Reply to If you are not a Christian, why do you think about or discuss the Christian heaven?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would prefer not to discuss or think about Christian heaven and I don't think about or discuss other version of heaven. Christian heaven here in the US is a pervasive idea that pops up in popular culture, media, and in well-meaning expressions of sympathy, so it requires some thought and discussion, even though I don't believe in it myself.

When my grandmother died, I had to talk to my young kids about heaven when they heard from well-meaning Christian friends and family that "grandma is in heaven now." (As if walking them through grief was not hard enough). I have to explain song lyrics to them about heaven and hell. Ideas of heaven usually go hand-in-hand with hell.[/quote]

Thank you for your post.

Also: what do you tell your children happens when a loved one dies? [/quote]
When my grandma (my kids called her Gigi) died, we had a two-fold discussion:
1. The physical. My kids (ages 3 and 5) were very curious about what we were doing with Gigi's body? We talked about burying her in the ground next to my grandpa and how her headstone will be a place we can come to remember her (though we can also remember her wherever we are). My husband was a pall bearer and it's been over a year and my kids still sometimes randomly ask if we remember "that time daddy carried Gigi's box to her hole in the ground? Why did he have to wear gloves when he carried the box? Is Gigi still in the ground?"

2. The theoretical/spiritual. We talked about how her memory lives on in us and just because she isn't here with us anymore doesn't mean that we don't still love her and think about her. When we're sad that she's not with us anymore, we can tell stories about her to help us remember her.[/quote]

We’ve had these discussions too, and ours went along a similar path. We’ve also explained that, because only this life is guaranteed, we all have an obligation to take care of each other and our planet and make sure it’s the best it can possibly be, and not waste what we’ve been given in the false hope we might get something better later.

The one thing we have not broached is the concept of cremation. That’s a little scary even to me as an adult, but we don’t believe in the modern American burial tradition. Here’s hoping at the time of the next major death we have better options for natural burials. [/quote]

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