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Source: en.wikipedia.org
Heaven may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond, the traditional literal meaning of the term in English. Since at least the 11th century, it has ...
Heaven may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond, the traditional literal meaning of the term in English. Since at least the 11th century, it has typically also been used to refer to the plane of existence of an afterlife (often held to exist in another realm) in various religions and spiritual philosophies, often described as the holiest possible place, accessible by people according to various standards of divinity, goodness, piety, faith or other virtues.
Etymology
The modern English word Heaven derives from the word heven around 1159, which developed from the Old English heofon around 1000 referring to the Christianized 'place where God dwells' but earlier meaning 'sky, firmament'[1] this is cognate with other Germanic languages - Old Saxon heƀan 'sky, heaven', Middle Low German heven 'sky', Old Icelandic himinn 'sky, heaven', Gothic himins, and existed in variation with a related word having an -l suffix: Old Frisian himel, himul 'sky, heaven', Old Saxon/Old High German himil, Dutch hemel, and modern German Himmel, all of which derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic *Hemina
Criticism of the belief in Heaven
Atheists reject the existence of heaven. Some atheists have viewed the notion of heaven as an 'opiate of the masses'—tool employed by humans to cope with their lives' misery—or 'opiate for the masses'—a tool employed by authorities to bribe their subjects into a certain way of life by promising a reward after death.[30]The anarchist Emma Goldman expressed this view when she wrote, 'Consciously or unconsciously, most atheists see in gods and devils, heaven and hell; reward and punishment, a whip to lash the people into obedience, meekness and contentment.'[31]Many people consider George Orwell's use of Sugarcandy Mountain in his novel Animal Farm to be a literary expression of this view. In the book, the animals were told that after their miserable lives were over they would go to a place in which 'it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges'.[32][33] Fantasy author Phillip Pullman echoes this idea in the fantasy series His Dark Materials, in which the characters finally come to the conclusion that people should make life better on Earth rather than wait for heaven (this idea is known as the Republic of Heaven).Some atheists have argued that a belief in a reward after death is poor motivation for moral behavior while alive.[34][35] Sam Harris wrote, 'It is rather more noble to help people purely out of concern for their suffering than it is to help them because you think the Creator of the Universe wants you to do it, or will reward you for doing it, or will punish you for not doing it. [The] problem with this linkage between religion and morality is that it gives people bad reasons to help other human beings when good reasons are available.'[36][edit]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven
Etymology
The modern English word Heaven derives from the word heven around 1159, which developed from the Old English heofon around 1000 referring to the Christianized 'place where God dwells' but earlier meaning 'sky, firmament'[1] this is cognate with other Germanic languages - Old Saxon heƀan 'sky, heaven', Middle Low German heven 'sky', Old Icelandic himinn 'sky, heaven', Gothic himins, and existed in variation with a related word having an -l suffix: Old Frisian himel, himul 'sky, heaven', Old Saxon/Old High German himil, Dutch hemel, and modern German Himmel, all of which derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic *Hemina
Criticism of the belief in Heaven
Atheists reject the existence of heaven. Some atheists have viewed the notion of heaven as an 'opiate of the masses'—tool employed by humans to cope with their lives' misery—or 'opiate for the masses'—a tool employed by authorities to bribe their subjects into a certain way of life by promising a reward after death.[30]The anarchist Emma Goldman expressed this view when she wrote, 'Consciously or unconsciously, most atheists see in gods and devils, heaven and hell; reward and punishment, a whip to lash the people into obedience, meekness and contentment.'[31]Many people consider George Orwell's use of Sugarcandy Mountain in his novel Animal Farm to be a literary expression of this view. In the book, the animals were told that after their miserable lives were over they would go to a place in which 'it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges'.[32][33] Fantasy author Phillip Pullman echoes this idea in the fantasy series His Dark Materials, in which the characters finally come to the conclusion that people should make life better on Earth rather than wait for heaven (this idea is known as the Republic of Heaven).Some atheists have argued that a belief in a reward after death is poor motivation for moral behavior while alive.[34][35] Sam Harris wrote, 'It is rather more noble to help people purely out of concern for their suffering than it is to help them because you think the Creator of the Universe wants you to do it, or will reward you for doing it, or will punish you for not doing it. [The] problem with this linkage between religion and morality is that it gives people bad reasons to help other human beings when good reasons are available.'[36][edit]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven
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