Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

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In 1999, Colton Burpo is born.
In March 2003, he is said to experience a near-death experience in which he goes to heaven.
In July 2003, Colton is said to have first mentioned his visit to heaven.
2003-2006 Colton's recollections of heaven are said to be conveyed to his father (the author).
In July 2006, Akiane Kramarik appears on CNN. The idea for `Heaven is for Real' is conceived.
In 2007-2010 `Heaven is for Real' is written, edited and published.

Anyone familiar with the Bible could have written this book; all of Colton's descriptions of heaven are taken from the Bible--if one accepts they all took place at one time. That is, except for an event that occurs three years after his alleged `vision.' It is upon this event, and entirely upon this event, the truth of this work rests--the reason its author employs it as the climatic event in his book.

From July 2003 to July 2006, among other things, his father probes Colton for a description of Jesus. Just exactly what did Jesus look like? After all, the boy claims to have sat in the lap of Jesus. Parading scores of artist renditions of Jesus before him over the years, Colton responds, `no, the hair is not right,' `no, this is not right,' `no, that is not right,' putting one down after another.

In July 2006, twelve year old child artist prodigy, Akiane Kramarik--who claimed her art is of her visions of heaven--achieved world fame when she appeared on CNN exhibiting her illustration of Jesus.

The father fetches Colton into the room and replays Akiane's image of Jesus. Colton responds quickly, "Dad, that one's right." By itself, Akiane's claim of vision of heaven might fall on doubtful ears. By itself, Colton's claim of his `trip to heaven' might fall on doubtful ears. Yet, two independent witnesses of what Jesus looks like can't be wrong.

For `Heaven is for Real, this is the proof of the pudding. Colton confirms the Jesus he saw in his vision of heaven is the same Jesus Akiane saw in her vision of heaven. This proves `Heaven is for Real.' Unless, of course...

... unless, the idea of Colton's visit to heaven and his confirmation of Akiane's vision had been conceived when Akiane first appeared on CNN in 2006. The timetable certainly is consistent with this. Four years is more than enough time to write and edit a book first published in 2010.

Sherlock Holmes will tell you, in solving a mystery, one must not only consider the evidence which is there, but, more importantly, the evidence which should be there and is not there.
According to Colton, Jesus sat at the right hand of God who overpowered everything around Him including Jesus. If it had not been for Akiane's portrait, one would not question what Jesus looks like? After all, we all have some idea what Jesus looks like. The obvious question would be what God looks like.

Colton's father does ask him, "What did God look like?" The most descriptive reply the boy can come up with, "kind of blue." When asked what Satan looked like? No answer at all. Holmes will tell you there is a reason for this - the child prodigy Akiane Kramarik never executed a portrait of either God or Satan.

Then one has the secrecy of Colton's testimony for seven years. Why did his father (the author) keep it from the media or even close family friends until four years after Akiane appeared on CNN?
The author explains this puzzling occurrence, "We received the details of Colton's journey in bits and pieces over months and years--the story took a while to unfold." Not enough for this reader to swallow. From the age of four until the book is published at age eleven, Colton never whispers of his vision to a single playmate or classmate or for that matter anyone outside the immediate family. Tell me. How do you put a lid on a four year old? How do you put a lid on a ten year old?

I recall my own four year old on his first trip to Disneyland. We could not shut him up--not only for a day, but for weeks. He went on and on describing in explicit detail every event, from `It's a Small World' to `Alice in Wonderland' to `Dumbo the Flying Elephant' to the `Haunted Mansion' to `Indiana Jones' to the `Jungle Cruise' to `Mr. Toad's Wild Ride' to `Pirates of the Caribbean' to, etc, etc, etc.... reciting with uncontrollable emotion all that he had witnessed from thrill of the Matterhorn to the Mickey Mouse smile. His chattering did not cease at home. In the playground, he had kids crowded about him as he rambled on and on. His excitement so high, I was afraid his heart might stop.

Colton witnessed Jesus sitting at the right hand of God with all the magnificence of heaven and a long list of astounding events which span millennia in the Bible, from angels defending heaven with swords, to winged dragons, to Jesus throwing Satan down into hell, to meeting his little sister who died in miscarriage. Yet, when he returns from his trip, he doesn't tell a soul. No hint of excitement or emotion at all. Even then, in his description of what he saw--his father has to pull out of him, bit by bit, vague to say the least--carefully edited by his father to adhere to the Bible.

At first, this book reminded me of another book written a decade ago which another boy has a near-death experience and visits Jesus, recently republished as The Reincarnation of Albino Luciani: In Search of the Human Soul . Albino Luciani was the liberal Pope John Paul I believed to have been murdered for his defense of women, homosexuals, the poor and others whose lives are unfairly penalized by doctrine. See that same author's best seller Murder in the Vatican: The CIA and the Bolshevik Pontiff
Yet, in `Reincarnation of Albino Luciani' the boy returns from his time with Jesus in a state of immense excitement and rambles on and on in explicit detail of all that he saw. As was true of my little boy and Disneyland, one could hardly shut him up--at home or in the playground.

There are books that make great contribution to `faith.' `Reincarnation of Albino Luciani' is one of them. For starters, it defines the human soul--just exactly what is this thing we are trying to save? Most important of all, it serves up the proof. It reveals a long lost secret of how it is possible to know in this life, one will live forever in the next life. One no longer has to guess.

There are other books that take advantage of `faith.' `Heaven is for Real' is one of them. Before I read it, I suspected the idea for `Colton' came from `Reincarnation of Albino Luciani.' Now, I find I was wrong. The idea for `Heaven is for Real' was first conceived when Akiane Kramarik appeared on CNN in 2006. It is for this genius of the author, I award the stars.

With that having been said, `Heaven is for Real' offers nothing we didn't know before. Not a shred of proof. It leaves its reader solely dependent on tales once told by ancient men for a mere chance at heaven--its readers will still pray for miracles when the doctor tells them they are about to go to meet Jesus.

There are inconsistencies here that boggle the reasonable mind, much too numerous to enumerate. To say, with all the pain and suffering in this world, after two thousand years, Jesus is still sitting on a throne at the right hand of His Father in a magnificent court of golden rainbows makes no sense at all.

The truth of `Heaven is for Real' begins and ends when the tarantula crawled across Colton's hand...

p.s. After `Heaven is for Real' was published, Akiane, now eighteen, revealed her CNN portrait of Jesus was not of her heavenly vision, but, of a family friend--a carpenter--who modeled for her. Search: Akiane Kramarik carpenter.

Eine beeindruckende Geschichte, spannend erzählt. Die Erlebnisse sind allerdings unter rein christlichen Gesichtspunkten beschrieben, daher für Atheisten vielleicht nicht so geeignet.

Ich bin erst bei der Hälfte, aber mich nervt dieses Buch. Anstatt zu schreiben, was der Junge erlebt hat, geht es eigentlich nur um den Vater und wie er die Erlebnisse im Rahmen der Bibel einordnet.