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Newsweek editor Lisa Miller presents a compelling study of the afterlife in Heaven.
Harper
April 2010
On Sale: March 23, 2010
368 pages
ISBN: 0060554754
EAN: 9780060554750
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
A groundbreaking and accessible history of heavenβfrom the earliest biblical conceptions of the afterlife to the theologians who frame our understandings to the convictions and perceptions of everyday people Drawing on history and popular culture, biblical research and everyday beliefs, Heaven offers a new understanding of one of the most cherishedβand sharedβideals of spiritual life. Lisa Miller raises debates and discussions not just about our visions of the afterlife, but about how our beliefs have influenced the societies we have built and the lifestyles to which we have subscribed, exploring the roots of our beliefs in heaven and how these have evolved throughout the ages to offer comfort and hope. She also reveals how the notion of heaven has been used for manipulationβto promulgate goodness and evilβas inspiration for selfless behavior, and as justification for mass murder. As Miller demonstrates in this absorbing and enlightening book, the desire for a celestial afterlife is universalβshared by the faithful around the world and across religions. It is as old as the Bible itself. While there are many notions of what exactly heaven is and how we get there, Jews, Christians, and Muslims all agree that heaven is God's home. From the Revelation to the Left Behind series, Augustine to Osama bin Laden, Muslims in the West Bank to American Mormons baptizing their dead, Heaven is a penetrating look at one of our most cherished religious ideals.
 Media BuzzColbert Report - June 2, 2010
Campbell Brown - April 16, 2010
Diane Rehm Show - NPR - March 25, 2010
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