreat from, not the material world. This gives Scripture consistency and prevents the reader from assuming that the Bible is contradictory. I am slowly evolving away from bibliolatry. . .