If You Are A Believer, How Do You Think Heaven Works?

[bednobs]

I am interested because my friend who is catholic says that she will see deceased relatives again and will all be together. If you believe this is the case then what will happen about my stillborn daughter? She never saw what we looked like, so how will she know it's me, and how will i know it's her? Will i find myself looking after a tiny baby in the afterlife for ever and ever and ever (grr to all those 3 am feeds)?
If that's not how it works then what do you think happens?
(my friends most unsatisfactory answer was "you'll find out")

[mibn2cweus]

If the stillborn are assured a place in heaven, it would seem the potential outcome for one who is born thereby places them in a precarious situation that might (I hesitate to add "easily") have been avoided. The implication is that abortion, under any circumstance, could be construed as a form of 'mercy' killing, given the uncertainty of what awaits those who 'survive' the birth process, a prospect which in the face of the aforementioned belief is burdened with inherent risk.

[modeller]

Heaven can not work/exist because no one would ever qualify.
#"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,"[1]#

[Old_Geezer]

It probably works very well. After all it would have been designed by a deity.

You ask about a still born daughter. My guess would be that there is no problem. Seems to me if she didn't make it here for any significant amount of time then she will be with dead family who will know their offspring and can introduce them when they arrive.

I don't see an issue either in you liking someone and they not liking you. If heaven is such a great place it seem reasonable they will lean to love all anyway won't they ?

I think folk are looking for problems that seem fairly straightforward to give a possible answer to when considered. There are other more contentious issues regarding belief/non-belief.

[Old_Geezer]

"Will get to keep both husbands in heaven?"

I believe the ceremony mentions "to death do us part" ? So taking that at face value, on death you cease to be married, which is why you an marry again. I suspect folk remain sensible and can work out such personal relationships for themselves in a heaven.

[atalanta]

When you consider that over half of all conceptuses fail to reach birth, and according to RC teaching all those dead babies had souls, there will be more lost babies in the afterlife than souls who reached their full potential.
Not sure how any religion explains that.
Especially as the majority of those naturally-miscarried babies will be boys.

[Old_Geezer]

What's to explain ? No one reaches full potential anyway, but given that, what's stopping those who failed to reach birth here reaching their "full potential" in wherever they find themselves ?

[jim360]

Well thanks for the "Best answer" accolade though in the long run my answer would be close to Old Geezer's except for the fact that I don't think Heaven exists and he does. But if it does exist it will presumably (a) work and (b) not include me, sadly. Still, I've made my choice.

[joko]

so, atheists should start believing in heaven etc ... because its more 'exciting' than eternal oblivion...?

yeah, good reason ... i'm sure god would be glad to know that thats your main reason to believe ...

[bednobs]

i have a friend who had a miscarriage and is reassured she will meet up with that baby in heaven but it just seems very starnge to me - she doesn't even know if she'll be looking for a boy or girl

[WaldoMcFroog]

"i have a friend who had a miscarriage and is reassured she will meet up with that baby in heaven but it just seems very starnge to me - she doesn't even know if she'll be looking for a boy or girl"

With what does she imagine she'll be meeting?

You don't say at what point the miscarriage occurred, so it could have been anything from a few cells to a foetus, but either way, there wouldn't be anything of a personality (unless, I suppose, it was a very late miscarriage and you can characterise 'used to wriggle when I played AC/DC records' as a personality).

It's just such a nonsense.

I understand miscarriage is frequently very traumatic, but to think that there could be anything to interact with is obviously daft.

[jomifl]

We don't have to do unpleasant things, there is no pain, we have no worries or responsibilities....we are dead. Of course I don't believe that, I know it, as much as anyone can know anything.