Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many religions or spiritual philosophies. Those who believe in heaven generally hold that it (or Hell) is the final afterlife destination of many or all humans. In unusual instances, humans have had, according to many testimonies and traditions, personal knowledge of Heaven. They presume this is for the purpose of teaching the rest of humanity about life, Heaven, and God. Heaven - Conceptions. While there are abundant and varied sources for conceptions of Heave ...

Including:

Heaven - Conceptions Heaven - Location Heaven - Getting into Heaven Heaven - Heaven in Roman Catholicism Heaven - Heaven in Orthodox Christianity Heaven - Heaven in Protestant Christianity Heaven - Heaven in the Bahá'í Faith Heaven - Heaven in Judaism Heaven - Heaven in Hinduism

Read more here: » Heaven: Encyclopedia - Heaven

See also:

Heaven, Heaven - Conceptions, Heaven - Location, Heaven - Getting into Heaven, Heaven - Heaven in Roman Catholicism, Heaven - Heaven in Orthodox Christianity, Heaven - Heaven in Protestant Christianity, Heaven - Heaven in the Bahá'í Faith, Heaven - Heaven in Judaism, Heaven - Heaven in Hinduism

Read more here: » Heaven: Encyclopedia II - Heaven - Conceptions

In Hinduism, with it's emphasis on reincarnation, the concept of Heaven is not as prominent. While heaven is temporary (until the next birth), the permanent state that Hindus aspire to is Moksha. Moksha is seen as the soul's liberation from the cycle of life and death, a re-establishment in one's own fundamental divine nature and may include union with or joining God. Entry into heaven (swarga loka) or hell (Naraka) is decided by the Lord of death Yama and his karmic accountant, Chitragupta, who records the good and bad deeds of a per ...

See also:

Heaven, Heaven - Conceptions, Heaven - Location, Heaven - Getting into Heaven, Heaven - Heaven in Roman Catholicism, Heaven - Heaven in Orthodox Christianity, Heaven - Heaven in Protestant Christianity, Heaven - Heaven in the Bahá'í Faith, Heaven - Heaven in Judaism, Heaven - Heaven in Hinduism

Read more here: » Heaven: Encyclopedia II - Heaven - Heaven in Hinduism

Introduction to Buddhism.

Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life. This makes Buddhism different from many other faiths for it is not centred on the relationship between humanity and God. Buddhism doesn't fit the pattern of other faiths and needs to be seen in its own terms to be understood properly. Buddhists do not believe in a personal creator God. It does not have the concept of a Saviour, nor of Heaven and Hell in the popular sense. Buddhism doesn't demand blind faith or belief, and says that people should test its teachings against personal experience.

Read more here: » Buddhism: Introduction to Buddhism

Buddha was born approximately 560 B.C. in Northern India. Through his life, Buddha gave the concept of Nirvana unprecedented exposure to a large portion of the Eastern world with his achievement of and subsequent teachings about the state of enlightenment. The attainment of Buddhahood or Nirvana is a central tenet of Buddhist teachings. Within the realm of Christianity, the historical Christ echoed the same teaching, though in a veiled form, by saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us.

Read more here: » Buddha: The Life of Gautama Buddha

Bring God into Your Living Room

It is easier to visualise God in the starry heavens than in our own homes. The stars, so remote from our humdrum earthly existence, suggest to our minds infinite stillness, harmony, and wisdom. By contrast, our homes are often scenes of strife and rivalry.

To the extent that we hold God aloof from our daily realities, we alienate Him from the life we know. We need a concept of God that will bring Him into our kitchens, our bedrooms, our living rooms - yes, even when those living rooms are crowded with guests.

Read more here: » God: Bring God into Your Living Room

The Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God, Greek βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ basileia tou theou) is a key concept in both Judaism and Christianity. It refers to the reign or sovereignty of God over all things, as opposed to the reign of earthly powers. Kingdom of Heaven - The Kingdom in Jewish thought. The Kingdom of God is referred to frequently in the Tanakh (see 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 and Daniel 4:3 for example). It is tied t ...

Including:

Kingdom of Heaven - The Kingdom in Jewish thought Kingdom of Heaven - The Kingdom in Christian thought
Kingdom of Heaven - Present aspect Kingdom of Heaven - Future aspect

Read more here: » Kingdom of Heaven: Encyclopedia - Kingdom of Heaven

All under heaven (Chinese: 天下; pinyin: tiān xià) is a concept in Chinese history. It was related to the Chinese conception of China as the Middle Kingdom, the center of the universe. In ancient Chinese political thought, the Chinese emperor would ideally rule all under heaven, that is, the entire world, which was possible because China was considered to be so vast that it encompassed all the world. The known kingdoms that lay outside of China were considered to be barbaric, and many of them paid tribute to the Chinese emper ...

Including:

All under heaven - Usage in the film Hero All under heaven - Reference

Read more here: » All under heaven: Encyclopedia - All under heaven

"Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven" is a short-story written by American writer Mark Twain and published in 1909. The story follows Captain Stormfield on his extremely long cosmic journey to heaven, his accidental misplacement, his short-lived interest in singing and playing the harp, and the obsession of souls with the "celebrities" of heaven, like Adam and Moses. Twain uses this story to show his view that the common conception of heaven is ludicrous and points out the incongruities of such beliefs.

According to the Bible, the Land of Israel (Hebrew: Eretz Yisrael) was promised to the descendants of Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by God, making it the Promised land. The concept is frequently used symbolically by Christians, especially in hynmody as a reference to Heaven, or to a new land, such as North America colonized by the Pilgrims. Promised Land is a song by Chuck Berry. Promised Land is a 1987 movie starring Kiefer Sutherland and Meg Ryan Promised Land

Read more here: » Promised land: Encyclopedia - Promised land

The Bible says very little about cosmology, such as the position of the earth in the universe, the nature of the fixed stars and planets, seeing as its main emphasis was on the history of God’s dealings with man. Skeptics argue that the bible is written from a flat earth perspective[1] although this is not made explicit in any of the canonical books of the bible. Biblical cosmology - Background. Much of what the Bible says concerning cosmology is couched in terminology whose definitions are uncerta ...

Including:

Biblical cosmology - Background Biblical cosmology - Sky sun moon and stars Biblical cosmology - Stars as the Hosts of Heaven Biblical cosmology - Planets Biblical cosmology - The Bible and the Big Bang Biblical cosmology - Modern day biblical cosmologies

Read more here: » Biblical cosmology: Encyclopedia - Biblical cosmology

Qi, also commonly spelled ch'i, chi or ki, is a fundamental concept of everyday Chinese culture, most often defined as "air" or "breath" (for example, the colloquial Mandarin Chinese term for "weather" is tiān qi, or the "breath of heaven") and, by extension, "life force" or "spiritual energy" that is part of everything that exists. References to qi or similar philosophical concepts as a type of metaphysical energy that sustains living beings are used in ...

Including:

Qi - Qi in traditional Chinese medicine Qi - Views and opinions of qi

Read more here: » Qi: Encyclopedia - Qi

Life in the People's Republic of China A wide variety of religions have been practiced in China since the beginning of its history. Temples of many different religions dot the landscape of China, including Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folk religion. The study of religion in China is complicated by several issues. Because many Chinese belief systems have concepts of a sacred and sometimes spiritual world yet do not invoke a concept of God, classifying a Chinese belief system as either a religion or a philosophy can ...

Including:

Religion in China - Buddhism Religion in China - Taoism Religion in China - Islam Religion in China - Christianity Religion in China - Judaism Religion in China - Recent sects
Religion in China - Falun Gong Religion in China - Way of Former Heaven
Religion in China - Mainland China Religion in China - External link

Read more here: » Religion in China: Encyclopedia - Religion in China

In Hinduism and Buddhism, a devaloka or deva loka is a plane of existence where gods and devas exist. The deva lokas are usually described as places of eternal light and goodness, similar to the concept of Heaven. Teachers of different Hindu denominations and Buddhist schools may call such homes of the gods by other names, including Svarga, each differing in non-fundamental aspects. To Hindus, Devaloka is a plane of blissful existence that can be reached as soon as one is sufficiently attuned to light and good. However, ...

Read more here: » Devaloka: Encyclopedia - Devaloka

The axis mundi (world axis), in religion or mythology, is the center of the world and/or the connection between heaven and earth. It is common to virtually all cultures on Earth, although it plays a much more explicit role among indigenous peoples. It is thought that the idea of the Proto-Indo-European religion axis mundi, spread throughout Eurasia, in particular the concept of the world tree. It is familiar today as the caduceus, the symbol of medicine; the staff is the axis itself, and the serpents are the guardians or guides ...

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Western astrology employs the tropical zodiac which divides the ecliptic into twelve signs of equal length starting at the first point of Aries, which is defined as the point at which the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun through the heavens) crosses the celestial equator at the spring equinox. It is important to note that these signs are completely independent of the astronomical constellations after which they were origi ...

Including:

Astrological sign - Traditional Rulership versus Modern Rulership Astrological sign - Classification Astrological sign - Signification Astrological sign - Phrases keywords and concepts associated with each astrological sign

Read more here: » Astrological sign: Encyclopedia - Astrological sign

In Christian theology, universal reconciliation or universal salvation, is the doctrine or belief that all will eventually find salvation and reconciliation with God, going to heaven sometime after death. Also known as Christian Trinitarian Universalism, this concept is often called universalism, a term with a variety of other meanings, but which in this article will refer to universal salvation. By doctrine, most denominations of Christianity reject universalism as a heresy, although many modern Christians believe in universalism. Some "universalists" believe that some will endure a limited period of p ...

Including:

Universal reconciliation - External link

Read more here: » Universal reconciliation: Encyclopedia - Universal reconciliation

Biblical astronomy - In the Talmud. The study of the universe as a whole was, like all other sciences in olden times, held in closest connection with religion, and was cultivated in the interest of the latter. The starworld was to the heathen an object of worship, but not to the Jews, whether national or Hellenized. With this reverence there was connected a superstition that the stars determined the destiny of man. The computation of time also depends upon a knowledge of the heavenly bodies; and this again was cl ...

See also:

Biblical astronomy, Biblical astronomy - Biblical Data, Biblical astronomy - The Four Elements in Genesis, Biblical astronomy - Stars the Hosts of Heaven, Biblical astronomy - Captain of Army., Biblical astronomy - Individual Stars, Biblical astronomy - Planets, Biblical astronomy - Helel Son of the Morning, Biblical astronomy - Ancient Conception of Astronomy, Biblical astronomy - In the Talmud, Biblical astronomy - Astronomy a Religious Study, Biblical astronomy - No Scientific Discoveries in Palestine, Biblical astronomy - Conceptions of Heaven and Earth, Biblical astronomy - Motions of the Heavenly Bodies, Biblical astronomy - Six Seasons, Biblical astronomy - Seven Planets, Biblical astronomy - The Zodiac, Biblical astronomy - Other Stars and Comets, Biblical astronomy - In Post-Talmudic Times, Biblical astronomy - Medieval Astronomers

Read more here: » Biblical astronomy: Encyclopedia II - Biblical astronomy - Ancient Conception of Astronomy

The article Judaism and Christianity compares and contrasts two closely related Abrahamic religions that are in some ways parallel to each other and in other ways fundamentally divergent in theology and practice. Whereas the article on the Judeo-Christian tradition emphasizes continuities and convergences between the two religions, this article emphasizes that Judaism and Christianity each have widely diverging views of their respective relationship to the other, and of elements they have in common, such as the Bible and God. Including:

Judaism and Christianity - Neither religion is monolithic Judaism and Christianity - Raison d'être of the religion Judaism and Christianity - The nature of religion: national versus universal Judaism and Christianity - Concepts of God Judaism and Christianity - Understanding of the Bible Judaism and Christianity - Sin and Original Sin Judaism and Christianity - Faith versus good deeds Judaism and Christianity - Love Judaism and Christianity - Abortion Judaism and Christianity - War violence and pacifism Judaism and Christianity - Judgement Judaism and Christianity - Capital punishment Judaism and Christianity - Heaven and Hell Judaism and Christianity - The Messiah
Judaism and Christianity - Catholic views Judaism and Christianity - Eastern Orthodox views Judaism and Christianity - Jewish views
Judaism and Christianity - Evangelism Judaism and Christianity - Miscellaneous Judaism and Christianity - Mutual views
Judaism and Christianity - Common Jewish views of Christianity Judaism and Christianity - Common Christian views of Judaism

Read more here: » Judaism and Christianity: Encyclopedia - Judaism and Christianity

Biblical Astronomy, in the broad sense, includes the views taken in the books of the Bible of the position of the earth in the universe, the designation of the stars, planets, fixed stars, and the views held regarding them. The material for the subject, except so far as the earth is concerned, is very meager, dependence for the most part having to be placed on ambiguous references chiefly in the poetical sections. In the present article the stars, planets, and fixed stars in general are dealt with. The sky, the abode of the stars, is describ ...

See also:

Biblical astronomy, Biblical astronomy - Biblical Data, Biblical astronomy - The Four Elements in Genesis, Biblical astronomy - Stars the Hosts of Heaven, Biblical astronomy - Captain of Army., Biblical astronomy - Individual Stars, Biblical astronomy - Planets, Biblical astronomy - Helel Son of the Morning, Biblical astronomy - Ancient Conception of Astronomy, Biblical astronomy - In the Talmud, Biblical astronomy - Astronomy a Religious Study, Biblical astronomy - No Scientific Discoveries in Palestine, Biblical astronomy - Conceptions of Heaven and Earth, Biblical astronomy - Motions of the Heavenly Bodies, Biblical astronomy - Six Seasons, Biblical astronomy - Seven Planets, Biblical astronomy - The Zodiac, Biblical astronomy - Other Stars and Comets, Biblical astronomy - In Post-Talmudic Times, Biblical astronomy - Medieval Astronomers

Read more here: » Biblical astronomy: Encyclopedia II - Biblical astronomy - Biblical Data