SPECIAL: Heaven - Where is it? How Do We Get There? 12/20/05
Heaven - Where Is It? How Do We Get There?
Barbara Walters Explores Meaning of Heaven and Afterlife With
Religious Leaders, Believers and Non-Believers
Dec. 5, 2005 - - For centuries humanity has looked to the sky and
asked profound questions: Where is heaven and how do we get there?
People have dreamed of heaven, dedicated their lives to the promise
of heaven, even martyred themselves -- committing heinous acts of
terrorism -- for the promise of paradise. Is heaven simply a myth
dreamed up to give lives meaning, or is it a real place?
Anchored by Barbara Walters, "Heaven -- Where Is It? How Do We Get
There?" explores the meaning of heaven with religious leaders of the
major faiths, scientists, people who say they believe in heaven
because they’ve been there, celebrities who are vocal about their
beliefs, and even with terrorists. The special broadcast airs
Tuesday, Dec. 20, from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
Walters takes viewers on a journey around the world -- to India,
Israel, and throughout the United States. She interviews people of
different religious and scientific beliefs, each with strong
opinions about the afterlife. They discuss their visions of heaven,
what they believe happens to the body, and why it is important to
believe in heaven.
Here are a few of the perspectives explored in the program.
Catholic - Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington,
says the purpose of life "is to come to the end of your life at
peace with the Lord so that you may find an eternal happiness in
heaven. ... This life is not what we’re made for. We’re made for
heaven. We’re made for the future."
Jewish - "The purpose of life is to live a decent life ... and that
you do it for its own sake, not for getting a reward," said Rabbi
Neil Gillman from New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary. "There is
a tremendous emphasis in our tradition about what you do with
yourself in your lifetime here on Earth." Comedian Jackie Mason, who
is a rabbi, also gives his humorous take on heaven.
Baptist - The Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts, pastor of New York’s famed
Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, who says he has seen heaven,
tells Walters that heaven is "eternal joy and happiness because you
are at one with God."
Buddhist - Walters traveled to the Himalayan Mountains to visit the
mystical home of a reincarnated Buddha, the Dalai Lama, who says
that the purpose of life is to be happy, and that you can accomplish
that by "warm-heartedness." He says heaven "is best place to further
develop the spiritual practice ... for Buddhist the final goal is
not just to reach there, but to become Buddha. [It’s] not the end,"
and he tells Walters that you can come back as an animal: "If
someone do very bad, badly ... kill or steal ... could be born in an
animal body." Walters also talks to longtime follower Richard Gere,
who said: "I don’t think necessarily heaven and hell happen in some
other life. I think it’s right now."
Evangelical - The promise of heaven plays a central role in the life
of Pastor Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of
Evangelicals, and his congregation. As an evangelical, Haggard
believes if you are not a born-again Christian, you have no
assurance of going to heaven. "Jesus Christ guarantees eternal life
to anybody that’ll follow him. ... The purpose of life is to glorify
God and go to heaven ... ’cause heaven is our home."
Atheist - Ellen Johnson, president of the American Atheists, tells
Walters, "No, heaven doesn’t exist, hell doesn’t exist. We weren’t
alive before we were born and we’re not going to exist after we die.
I’m not happy about the fact that that’s the end of life, but I can
accept that and make my life more fulfilling now, because this is
the only chance I have."
Muslim - Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of the American Society for
Muslim Advancement, tells Walters he believes there is sex in
heaven: "The real life is the next life ... and based upon how we
live this life, it determines where we shall be in the next. We are
told we will be in comfortable homes, reclining on silk couches ...
so we’re given the delights of sex, the delights of wine, the
delights of food with all of their positive things without their
negative aspects."
Terrorists and Heaven - Jihad Jarrar, of Islamic Jihad, who is
incarcerated in an Israeli prison for a failed suicide bombing,
tells Walters that only Muslims will go to heaven and "the reason I
chose a martyrdom operation" is to spend an eternity in paradise. He
says he was taught that "everything good is in the garden in
paradise," and that "the Lord promised the martyr who lost his life
and lost the world on Earth, that he promised him these 72 women in
paradise as honor, as respect for him."
The special also explores:
The Science of Heaven - Why does faith come easily to some and elude
others? In search of the scientific rationale of heaven, Walters
talks to expert Dean Hamer, author of "The God Gene," and a
geneticist at the National Institutes of Health. Is there really
a "God gene" that affects people’s level of spirituality? Walters
also looks at studies conducted by Andrew Newberg, a radiologist at
the University of Pennsylvania, whose research seeks to determine
whether the brain undergoes unusual changes when an individual is
deep in the throes of a spiritual experience.
Near-Death Experiences - Walters also examines the phenomenon of the
near-death experience. What happens when you journey to the other
side of death and back? British psychologist Susan Blackmore has
spent decades searching for a scientific explanation: "When the
oxygen levels fall in the brain ... you get massive over-activity in
the brain. ... I think there is a true transformation, but not
because you’ve been to heaven." But whatever the rationale, such
experiences have changed many. Dianne Morrissey says she felt
the "white light of God" when she was electrocuted. "My near-death
experience changed everything about me. ... There is not a single
experience on Earth that could ever be as good as being dead," she
said.
Heaven and Real People - How do you tell children what happens to
their loved ones when they die? Who do you see when you arrive in
heaven? Walters talks to such people as Maria Shriver, author of a
children’s book on heaven, and Mitch Albom, author of "The Five
People You Meet in Heaven," for their take on the afterlife.
"Heaven -- Where Is It? How Do We Get There?" is produced by Rob
Wallace. It will be released on DVD through ABCNEWS.com and includes
extended interviews and bonus features. Beliefnet.com and
ABCNEWS.com will also provide companion content to the program.
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