John MacArthur. The Glory of Heaven: The Truth about Heaven, Angels, and Eternal Life; With New Material Addressing the Current Debate and Issues. 2nd ed. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013.
One of the most talked-about books of 2011 was Heaven Is for Real, by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. The book recounts four-year-old Colton Burpo’s vision of heaven (as told by his father to Ms. Vincent). Colton claims he visited heaven during surgery a!er a burst appendix nearly took his life. His stories of heaven are full of fanciful features and peculiar details that bear all the earmarks of a child’s vivid imagination. There’s nothing transcendent or even particularly enlightening about Colton’s description of heaven. In fact, it is completely devoid of the breathtaking glory featured in every biblical description of the heavenly realm. That doesn’t deter Todd Burpo from singling out selective phrases and proof texts from Scripture, citing them as if they authenticated his son’s account. (p. 14)
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[M]y point here is merely to note the disturbing ease with which imaginary tales like those gain traction and garner passionate followers among evangelical readers. These are not books any reputable evangelical publisher would have given a second glance to just twenty years ago. At the moment, however, Christian booksellers are publishing and selling more books filled with false visions of the afterlife than all the commentaries and Bible reference works combined.
It may be quite fascinating to read these intricately detailed accounts of people who claim to have come back from heaven, but the hobby is as dangerous as it is seductive. Readers not only get a twisted, unbiblical picture of heaven from these tall tales; they also imbibe a subjective, superstitious, shallow brand of spirituality. There is no reason to believe anyone who claims to have gone to heaven and returned (John 3:13; 1:18). Studying mystical accounts of supposed journeys into the afterlife yields nothing but confusion, contradiction, false hope, bad doctrine, and a host of similar evils. (pp. 15–16)
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I’ve given this prolonged critique of Heaven Is for Real [in ch. 2 of MacArthur’s book] not because it is the worst of the genre, but because of all the books in this category, it is the most likely to be read and deemed harmless by the typical evangelical. It is not harmless. (p. 48)
See also David Platt, who quotes MacArthur in this video excerpt:
Related:
- John Piper, “How Real Is the Book Heaven Is for Real?” Ask Pastor John, Episode 302, March 20, 2014.
- Randy Alcorn, “Heaven Is for Real, the Movie,” April 18, 2014.
