Most surveys in the West seem to indicate that a large percentage of the population believe they go to heaven but few go to hell. Seems to be the opposite to what Scriptures teach. The non belief in heaven and hell invalidates Jesus dying on the cross.

The Scriptures don't say a lot about heaven (at least not as much than it does about hell). If no judgement existed God would need to apologise for many of the rotten people who lived lives of luxury and ease while a lot of the people serving the poor lived in poverty and distress.

It isnot very wise to take bits and pieces of Gods Word and determine if you are going to believe it or not. You either believe and receive the words of the Lord Jesus Christ or you reject them. He spoke clearly of a resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous

The truth is that you have to be dead to know anything about heaven.
So Peter Sellick, just how did you write this piece from the grave?
Heaven is a mythical place. If it is not a mythical place, let's all go there.
OK, so we can't go there.
So it is only in some people's minds and not others like Wonderland in Alice's story.

Peter, good article.
I suspect the reason we hear so few sermons on heaven is that most priests who share your views daren't serve grown-up theology to their congregations. Heaven as the happy home of dead believers is one of the most comforting but destructive myths of the modern church, but it's a brave preacher who takes it on.

Heaven and Hell have been secularised by our materialist politicians ages ago. We get regular sermons on them every week.

The secular heaven are the blissfull golden years enjoyed by those with bountiful superannuation and private health insurance. But woe those with insufficient super they'll be regurgitated by the pension hounds, beaten up in random house invasions and kept waiting in medicare lines forever.

Perhaps Baz Luhrmann can make a modern secular version of Dante's trilogy to illustrate the point.

Of course heaven exists, just as much as god does. The article appears to be a thinking-out-loud exercise in self-conviction, and the author could just as easily fall one way or the other depending on already-held beliefs.

That's the thing about faith. Belief makes it true - but only for the believer. The only certainty, as the author points out, is that no-one else quite believes the same thing.

First of all, I would like to point out that I am not a Christian but of an earthly path. I like to prefer myself as a 'child of the earth'.

Why is it that atheists find it their duty to attack people who hold a faith? Isn't hypocritical to attack someone of faith, especially Christians for bible bashing(etc) yet attack them forthrightly without provacation? After all, nobody forced you to read it.

It is not of my faith to run around trying to convert anyone so I feel comfortable with living my own life and letting others come to me. This is how I believe it should be. Be the beacon of light in the dark tunnel, not the blood hound sniffing everyone out.

I was not actually going to post anything here. I have only done so because of those who decided to visciously attack someone just because they hold to a faith system.

If YOU feel the need to attack such people, YOU need to get yourself a life.