I have enjoyed your writing, and I like its clarity. Recently I have been pondering something that puzzles me. How can the Father by \u201cin\u201d Heaven? Whatever Heaven is, it does not exist before the Father. The Father does not have a body which could be within some created space.<\/p>\n
What can this mean?<\/p>\n
My only straw to grasp at is that it simply means \u201cnot my Father on Earth.\u201d What do you think?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
All of our language about God is, by necessity, analogous.\u00a0 We cannot say what God *is*, only what he is *like*.\u00a0 We have to draw from our sensory experience to speak of Him who is entirely beyond our senses.\u00a0 So we speak of God being \u201cin heaven\u201d to communicate such things as purity, light, transcendence, glory, ineffability, joy, bliss, majesty, awe, power, mystery, beauty, power, order, and all the other things that go with our sensory experiences of the day and night sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeaven\u201d was, for the ancients, a polyvalent word that included both \u201cthe physical sky\u201d and \u201cthe spiritual realms\u201d.\u00a0 Indeed, for the NT writers, there is not just \u201cheaven\u201d but \u201cthe heavens\u201d.\u00a0 Paul, for instance, speaks of being taken up into the \u201cthird heaven\u201d (2 Cor 12:2) and remarks that \u201cthe heavenlies\u201d are not merely a place where God dwells, but also a place of warfare with \u201cpowers and principalities\u201d and with \u201cspiritual forces of evil in heavenly places\u201d (Eph 6). Likewise, Rev 12 speaks, not of war between heaven and hell, but of \u201cwar in heaven\u201d. This is a very different concept of heaven than we are accustomed to.\u00a0 It appears to be more like a universe built like a skyscraper with multiple \u201cfloors\u201d than a two floor house. \u00a0The intervening floors between earth and the \u201cplace\u201d where God \u201cdwell\u201d seem to be, if you will, other created natures in which are \u201ccherubim, seraphim, thrones, dominations, virtues, principalities, powers, archangels, and angels\u201d. \u00a0But the language of Jesus is intended to communicate the glory of God \u201cin the highest heaven\u201d, not to say that God is a body occupying space.<\/p>\n
St. Thomas looks at the question here.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He writes: I have enjoyed your writing, and I like its clarity. Recently I have been pondering something that puzzles me. How can the Father by \u201cin\u201d Heaven? Whatever Heaven is, it does not exist before the Father. The Father does not have a body which could be within some created space. What can this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-94938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-mailbag"],"yoast_head":"\n
A Reader Has a Question About How God Can be "in Heaven"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"He writes: I have enjoyed your writing, and I like its clarity. Recently I have been pondering something that puzzles me. How can the Father by "in"\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Reader Has a Question About How God Can be "in Heaven"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"He writes: I have enjoyed your writing, and I like its clarity. Recently I have been pondering something that puzzles me. How can the Father by "in"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-04T07:01:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-11-18T20:10:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html\",\"name\":\"A Reader Has a Question About How God Can be \\\"in Heaven\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-04T07:01:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-11-18T20:10:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\"},\"description\":\"He writes: I have enjoyed your writing, and I like its clarity. Recently I have been pondering something that puzzles me. How can the Father by \\\"in\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Reader Has a Question About How God Can be “in Heaven”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\",\"description\":\"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\",\"name\":\"Mark Shea\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Shea\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Reader Has a Question About How God Can be \"in Heaven\"","description":"He writes: I have enjoyed your writing, and I like its clarity. Recently I have been pondering something that puzzles me. How can the Father by \"in\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Reader Has a Question About How God Can be \"in Heaven\"","og_description":"He writes: I have enjoyed your writing, and I like its clarity. Recently I have been pondering something that puzzles me. How can the Father by \"in\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html","og_site_name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","article_published_time":"2015-12-04T07:01:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-11-18T20:10:51+00:00","author":"Mark Shea","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Shea","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html","name":"A Reader Has a Question About How God Can be \"in Heaven\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-12-04T07:01:52+00:00","dateModified":"2015-11-18T20:10:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5"},"description":"He writes: I have enjoyed your writing, and I like its clarity. Recently I have been pondering something that puzzles me. How can the Father by \"in\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/12\/a-reader-has-a-question-about-how-god-can-be-in-heaven.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Reader Has a Question About How God Can be “in Heaven”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/","name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","description":"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5","name":"Mark Shea","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Shea"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94938\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}