From dreamerana
After reading all of this, i am confused as to what the point is?
Is it the belief that heaven exists?
Is it in the veracity of the Bible or any sacred writings?
"Heaven" is mentioned in most of the ancient writings. The Bible is no exception. In its literal sense "heaven" does exist. It means the upper atmosphere, in ancient times.
CLV Acts 1:10 And as they were looking intently into heaven at His going, lo! two men stand beside them in white attire,
11 who say also, "Men! Galileans! Why do you stand, looking at into heaven? This Jesus Who is being taken up from you into heaven shall come thus, in the manner in which you gaze at Him going into heaven."
The day that Jesus ascended, people were watching Him travel up, above the clouds.
But there is also another meaning to the term "heaven." And this is a place we can not look up into.
I will be the first to admit, i don't know much about the bible.
I believe it has some basic truths.
I also believe that it has been manipulated over time to suit the purpose of the people in power.
The first time I read the Bible I was 14. I had very limited experience with churches or religion at that time. The reason I read it was because I thought it was an important book. People talk about it and some of our government is based on it.
I read it again after I became Christian. Meeting Jesus kinda lights up the Bible for me.
I do understand your skepticism. Imy research has revealed that many of the books of the "early church fathers" have been manipulated in just such a way. But these books are not in the Bible.
Additionally, I think much has been added, changed or lost in the translations over time.
As a person who is bilingual and also an instructor for interpreting, i see this on a regular basis.
Some words that are used in one language may not ecist in another.
So you use the closest description to render the meaning
It is not uncommon for my students in classes that range from 10 to 20 students to all be handed the same written document to read and translate and have slight variation in their translation. None of it the wrong answer. Language is rich in variance.
As i read some of the posts on here i wondered how much has been lost in the biblical translation.
Tracing what the Bible says back to its origins is what I do. As we do not have the original text, we do have 4 very old Ancient Greek manuscripts. They are...
Codex Vaticanus (a & b)
Codex Alexandrinus
Codex Sinaiticus
These are considered the oldest and most complete manuscripts. Most other Modern Greek manuscripts were copied around 1500 AD. Well over 1000 years later. The Greek language changed alot in 1000 years. But that doesn't stop people from interpreting the Modern Greek manuscripts and pretending they are ancient Koine Greek.
The CLV has a NT based on the ancient Koine Greek manuscripts, and not the modern ones.
As a result, we are able to enjoy a much more accurate English version and the tools to trace the words back to their Koine Greek origins.
And while i do believe heaven exists, i don't think anyone can truly have an idea of what it's like because i don't know of anyone who has been there and come back.
I believe it's not meant for us to know while we are simple mortal on our journey in this life.
God bless us all.
In the Scriptures, we have the record of what Jesus said and did while He was here on Earth. Jesus, we are told in the Scriptures, came from Heaven and was able to describe it to some degree. He also told us what would happen in the future.
And when He was finished He literally ascended to Heaven, body and all.
I hope this helps.
