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"Heaven Is for Real" is the purportedly true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.
Three things convinced the Burpos their son had gone to heaven: his knowledge of where they were when he was being operated on, his claim that he met a sister he never knew even existed, and his declaration that he met his great-grandfather, a man he never knew but could readily identify later from photographs of the man at a young age. (The good news, Colton says, is that people are younger in heaven; and his miscarried sister was a little girl with a striking family resemblance who introduced herself.) His total time in heaven: three minutes.
Colton is very specific about what he saw and heard, right down to what the angels sang to him. "Well, they sang Jesus Loves Me and Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho," he told his parents. He knew exactly where he was, too. "I was sitting on Jesus' lap," he said, looking his father right in the eye when he shared that piece of information. Jesus had eyes that “were just sort of a sea-blue and they seemed to sparkle” Colton, now 11 years old, recalled. Colton is shown an online picture. “Dad, that one’s right,” he exclaims. It is the Akiane Kramarik's portrait of Jesus with blue eyes called "Prince of Peace". Question arise, blue eyes on a Galilean Jew and who would have features which resemble modern-day persons of Semitic descent? Colson picked from a pictorial line-up a Jesus looking more like Kenny Loggins and less like a Middle Eastern man from 2,000 years ago?
The list of descriptions in this book are lengthy. Dress code is pretty simple. White robe, bare feet and a sash. Furniture in heaven is sparse. Two thrones and that is it. One for Jesus, and a massive mountainous one for the big guy. Makes you wonder where are all the mansions Jesus promised? If you think you will be bored, think again. You get to have a pair of wings to float around with. Christians have halos over their heads that can be seen by children that are "pure of heart". There are lots of colors and rainbows in heaven. If you pray hard enough, God will "shoot power" down from heaven to help you. God is "very masculine with pretty eye's." Men get to have swords, women and children are out of luck. That's because the men need to protect the women and children for the upcoming battle with Satan. Soon there will be a big war between "bad people", demons and monsters against believers, God and Jesus. Jesus wins and throws Satan into hell. "I saw it dad." Not surprising this happened to coincide with Colton's recent viewing of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Not to mention that only males were warriors. It appears that female emancipation in the modern world has regressed in the future according to Colton. In addition, the author keeps saying that there was no way the boy could know all those Biblical details, yet he mentions numerous times about how they had Bible stories every night before bed since the child was born. Colton's dad confirmed he read from a Bible storybook to Colton every night.
I've read many books over the years about near death experiences by such authors as Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross; George Anderson; Brian Weiss MD; James Van Praagh; Raymond Moody MD; Melvin Morse MD; Gary Renard, etc, and hoped for a revelation excelling all based on the reviews. I'm fascinated by the subject. I personally read most of the book and had to digress. I was hooked at first and was enjoying it as it confirmed a lot of my beliefs, mainly there is a life after death, until the wings were introduced. The "wings" detail is a projection of childhood idealized images. Believer's are not fitted with wings in heaven. Angels are created spiritual beings, we do not turn into them. At that point I was confirmed that there were fantasies injected in the story, combined with other problematic details. When he said Jesus or whoever was welcoming him to Heaven brought him a chair to sit on, I started feeling like the 6 dollars I spent on the digital edition was money wasted. After so many details, what kind of chair was it? Was it a folding chair? What brand was it? Did it have cup holders in the arms?
More problems ensue, when the Burpos said that Colton painstakingly described images like the bloody wounds on Jesus’ palms and feet, which is detail oversight since Roman crucifixions drove nails through the wrist, whereas the weight of the body would rip a nail placed in the hands. This has been proven through scientific tests using cadavers. Even the Shroud of Turin if indeed it is authentic, bears stains that would correspond to a wound on the wrist NOT the palms. Colton also says he watched Jesus send "power" in the form of the "holy spirit" down to his father while he gave his sermons. The only problem is that during the time he was supposedly in Heaven watching Jesus do this, his father was at the hospital and not preaching. Another detail glitch?
The hospital medical records report that Little Colton did not actually die. His simple answer? "If you have to be dead to go to Heaven *shrug* then I guess I died." Colton took several years for this information to all seep out, so it wasn't just the memories of a 4 year old. He had years to embellish with his imagination, to enlarge the tale for greater effect. The book does describe how minutes in our time are different than in heaven, but nonetheless, most four year olds barely remember what they did a day ago. Yet this kid seems to remember in detail what happened months ago?
This experience is not a tale that little Colton Burpo woke up and told. the "story" actually came out over the course of years following the surgery it was supposed to have happened during. Naturally as time went on and the parents continued to interrogate their son about this "experience". He had to come up with something to appease them because it invoked their interest which he naturally perceived as "I am pleasing my parents." The parents have set up expectations for this boy to invent a reality that fit into their belief system.
I may have believed the testimony a whole lot more had the father of the boy not complied the book. The book was more about the Pastor and his congregation than his son's experience. 80% of the book is actually not about heaven but about the father's experiences in dealing with his son's medical issues. Overall, there were so many quotes from the bible that I felt like it was a bible study rather than the "Near Death Experience" that I was expecting. The book reads like a fundamentalist sermon written by someone who is completely oblivious to the origin of the Biblical books and the modern scientific study of the Bible. We are told one absurdity after another, backed up by biblical proof-texts that are supposed to validate what the child told its parents. Most of the material comes from daddy asking his son about something, the son tells the father exactly what he wants to hear and then the father quotes the Bible (stretched at times) to validate what the son said.
The fact that the child is using words that kids don't use makes me skeptical of the overarching content of it. He describes things using words that I doubt a seven or eight year old would know. This content was more than likely modified by his father for theological effect. The book's sole intention seem to be the reaffirmation of Christian ideals and to lobby against abortion.
To be honest, I come to books like this (dealing with near-death experiences) with a load of skepticism. Why? Because the only authoritative book on these subjects, especially Heaven, has already been written, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit through chosen writers over the millenniums. And if we need something more on this topic, the proper way to obtain valid information is to carefully study what the Scripture has already revealed about it.
When we draw our theology from our own or other's experiences as a source of truth, we are risking swallowing a candy coated pill of mixed content. Instead, it is God's Word, and truth contained which is to be used to interpret our experiences. Whenever the experience supplants Scriptural authority, speculation rather than revealed truth rules the interpretation. And when that happens, we slowly undermine the authority of Scripture, and will inevitably undermine our own faith. How is this? Because faith, real, Biblical, saving, soul-affirming faith, can only be a garnered by the personal revelation of God and His character, or trusting His promises found in His Word.
This then is the primary problem I see with this innocuous little tome. The problem is not whether Colton might have had some genuine sort of experience of Heaven or not. He may have. The problem is that we are willing to find more comfort and encouragement about the reality of Heaven and some of its supposed features from a NDE experience than we are from the Bible and God's own revelation of these things. It is as though the Holy Spirit's revelation is inadequate for us.
The problem isn't as much with the book and its material itself, the problem is what it reveals about us! That we know so little of what the Bible teaches about heaven and eternity or are so little interested what God has to say about it or are so little comforted by it that we will find our hope rather in a four year olds story lined with quirky errors and obvious fantasies. The modern church thrives on emotional testimonies, because it is an quick and easy thrill. However, the Lord chooses to reveal himself by personal revelation, to those willing to labor in the spiritual way to find His reserved albeit bequeathed treasure.
Another issues I have with the overarching message of the book, around the world, people of faith all have different views of the nature of God, Jesus, and Heaven. Given this, how could it be conceivably possible that Colton Burpo's revelation of the true nature of God and Heaven happened to conform exactly to his father's views on them? Wesleyan Armenian doctrine, not Calvinistic in theological scope. Do you think 4 year old Colson had studied experience in these deliniations? C. Michael Patton of Credo House, an evangelical theological center in Edmond, Okla., reviewed the book in a more measured and academic style, although even he concedes much of the contents "leave me scratching my head." How did a 4-year-old know about the Holy Trinity, for instance? Questions like this can be easily answered, the father coached him.
I should note that you do not have to question the existence of God or of Heaven to wonder about this. In fact, I think the question is more troubling for true believers. For real believers, the question is not whether there is a heaven or not; the real question is whether Mr. Burpo is using his son as a convenient puppet to promote his theological views, which is not at uncommon amidst the modern church looking for a inspiring testimony through a person verses the divine revelation through the Spirit of the living Christ.
As Christians, and if a truly God inspired work, it seems the parents would not be lining their pockets with $16.99 a sale when it costs $3.50 to produce. There are plenty of publisher outside of Thomas Nelson, who publish at near cost. Todd Burpo wrote the book with Lynn Vincent (a professional literary sensationalist) who collaborated with Sarah Palin on “Going Rogue.” Clearly funds were transferred in this collaboration, and I imagine enhanced text modifications as this is her skill set. Todd mentioned in an interview that he planned to spend some of it on personal home improvements, which is nice.
I find it surprising that more adults reading the book don't exercise a bit more critical thought to the claims of this book. I find most Christian's cannot deliniate fiction from fantasy for lack of discernment and swallow most anything set before them. Yes, it is inspiring to think there is a heaven, that we may see our loved ones again and that there is a loving God in the after world. But, are people so desperate for answers to these questions that we have to prop up the imaginations of a child to verify Biblical claims? I think it gives people hope, and for that, it's worth something. It may help to rationalize untimely death with a belief in a loving God who intervenes on behalf of human beings in need. If the sufficiency of God's omnipotence is not enough, maybe a crutch like this is needed for those struggling in the faith.
If you enjoy the feel good Christian venue, definitely buy this book. I will accept that I gave Todd Burpo a $6 donation to help him pay medical bills. In my opinion, this book should be read for what it is: a sweet tale of an idealized image of Heaven. I find the book is essentially a boy's authentic OBE (Out of Body Experience) falsely aggrandized as a NDE (Near Death Experience) coupled with Christian modeled precepts of heaven. The book is being promoted organically (word of mouth) as fact because adults are less cynical about a testimony from a child. They are cute, thus elevated above typical skepticism.
The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
PDF Outline of Book: http://ebookbrowsee.net/20355f464fef...c86-d365525361
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