Heaven for Nonbelievers
Robert C. Waggoner
Copyright 2010 by Robert C. Waggoner
Smashwords Edition
The Beginning of the End
Brother James woke up with a disturbing dream. He would not say it was a nightmare, but a startling scene of unbelievable proportions. Anything that had to do with his faith should not bother him in the least. After more than thirty years in a monastery Brother James was clearly a devout believer in God and the hereafter commonly known as Heaven.
But now sitting on his single bed in an austere small room he stared at his one treasured possession: a laptop computer. It was given to him by a well known foundation for his thirty years of service doing the valuable research he was known for. The laptop was flashing his name at him while Brother James wrapped his arms around his razor thin body to ward of both the cold and the anomaly of his computer.
He rose and slowly made his way to his dresser drawer where a basin waited for washing his face. He had to break a thin layer of ice to reach the water. After a vigorous face wash he toweled dry, then put on his heavy winter fur lined cloak. Brother James was trying hard not to let the computer draw him, but like a strong magnet, he discovered that he was sitting down at his small desk starring at the flashing screen.
Brother James was not known for losing his faculties as most his age showed signs of dementia or senility. Quite the contrary, Brother James was, as one young monk said: “Brother James is on the top of his game.”
Brother James vividly remembered shutting his computer down last night before bedtime. But now it was up and running and he knew not why it should be. With a shaky hand both from the cold and being a little nervous, he clicked on his name, let go the mouse and sat back staring at the screen.
The first thing that popped up was a square menu asking him to choose a language. Brother James clicked on English and waited while the screen changed to a vivid green. After that text appeared saying: “Greeting Brother James from Heaven. I find this method of communicating far better than before when I had to raise my voice to be heard. There was one time when I conversed with Moses on the mountain where I could use a soft voice that we always use here in Heaven.”
Brother James sat transfixed and in shock as the words flowed across his screen at a comfortable pace: not fast, not slow, but just right. To say that Brother James was mesmerized would be correct. To say he was captivated would be correct. The words continued to flow and he read, “For thousands of your years James, humans have wondered what Heaven looked like, felt like and was God Himself living there. Now after you have had your breakfast and performed your other duties, I’ll continue this mail to you. You need not turn the machine off, I’ll do that for you and when you return I will be here waiting for you.”
Brother James in a state of mind that was indescribable made his way downstairs for breakfast. On the way other brothers filed their way silently to the breakfast tables. Brother James sat down in his usual place after looking around to see if he was still sane or still dreaming. On the one hand he wished he could share this knowledge with someone, but as the abbey had a vow of silence, he was stuck with it being his own personal burden, if it was indeed a burden.
Mindlessly he ate his oatmeal and fresh warm bread then made his way to the library where he was to make some notes on his research. He decided to put the mornings event aside and tend to his valuable research. Sitting down at the heavy wood table next to the window for added light, Brother James set about preparing for his morning work. An hour later, unable to focus on anything but the light snow falling outside the window, he exhaled a deep breath and slowly made his way upstairs to his room.
With a grim tentativeness he opened his room door. His eyes immediately looked to his computer which turned on flashing his name. Instead of sitting in front of the computer, he sat on his bed looking at his name flashing. After a minute or so the screen turned green and a message began. It said, “James, why are you not sitting in front of the computer? We have a lot to talk about and time is short on your end, but not on my end. Let’s begin by you typing in a question and we can go from there.”
Brother James rose to the occasion and what seemed like under some foreign power rather than his own body responding he found the chair and his fingers touched the keys. Without a lot of thought he typed, “Why did you choose me to converse with. I’m not special or a saint or a religious icon? His hands dropped to his lap and waited for a reply. What kind of a reply, he had no idea what to expect, but tried to relax.
“I choose you because of who you are. Most things written about me are obscure and without the proper feelings I meant to portray. For example, do you know how hard it was to convince my people to leave Egypt? It would seem they preferred slavery to freedom. Moses and Aaron had a very difficult time trying or to talk them into leaving and an even harder time to get them organized in time to elude the Pharaoh. I’ll not belabor the point James, but after examining your written work find you are the one to describe Heaven for subsequent readers. As you well remember, it took many so called religious experts to write what is known as the “King James” Bible. The result is, as you might suspect, an ambiguous work that humans spend countless hours studying and trying to interpret what I or what my son said.”
“I ask you James, what could be simpler than my ten commandments? However, the Bible is hundreds of pages long and like most humans full of talk and no action. If you take a look at the world today and its multitude of secular churches is baffling. It’s reported that maybe over a billion humans belong to the catholic faith. And the irony James is the human that leads that faith is the pope which translates into The Father. Well, I am here to tell you that he is not the Father, I am.”
“Are you ready to listen to the description of Heaven? There is no need to take notes James as I will give you the necessary memory chip to have total recall. Does Heaven really exist or is it just a fallacy? The answer is yes and no. One reason for the yes and no answer are because it’s very difficult to explain to an earth bound person who still has human life. In other words, if your spirit were residing in Heaven then there would be no need to explain anything to you. What we need to do is give people hope and to instill the need to be good and just. Let me say this and then we will proceed: in the last thousand years, fewer and fewer souls meet the requirements for everlasting life in Heaven.”
“Let’s proceed here and assume a human has just passed on and fills the bill for entry to Heaven. It’s been batted around that after one dies the spirit or soul raises up and drifts to Heaven. Essentially that is about correct, but let me add a few details for your knowledge. As you know there are documented cases where a person who died or is dying sees themselves floating above the body. After that they wake up and realize they are not dead. In those particular cases, the human is given another chance to redeem his soul to gain entrance to Heaven. Most are grateful for a second chance and suddenly have more faith in Me than before.”
“As the spirit leaves the once living body, a series of things happen along the way. The spirit travels through a multitude of layers where the spirit is subjected to evaluation by my angels before reaching the highest level. What I’m saying here is that few are perfect and those who are above the level of what humans call hell, can reside in many different levels of Heaven. To use English, let’s use three words: good, better and best. Those are the three levels of Heaven. Now James this is not to say that the bottom level is bad or unlivable, no pun intended, quite the contrary, the bottom level can visit the top level on special occasions. They also can work their way to the upper levels after a given time of good performance. Now James I’ll stop here and see if you have any
questions.”
Brother James after listening for upwards of an hour had finally settled down. He was focused and alert so he asked God: “Heavenly Father, would you please give me some color to the story. Humans relate to color pictures rather than to plain black and white.”
“The colors you so desire are whatever colors please an individual soul or spirit. If one wants to see green meadows and red flowers, then so be it. Your dreams are in color James and at any level of Heaven your dreams are fulfilled to the fullest. If you can imagine yourself James standing on a rise overlooking a green field, all that you behold is what is in front of you. That is, in human form, you can’t see your own body standing there as your eyes are set in your head looking out and you can’t see any part of self only what is in front of you. It’s only because of gravity that you feel your body James. In Heaven there is no gravity. Therefore you can float around in your dreams from place to place.”
Brother James slowly but surely was gaining some confidence in understanding what was being told to him. He asked, “God in Heaven as you know we have family and friends who have passed on and hopefully they are in Heaven. I look forward to seeing and having some form of conversation with them. Is that possible?”
“My heavens yes James. Here’s how that works. Mentally you send out a message to your love ones who have passed on and now reside in the everlasting place called Heaven. In no time, be careful here James as time is nonexistent in Heaven, a gathering of family and friends appear in a place of your choosing or setting. Any further questions as we have a lot more to talk about?”
“Yes I do. As we have no physical bodies in Heaven then I assume we communicate telepathically?”
“Indeed we do James. The voices you hear are the same ones you heard on earth. Even the bird sounds and animal life you hear clearly.”
“Another question I have is about food, not that it's of much interest to me but to others a nice dinner with friends and family are highlights of life on earth. I guess what I’m asking is about the senses we possess here on earth and taste is one of those.”
“Now James do you really think I’d leave out one of the nicer things in life such as good food. I was very specific back when I ordered animal sacrifices in my name a long time ago. I ordered nothing but the best of the animals to please me. So having said that, you can vision up or dream up any foods you like. Let me be more specific about food. For example let’s say you were looking for some fried chicken and mashed potatoes. A nice picnic table is in front of you with all the side dishes you can imagine. You and your family and friends are visiting away and you will envision munching on a chicken leg. That very thought will transmit to your spirit resulting in the sight, smell, taste and all things that are around you. Not bad huh?”
“Yes, you make it sound very nice. In my youth I often dreamed of being able to fly. Is that too much to ask of Heaven?”
“James my son, if you want to soar around mountains or anyplace you desire its but a thought away. If for example you wanted to be able to swim underwater with the whales, so be it. If you wanted to sail a boat, so be it.”
James asked while God paused for a moment, “Father, sometimes we are given to bad thoughts, do bad thoughts occur while in Heaven? For example, maybe I had someone I knew with whom I didn’t like very much. If I think of him and he is in Heaven, will he appear before me?”
“Only if you desire to talk to him would he appear. A fleeting memory rarely results in a true scene of enactment. Additionally, chances are he wouldn’t be there anyway. Now James, I know you missed your prayers this morning so let’s take a break now and hit it again this evening after dinner.”
Brother James made his way to the chapel. A smile crossed his face as the irony of praying to God when he had just left him seemed rather fruitless. But on the other hand, it was not the idea of talking to God that interested him but the feeling within himself during the occurrence which ultimately pleased his being that was what was important. Now as he rested his prayer bones on the hard cement floor he closed his eyes and spoke to God: “Dear heavenly Father, thank you for giving me the opportunity to hear your words. I still am curious as to why you chose me and not some higher level deity to do your work.”
“I thought I explained that to you earlier James,” said God. “In other words, we are concerned with the average person James. If for example, I were to talk to the pope, he would be biased in his thinking about what I said to him. Let’s keep the thinking on a level all can understand. When you write James, it’s without ambiguity. I like simple talk. In today’s world we have too many highly educated people who have lost touch with the common man. Let’s look at Moses again for an example. Moses was nothing special other than a common man who tended his flock. However, he believed in me and he listened to me. And above all he did what I asked of him without question knowing full well that he was talking to a real God, not some idol like a golden cow! So you see James we have to reach out to the masses and paint a picture of the life after death of the human body.”
"There are as you know, not two people living who have the same personality or spirit. Each is singular. When born the soul or spirit hasn’t any preconceived notions of what is life and or its role in life? If for example, the mother of a child has belief in me, then that belief is instilled into the child. Then when the child follows my path then Heaven becomes a fuller and richer place than it is today.”
“Once again James, if all of my children would follow the ten basic commandments then all would be well in the world. Now then continue with your prayers as they are heard and understood. My staff of angels does a fine job of reporting to me.”
“I understand, Father. I will do my best to stay focused without outside influences intruding upon my writing. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my lunch now.”
* * *
After a lunch of cabbage soup and more fresh bread with butter and strawberry jam, Brother James went to the library to contemplate the past few hours with God. He honestly didn’t feel that he was special anymore after talking to God. It felt natural and for the first time in a long, long time he felt warm inside. It wasn’t the fact that he’d been talking to God, as his belief overshadowed any negative thoughts on his religion, but in the sense of contentment. He shuddered at the thought of a person living in the rat race of economic greed and power. Furthermore he felt sorry for the rich who were friendless due to their wealth and isolation. Few of the world's most powerful were true believers, only pretend church goers.
Long did he sit starring at the light falling snow past the window. Brother James took stock of his life and came to the conclusion he was not without some sin a time or two. What he did remember was to try not to make the same mistake or sin twice. He was not in the habit of asking for forgiveness twice for the same sin. Maybe that is why God liked him?
Brother James rose from his chair deciding it was time for a walk in the fresh mountain air. He went up to his room to put on his great coat and gloves to ward off the freezing temperatures of the high mountains.
Once outside a trail ran around the mountain to a look-out whereby one could see, on a clear day, for miles down into the fertile valley of small farms. Late in the summer you could smell the grapes ripping if the wind was favorable. Now the valley was cast in a blanket of white as winter played out its role in life’s cycle. Brother James sat under the wooden cover that was piled high with snow looking off to nowhere in particular. His thoughts were with God and life here on earth and he was wondering why man was here in the first place.
Brother James thought the answer to that question was like a weeding out process in a garden. However, that, he felt was a bit too simplistic. Maybe it’s like having ten fingers to match the Ten Commandments? Maybe at the end of one’s life, if the total sins didn’t go below five fingers, you could advance to paradise? Another question might be as to why ten and not nine or eleven or was there a significance in the number ten?
Broth
er James sat there mulling over life and the life hereafter until suddenly the snow stopped and the heavens shown clear blue skies leaving a blanket of white so pristine it would make your heart flutter. God said: “How’s that for a picture perfect postcard James?”
“A sight to behold Father. Is there anything like this in Heaven?”
“Of course there is. Just apply a little concentration and low and behold a scene of your dream will appear.”
Heavenly Father, all of us humans fear the wrath of God and also fear the penalty of a trip down the ‘River of Fire.’ What can you say about this place called Hell?”
“I wondered when you would get around to the place you call Hell or as it’s described in the Bible: The River of Fire. I’ll begin by saying there really isn’t a place where the devil resides and if you’re a sinner you burn in hell. The devil as he is known only exists in your mind. If you substitute the word temptation for devil then it would be more appropriate. It’s fairly cut and dried that temptation leads to greed and accumulation of wealth or power. Simply put, a sin is usually, if not always committed. Therefore, depending on the seriousness and if there was any redemption afterwards he or she would be evaluated for a given level. If that person was a serious sinner, then when he or she passed on and endless sleep of dreams of the past is viewed for eternity. I guess some might call that hell, but maybe some would revel in the admiration of their past deeds.”
“You know James if one truly asks for forgiveness it is granted to a degree. I can’t just take it on face value that one asks for forgiveness, that person or spirit must prove their sincerity. Lip service, to use a common expression, just doesn’t make it in the real hereafter. I know you are getting a little cold out here so why don’t we go back to your room and continue our little chat.”
Heaven for Nonbelievers Page 1
