Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft observed that, "If life on earth is not a road to heaven, then it is a treadmill, a merry-go-round minus the merry." ![]() The end Christians contemplate is not nothingness but the blessedness of eternal life in heaven with God. Bertrand Russell, the 1950 Nobel Prize winner for literature, wrote, "There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere only triviality for a moment - then nothing." John Lennon's 1971 song Imagine contains the words, isn't it a little bizarre that we simply ignore heaven, acting as if it doesn't matter?"Ī pagan philosopher once admonished his followers, "Look to the end." This is a wise exhortation, but the crucial question is: to what end, to what hope should we look? Skeptics widely reject the Christian hope of a heavenly end. Christians believe we will spend eternity in a splendid place called heaven. Among those believers, three out of four rate their chances of getting there good or excellent.Ĭhristian author Phillip Yancey wrote, "Although of us believe in an afterlife, no one much talks about it. According to a Newsweek Poll, 94 percent of Americans believe that God exists and 77 percent believe in a heaven. Public-opinion polls show that most Americans not only believe in God but also anticipate some kind of heaven. I would like for you to think about heaven by considering some questions that will spur your thought process. Because as little as we talk or think about it, we can't go far in life before we bump into it. That's not something we always want to think about.īut we have to think about heaven. We are going to stand before a righteous and holy God and give an account. We are going to die someday and leave our loved ones behind. For all its promised happiness, heaven reminds us that we are not going to live forever. When we are squeezed by our jobs, the finances are tight, and our relationships are going sour, it's not easy to meditate on the celestial glories.īut perhaps we don't think about heaven because it brings up painful realities. And furthermore, it is such an elusive concept because we are swamped with things on earth. It's so different from what we experience now, and so much better, that it's just plain hard to imagine. Heaven is, after all, difficult to envision. The fact is we can watch television for a whole year, read the newspaper day after day, engage in conversations with people all over the world, and not hear a word about the hereafter - heaven. If I were to take a survey asking the question, "Have you thought seriously about heaven in the last week?" I doubt I would get many positive responses. No matter where I am - in the living room, upstairs, in the kitchen, or down in the basement - I ask myself 'What am I here after?'"Ī lot of us just don't think much about heaven. The older man replied, "Oh, I do all the time. The Pastor said, "At your age you should be thinking about the hereafter." The creative team features Will Burton CDG and David Grindrod CDG (casting), Lee Curran (lighting design), Tom Deering (musical supervisor), Barbara Houseman (associate director, voice and text), Drew McOnie (choreography), Nick Lidster for Autograph (sound design), Tom Scutt (design), Timothy Sheader (director), Kate Waters (fight director) and Denzel Westley-Sanderson (co-director).A pastor visited an older man. ![]() They are joined by Maimuna Memon and Anoushka Lucas as Mary, David Thaxton (Pilate), Shaq Taylor (Herod), Ivan De Freitas (Caiaphas), Nathan Amzi (Annas), Phil King (Peter), Cedric Neal (Simon), and Genesis Lynea, Rosa O'Reilly, Elliotte Williams-N'Dure as the Soul Singers.Ĭompleting the cast are Daniel Bailey, Dale Evans, Rosie Fletcher, Josh Hawkins, Stevie Hutchinson, Billy Nevers, Charlotte Riby, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, Barnaby Thompson and Tara Young. Declan Bennett and Pepe Nufrio share the part of Jesus, with Ricardo Afonso and Tyrone Huntley as Judas. Many roles in the open-air production are shared with different performers taking on different dates. The show's concept album first debuted in September 1970 and, half a century on, the piece is being presented at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in a socially-distanced revival.įeaturing songs including "Heaven on Their Minds" and "Gethsemane", the musical is considered one of Lloyd Webber and Rice's finest, with the pair also collaborating on Joseph, Evita and more. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice headed to the great outdoors to mark 50 years since they first released Jesus Christ Superstar.
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