The Early History of Heaven

J. Edward Wright's history of heaven is a thought-provoking study. It is well documented, lucid and substantive. Wright discusses ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Israelite, Persian, Greek, Roman, Jewish and Christian traditions regarding heaven. I personally found the quotes from the primary documents of Egyptian and Mesopotamian traditions to be informative and enlightening. Overall, I would recommend this book, though I have some quibbles with Wright as well. There are times when Wright asserts that something is the case without verifying this claim through primary documentation or rational argumentation. For instance, on page 52, Wright avers: "The Bible is thus a curated artifact--it contains a selective account of history and a biased religious perspective." That is a pretty strong claim to make when the information that precedes or follows this asseveration neither substantiates nor supports this claim. Nor do I think this statement was necessary in view of his subject matter. Of course, what Wright says here is not really new for those of us acquainted with historical-critical literature. But if historical critics of the Bible are going to apply their own standards of rigor and proof consistently, then they must not employ ipse dixit and expect readers to accept their claims or even entertain them without accompanying substantial proof. Wright also claims that the early Christians thought of heaven as an exclusive club (page 196). He subsequently quotes Acts 4:12 to support the argument that some early Christians thought that only those who believe in Jesus shall be favored with a heavenly afterlife. Whether some or all Christians believed that faith in Jesus was a prerequisite for experiencing heavenly bliss, the text in Acts 4:12 does not lend credence to Wright's argument. In my opinion, he fails to be analytic here. In other words, his conclusions clearly go beyond what the evidence (in this case Acts 4:12) suggests. Wright's allusion to Acts 4:12 might have stood if he would at least have offered a mini-exegesis of Acts 4:12; but he did not. Despite these quibbles, I enjoyed reading Wright's monograph.

"The Early History of Heaven" by J. Edward Wright, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Arizona, is both a scholarly book and a wonderful read for the non-specialist. It is also an important work which should be read by all who have at least a passing interest in the history of religions and whose outlook goes beyond that of narrow fundamentalism. This excellently documented account is a veritable gold mine of early religious beliefs and their interplay with budding astronomical science. The author quotes archaic texts which are not well known to the general public, thereby showing that religious tradition in the past was much less monolithic than is usually assumed. The last chapters of the book are fact-filled concerning the conception of heaven or of heavens (plural) in Greco-Roman times, but the text seems at times to be a bit repetitious: some quoted texts reappear in several places as if the author forgot that he had used them previously. Perhaps tighter editing would have been beneficial. Those are quibbles, of course; overall the book is absolutely first rate, so that clergymen and scientists alike will find in Dr. Wright's book much food for thought, a rare accomplishment. I particularly enjoyed, in addition to the impressive scholarship, the deep and quasi-poetic conclusion which appears in the last two pages of the book: there is much wisdom here in a very small amount of space. Bravo!

Dr. Wright combines superb scholarship and research with fascinating illustrations and a lively writing style to produce a book that's a joy to read. As he traces the evolution of the concept of heaven from images popular in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia on through Israelite, Persian, Greek and Roman traditions, and then demonstrates how these non-biblical sources influenced early Jewish and Christian models, I made one exciting discovery after another. Dr. Wright concludes his wide-ranging research by bringing me right up against the heart of the matter: will we use images of the heavenly realm for good or for evil, to include or to exclude, to inspire hope or fear? My only regret is that I didn't have his book through the thirty-five years I served as a parish pastor. It would have been an invaluable teaching resource. I envy anyone who hasn't yet read it. A treasure awaits!