Heaven no!

Every couple of months, I end up having the same conversation with someone...

It starts when I mention something along the lines of "We won't be spending eternity in Heaven," or "Heaven is just in-between."

You can usually hear that screechy record-needle sound as the person/people I'm talking to mentally digest this very biblical but somehow  absolutely shocking statement.

I've preached on the resurrection so many times, taught about the resurrection and a recreated, renewed creation in our theology pubs... the summary statement we use (borrowed from Stan Grenz) as to the whole point of God's redemptive plan is "a redeemed community, living in a renewed creation, in relationship with the Triune God"... but the mythology of "Eternity in Heaven" runs so deeply in our pseudo-Christian consciousness, its nearly impossible to dislodge.

I'm really grateful then to see NT Wright tackling the issue head on, in Time Magazine no less. This is a great, short read. Gotta love NT :)