The problem of Heaven

[quatona]

Yes, anyone who gets into heaven will be in the presence of God.

I'll use an analogy. Imagine two young sons living in an apartment with their father in a rough neighborhood. One of the sons - Mitch - is an orphan, adopted off the streets of their neighborhood. The other son - Charlie - is blood-related to the father, and has not experienced the atrocities which Mitch has gone through.

The father tells both sons, "Do not venture outside at night. It's unsafe, and you won't like it. Moreover, I won't be able to find you."

Mitch, having already experienced being out late in their neighborhood, and all the dangers it entails, easily agrees. He knows that staying in the apartment is what's best for him, and could never imagine choosing to go back to his old life.

Charlie, on the other hand, doesn't know what it's like, and becomes curious. He ventures outside, only to get lost and unable to find his way back.

This is basically what I'm saying. Sinners who are justified by faith and get into God's presence will never want to go back to their sinful ways. They will discover just how much better His presence is for them. Meanwhile, the angels who rebelled against God, along with Adam & Eve, had not yet experienced sin. They didn't realize how bad of a mistake they were making. Once they made it, they could not get back.

Thanks for your efforts! However, the question I asked was not inquiring the difference between A&E and us.

I´ll try to be make myself more clear:
If I understand you correctly you are saying that there two criteria that warrant a person in the afterlife to be equipped with "free will" yet unable to sin:
1. having sinned
2. experiencing God´s greatness.

I am asking: How come we don´t all end up in heaven (and I am working from the theologically proclaimed notion that God wants to be in Heaven with us).

Requirement 1 is met by all of us (according to Christain theology).
For matching requirement 2 we would just have to be in heaven and experience God´s greatness.

So why would a God who wants us to be with him in heaven select some of those who match requirement 1 and allow them the experience of his greatness, but not allow it to others (who, once in heaven, would match both requirements, as well)?

Something about this reasoning appears to be circular (or a catch22, if you will): If/when (and only if/when) a person gets to heaven they will be granted with the prerequisite for being allowed into heaven.

 

[GrizzlyMonKeH]

1. having sinned
2. experiencing God´s greatness.

You're missing #3. Being justified by faith in Jesus Christ. To even get into God's presence, we have to be holy. This can only be accomplished by accepting Christ as our ransom, as our "holy sacrifice", so to speak. He was crucified to pay the price for our sins. (John 3:16, Romans 6:23)

In summary, this is what I'm saying:

Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior go to heaven. Once they have experienced God's presence firsthand in heaven, they will see clearly and will not go back to their sinful ways.

 

[quatona]

You're missing #3. Being justified by faith in Jesus Christ. To even get into God's presence, we have to be holy. This can only be accomplished by accepting Christ as our ransom, as our "holy sacrifice", so to speak. He was crucified to pay the price for our sins. (John 3:16, Romans 6:23)

In summary, this is what I'm saying:

Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior go to heaven. Once they have experienced God's presence firsthand in heaven, they will see clearly and will not go back to their sinful ways.

So, just for clarification: If a person who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour would experience God´s presence and greatness the overwhelming effect (as you have postulated it) of not ever wanting to sin anymore would not be strong enough to actually keep the person from sinning in heaven?

Or is the entire talk about the requirement of having sinned (which is a given) and the irresistable effect of experiencing God´s presence and greatness (which happens after the fact, anyways) merely a smoke screen created for the purpose of distracting from the idea that the only actually relevant criterion is "faith"?