(The following is my letter to Lisa Miller after reading her article [link above] adapted from her forthcoming book, Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination With the Afterlife.)
Ms. Miller, have you ever read Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan? That the resurrection stories can be true without necessarily being factual? That any parable (yes, parable) can have meaning without having to ask the question of whether it really happened? That most parables speak about God's nature rather than anything about us?
And saying that the statement "We cannot know what God has in store for us" is a theological cop-out sounds theologically cranky to me. Easter and heaven are about joy--so is life on this earth. Ms. Miller, self-avowed "literal-minded skeptic", you're seeing exactly what you're looking for. Resurrection is one of those "radical acts of grace and kindness" for which you're leaving the door open a crack. My hope for you is that you open the door wide.
And saying that the statement "We cannot know what God has in store for us" is a theological cop-out sounds theologically cranky to me. Easter and heaven are about joy--so is life on this earth. Ms. Miller, self-avowed "literal-minded skeptic", you're seeing exactly what you're looking for. Resurrection is one of those "radical acts of grace and kindness" for which you're leaving the door open a crack. My hope for you is that you open the door wide.
2 comments:
Cynthia, I love your letter back to the author! Resurrection doesn't mean our own bodies to me; it is new life beyond this one. I always think that Mary could not recognize Jesus because he was in his resurrection form.
A new creation...why would we think we could recognize it or know anything about it with the same consciousness we live in now? It would also be a new way of seeing.
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