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Heaven is for Real
- Thread starter mkgal1
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This was posted in another thread:
I'm not positive that the wife and the other couple didn't believe in heaven or hell (I have the book....I may have to read it now
)....but I think they weren't believing that what the little boy experienced was "seeing heaven". That's actually the response I heard most from people I spoke with----they didn't believe this was a matter of someone "seeing heaven".
As for the father/pastor......I think (again....I have a bit of movie amnesia and I only saw the movie once) he had had his faith shaken by what he saw in day-to-day life (and death). I do believe that God provides us with encouragement when that happens. I've known other people that have had dreams where the message was clear (they didn't need to spend any time analyzing the dream) that there *is* a heaven....and we do "go on" after this life.
I also believe in confirmation of another person....and in this account, there was also that little girl on the other side of the world that saw the same face of Christ that this boy did. Whether it was a vision or that they actually saw Him....I'm not sure---I tend to believe it was just a vision.
I'm not positive that the wife and the other couple didn't believe in heaven or hell (I have the book....I may have to read it now
)....but I think they weren't believing that what the little boy experienced was "seeing heaven". That's actually the response I heard most from people I spoke with----they didn't believe this was a matter of someone "seeing heaven".As for the father/pastor......I think (again....I have a bit of movie amnesia and I only saw the movie once) he had had his faith shaken by what he saw in day-to-day life (and death). I do believe that God provides us with encouragement when that happens. I've known other people that have had dreams where the message was clear (they didn't need to spend any time analyzing the dream) that there *is* a heaven....and we do "go on" after this life.
I also believe in confirmation of another person....and in this account, there was also that little girl on the other side of the world that saw the same face of Christ that this boy did. Whether it was a vision or that they actually saw Him....I'm not sure---I tend to believe it was just a vision.
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Inkachu
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I thought the movie was well-made, had better-than-expected acting and production value. The son was abso-freakin-adorable, too. Great little actor.
But the story was just sort of... mushy. Not in a good way. It was like watered-down, soupy Christianity. I got the feeling that the dad was one of those pastors who takes on the role because it's available and it's expected and he just steps in cause he thinks it's the right thing to do, not because he has an intimate, personal relationship with God and feels called to pastor. Cause honestly, if my son said he'd visited Heaven or had a vision of Heaven, I'd be amazed and delighted! Instead, the pastor.. in fact, most of his congregation.. goes into this weird crisis of faith. And like others have said, WHY on earth are you pastoring or on the church board or sitting in the pews if the thought of Heaven being real is so SHOCKING to you? What the hey??
So it got a "meh" from me.
But the story was just sort of... mushy. Not in a good way. It was like watered-down, soupy Christianity. I got the feeling that the dad was one of those pastors who takes on the role because it's available and it's expected and he just steps in cause he thinks it's the right thing to do, not because he has an intimate, personal relationship with God and feels called to pastor. Cause honestly, if my son said he'd visited Heaven or had a vision of Heaven, I'd be amazed and delighted! Instead, the pastor.. in fact, most of his congregation.. goes into this weird crisis of faith. And like others have said, WHY on earth are you pastoring or on the church board or sitting in the pews if the thought of Heaven being real is so SHOCKING to you? What the hey??
So it got a "meh" from me.
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bluegreysky
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I got it from Redbox.
It's cute. The funny scene was when the kid walked into heaven and it looked like his church so he sat down and looked out at the angels in the sky singing to him, and when they stopped singing hymns he said "can you sing "We will rock you"?" And they laughed.
I think they lived in one of those small towns where people are conservative and they don't want anything that will rock their boat and they want to keep God in His church and not let Him out of his box and so when someone…a kid in this case… comes up with a shocker (like that they SAW God) it's easier for people to look the other way and when someone they all trust to keep things comfortable and conservative the way they like it starts leaning toward this radical new idea it causes pandemonium.
I've seen that in lots of movies. In fact, the 1998 family heart warmer "Babe" about the talking pig is the same idea. The farmer lives in a community where the pride is sheep herding and sheep dogs. And he lets a little pig do the herding. It causes all sorts of discourse, until the pig triumphs in the end.
Babe is of course pure fictional fun for the whole family, and Heaven is For Real is based on a true story. The point is, when someone rocks the boat, the other people around aren't going to take it with a grain of salt at first.
The reaction of the church, the town, the press and the pastor's friends seemed pretty realistic. And then, the pastor stands up for his son and admits everyone should believe in Heaven like that. He wins the town, and his church doubles in size.
Happy ending.
It's cute. The funny scene was when the kid walked into heaven and it looked like his church so he sat down and looked out at the angels in the sky singing to him, and when they stopped singing hymns he said "can you sing "We will rock you"?" And they laughed.
I think they lived in one of those small towns where people are conservative and they don't want anything that will rock their boat and they want to keep God in His church and not let Him out of his box and so when someone…a kid in this case… comes up with a shocker (like that they SAW God) it's easier for people to look the other way and when someone they all trust to keep things comfortable and conservative the way they like it starts leaning toward this radical new idea it causes pandemonium.
I've seen that in lots of movies. In fact, the 1998 family heart warmer "Babe" about the talking pig is the same idea. The farmer lives in a community where the pride is sheep herding and sheep dogs. And he lets a little pig do the herding. It causes all sorts of discourse, until the pig triumphs in the end.
Babe is of course pure fictional fun for the whole family, and Heaven is For Real is based on a true story. The point is, when someone rocks the boat, the other people around aren't going to take it with a grain of salt at first.
The reaction of the church, the town, the press and the pastor's friends seemed pretty realistic. And then, the pastor stands up for his son and admits everyone should believe in Heaven like that. He wins the town, and his church doubles in size.
Happy ending.
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- Jun 22, 2007
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Great point.
I think another point is, since God was in this box, the pastor didn't have anyone to turn to about the struggles he was going through (that would shake everyone up probably even *more* than this did)---and what seemed to be his crisis of faith. He wasn't alone in that, either (but no seemed to be able to say that outloud to anyone else---until this happened with the little boy).
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MountainBluebird
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I read the book and saw the movie. I enjoyed the book more than the move, but still thought the movie was well done. I agree with Inkachu, why was heaven being a real place so shocking for a pastor, and why would that shake him up like that? Also, there is a scene where an older woman is asking the pastor if her son will be in heaven, even though he wasn't a believer, and the pastor said yes. I don't remember that being in the book and doubt if most pastors would say or believe that.
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- Jun 22, 2007
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Now I need to rent the movie. I don't think I caught that. I recall there being a discussion about that (between the Pastor and the mother that lost her son)....but I didn't catch that.
In my opinion....the pastor was struggling with actually believing what he was preaching due to all the hardships he'd gone through. I think that's not too unusual....but where does a person take those thoughts---especially if they're in the position of telling others it's something real?
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- Jun 22, 2007
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You Tube is so awesome! You can find just about everything there
I found just the clip we were talking about (in the cemetery). Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2xRkLvbaR8
The pastor answered her question, "Do you think my son went to heaven?" with more questions ("Do you love your son? Do you think I love my son more than you love yours? Do you think God loves my son more than He loves yours?"). That was following the woman's admission that she'd been mad at God ever since her son had been killed (she said, "I was mad at God---that he would give you your son back, but He took mine"). I thought it was a good response (except I--personally---don't believe God 'takes'.....but that's not everyone's belief).
I found just the clip we were talking about (in the cemetery). Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2xRkLvbaR8
The pastor answered her question, "Do you think my son went to heaven?" with more questions ("Do you love your son? Do you think I love my son more than you love yours? Do you think God loves my son more than He loves yours?"). That was following the woman's admission that she'd been mad at God ever since her son had been killed (she said, "I was mad at God---that he would give you your son back, but He took mine"). I thought it was a good response (except I--personally---don't believe God 'takes'.....but that's not everyone's belief).
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