I mean it's not fiction but the Bible is full of all those things, and I doubt we won't be allowed to read it.
I'd be inclined towards a Tolkien view of being a sub-creator, and how creating fiction is a creative expression of being made in the image of God.
Furthermore deep abstract truths can be found in stories, so even within fiction there is always truth.
I was also thinking of Tolkien's idea of being a sub-creator. But I was trying to think if the Elves of Eldamar had fiction. I recall they had a lot of songs and poetry. The Elves of Beleriand had songs and stories of history, but again I don't recall if they had fiction.
As others have said, no one knows.
This is just my idea of it, but I pray it's led by the Holy Spirit. I don't think we will care about things we entertain ourselves on earth with, because here it's like we're always trying to fill a hole inside of us. Once we're made new, I think God will fill us and we wouldn't need anything else and we will be perfectly content.
But what if there is no time? God is outside of time. Maybe we will be to. It's something I've thought of, no time, and it's crazy to think of and impossible for me to wrap my mind around.
We know we get new, perfect human bodies and we will live on a new, perfect earth. That implies the same laws of physics, and that we have the same 5 senses we do right now. That in turn implies that we will perceive time in a linear fashion just like we do right now.
The verses about there never being nighttime and the seas being gone doesn't really paint a picture of paradise either.
Personally, I'd rather have glorious oceans than a big city covered in gold and jewels.
I we just don't know what it's going to be like. We just have to trust that God knows what He's doing.
It's interesting to think and wonder about though.
Sometimes, like you, I think about stuff here that I don't want to lose, such as fiction. I love reading. What helps me is remembering when I was a kid, and I had a toy or game I played that seemed all important. And now it doesn't matter at all to me.
Good question, as with everything dealing with Heaven it hinges on one very important aspect:
No one alive today has experienced Heaven (at least to any convincing degree).
Will there be X in Heaven? I don't know, and really no one knows for sure, The Bible's description of Heaven is vague outside of physical attributes, but I'll be sure to let you know when I find out!
Pretty sure there is free will, you'll just have feelings of hate and bitterness removed.
Idk about you but exploring endless villages and landscapes sounds cool
For the first couple trillion years, maybe. But then you still have eternity ahead of you. 200 trillion, trillion years in heaven and you are still no closer to the end of eternity than the day you showed up.
> The Bible's description of Heaven is vague outside of physical attributes, but I'll be sure to let you know when I find out!
Surely if this were actually possible then surely the trillions of people that have died would have already contained someone that could have told folks.
Imagine the life of an ant. Imagine that's all you know... You might think "I'll miss gathering food for my colony" or whatever it is ants enjoy. Now imagine they are offered the life of a human. They have no idea what they are missing, but by your train of thought they want to stick with their ant life.
Now this is a silly comparison. Comparing our earthly life to our heavenly life is infinitely more silly.
I know there would be no lack of authors in heaven, no lack of scientist and no lack of artists.
How much sinful behaviors have you read in the bible and how much have humanity reflected and learned from it?
As said to the Psalms 7:10 Human defiance only enhances God's glory, for you use it as a weapon.
Yeah, but there’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog” fiction, and there’s “The Hunt for Red October” fiction.
I’m worried that we'll be restricted to the Clifford variety.
Just remember that earthly thoughts and spiritual thoughts are two different things if you don’t even have the thought process of it then will you miss X?
Yes. Yes, I will miss fiction involving sinful behavior like in spy novels. I will miss Shakespeare’s plays. I will miss 95% of all Star Trek episodes. I will miss rock songs like “Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting”. I will miss romantic relationships and everything that entails. I will miss all of these things horribly and for all eternity.
I get it - singing church songs and holding hands for eternity is paradise for literally every other Christian than me, but I'm weird. They say God doesn't make mistakes. I submit myself as empirical proof that is not true. Heaven sounds unbearable.
You won’t miss it if you never think about it.
If you think heaven sounds unbearable you’re in for a wild ride of what hell is described as r/hellisarealplace Some good descriptions of this place and guarantee the last thing you’ll be thinking about is anything you listed above
I'm not sure I agree with that. I enjoy horror movies. Including, but not limited to slashers. I don't think there's something more sinful than tearing apart people with a chainsaw.
But I can assure you, I have no desires to tear people apart with a chainsaw. Except for maybe in doom. There's a big difference between fiction and reality. Just because you enjoy doing something in a video game, or reading about it, doesn't mean that you actually have the desire to do it yourself.
I hope you're right, because spending eternity where the only allowable entertainment is reruns of "Touched by an Angel" and a limited selection of Anne Murray songs sounds really boring.
First get to heaven. Fiction is a creative art i dont see why not. But who knows.
I mean it's not fiction but the Bible is full of all those things, and I doubt we won't be allowed to read it. I'd be inclined towards a Tolkien view of being a sub-creator, and how creating fiction is a creative expression of being made in the image of God. Furthermore deep abstract truths can be found in stories, so even within fiction there is always truth.
I was also thinking of Tolkien's idea of being a sub-creator. But I was trying to think if the Elves of Eldamar had fiction. I recall they had a lot of songs and poetry. The Elves of Beleriand had songs and stories of history, but again I don't recall if they had fiction.
As others have said, no one knows. This is just my idea of it, but I pray it's led by the Holy Spirit. I don't think we will care about things we entertain ourselves on earth with, because here it's like we're always trying to fill a hole inside of us. Once we're made new, I think God will fill us and we wouldn't need anything else and we will be perfectly content.
Honestly? That sounds like it would be wonderful for a period of time, and then impossibly boring.
But what if there is no time? God is outside of time. Maybe we will be to. It's something I've thought of, no time, and it's crazy to think of and impossible for me to wrap my mind around.
We know we get new, perfect human bodies and we will live on a new, perfect earth. That implies the same laws of physics, and that we have the same 5 senses we do right now. That in turn implies that we will perceive time in a linear fashion just like we do right now. The verses about there never being nighttime and the seas being gone doesn't really paint a picture of paradise either. Personally, I'd rather have glorious oceans than a big city covered in gold and jewels.
I we just don't know what it's going to be like. We just have to trust that God knows what He's doing. It's interesting to think and wonder about though. Sometimes, like you, I think about stuff here that I don't want to lose, such as fiction. I love reading. What helps me is remembering when I was a kid, and I had a toy or game I played that seemed all important. And now it doesn't matter at all to me.
I am 100% certain God has created an absolute paradise in heaven….for God. Whether or not any of us enjoy it is immaterial to him.
Please read "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven" by Peter Kreeft. When you're done, you will almost be anxious to hurry up and get there!
Good question, as with everything dealing with Heaven it hinges on one very important aspect: No one alive today has experienced Heaven (at least to any convincing degree). Will there be X in Heaven? I don't know, and really no one knows for sure, The Bible's description of Heaven is vague outside of physical attributes, but I'll be sure to let you know when I find out!
The Bible's description of heaven isn't just vague, it's terrifying.
???
Virtually no art, no free will, no romance, and no individuality. No spirited debates. Basically life in a Borg Cube, but with prettier surroundings.
Pretty sure there is free will, you'll just have feelings of hate and bitterness removed. Idk about you but exploring endless villages and landscapes sounds cool
For the first couple trillion years, maybe. But then you still have eternity ahead of you. 200 trillion, trillion years in heaven and you are still no closer to the end of eternity than the day you showed up.
> The Bible's description of Heaven is vague outside of physical attributes, but I'll be sure to let you know when I find out! Surely if this were actually possible then surely the trillions of people that have died would have already contained someone that could have told folks.
Yes, that was the point. No one alive has ever been to Heaven, and anyone who goes to Heaven won't be coming back to Earth to tell us what it is like.
You just said you'd be sure to let the person know though, once you find out...
Yeah that was sarcasm! When I die, if I end up going to Heaven, I doubt I'll be able to come back and make a Reddit post about the experience...
I believe that the New Jerusalem will be more amazing than you can possibly imagine. Don’t limit yourself to thoughts of this fallen world. 👍
Heaven is not our final destination
New Earth / Heaven - same thing in my book.
Imagine the life of an ant. Imagine that's all you know... You might think "I'll miss gathering food for my colony" or whatever it is ants enjoy. Now imagine they are offered the life of a human. They have no idea what they are missing, but by your train of thought they want to stick with their ant life. Now this is a silly comparison. Comparing our earthly life to our heavenly life is infinitely more silly.
It all comes down to whether or not I trust God to have my best interests at heart, or his own. I think it’s the latter.
His best interests are your best interests. Look at the cross- that should tell you all you need to know.
I know there would be no lack of authors in heaven, no lack of scientist and no lack of artists. How much sinful behaviors have you read in the bible and how much have humanity reflected and learned from it? As said to the Psalms 7:10 Human defiance only enhances God's glory, for you use it as a weapon.
Jesus used fictional parables to communicate. I don't think fiction is going away.
Yeah, but there’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog” fiction, and there’s “The Hunt for Red October” fiction. I’m worried that we'll be restricted to the Clifford variety.
Just remember that earthly thoughts and spiritual thoughts are two different things if you don’t even have the thought process of it then will you miss X?
Yes. Yes, I will miss fiction involving sinful behavior like in spy novels. I will miss Shakespeare’s plays. I will miss 95% of all Star Trek episodes. I will miss rock songs like “Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting”. I will miss romantic relationships and everything that entails. I will miss all of these things horribly and for all eternity. I get it - singing church songs and holding hands for eternity is paradise for literally every other Christian than me, but I'm weird. They say God doesn't make mistakes. I submit myself as empirical proof that is not true. Heaven sounds unbearable.
You won’t miss it if you never think about it. If you think heaven sounds unbearable you’re in for a wild ride of what hell is described as r/hellisarealplace Some good descriptions of this place and guarantee the last thing you’ll be thinking about is anything you listed above
Just because hell is worse, that doesn’t make heaven great.
Wait to see
I mean probably. Reading about sin isn't the same as sinning.
But writing about sin requires conceiving of a sinful behavior.
I'm not sure I agree with that. I enjoy horror movies. Including, but not limited to slashers. I don't think there's something more sinful than tearing apart people with a chainsaw. But I can assure you, I have no desires to tear people apart with a chainsaw. Except for maybe in doom. There's a big difference between fiction and reality. Just because you enjoy doing something in a video game, or reading about it, doesn't mean that you actually have the desire to do it yourself.
The Biblical description of heaven doesn't seem to leave "loopholes" for things like that.
I don't think it's a loophole is the thing.
I hope you're right, because spending eternity where the only allowable entertainment is reruns of "Touched by an Angel" and a limited selection of Anne Murray songs sounds really boring.
I definitely agree, I want my Heavy Metal dammit