This book was very intriguing... But I'm still not sure I'm convinced. In no way am I passing judgment on the family, or calling Todd Burpo a liar. I assure you, that is not my intention.
The basic facts are these: The Burpo's four year old son Colton is taken to the hospital for emergency surgery due to a severe case of appendicitis. The boy comes very close to dying (in fact, the medical staff seemed sure that he would). Colton makes a dramatic and miraculous recovery. As time goes on, Colton begins to make statements to the effect that he had been in Heaven with Jesus for a short time during the surgery. Amazingly, he has knowledge of some facts that should not have been known to him - including the fact that his parents had lost a baby before Colton was born (he meets her in Heaven).
The story is very uplifting in many ways. There is the honest confession by the father that he had been angry at God. There is the healing that takes place concerning the miscarriage. There is the miracle story of Colton's recovery. It is all very encouraging.
But the real issue is whether or not Colton really took a temporary trip to Heaven. My own observations are an attempt at a balance. Again, I do not mean to imply that anyone is lying. The father repeatedly states that "Colton couldn't have known" some of the things the Bible says about Heaven, such as where Jesus was in relation to God's throne, and what the colors were like. Or the fact that there were animals in heaven. But, being the son of a pastor, even a four year old could learn much about Heaven. I wasn't a pastor's son, but I'm sure I could have told you there were horses in heaven, and that the colors were beautiful. It is just a little difficult for me to believe that a boy could go to Sunday School for any length of time, and no teacher ever said, "Heaven is a wonderful place! There will be animals there! And the colors will be much prettier than they are here!" After all, when evangelizing young children, there are two common tactics: 1) scare them with Hell, and 2) make them think Heaven is so wonderful they want to go there. (I'm not mocking anyone - I was the product of tactic #1!!!! I got saved at 4 years old because of a scary video about Hell)
Now the other information, like seeing his great-grandfather and recognizing his picture, and meeting his sister.... I have no skeptical explanation for. So, I have to assume that it is at least true that the boy said these things (whether or not he was actually there and saw them). That is the real kink in my skepticism. The other kink involves the boy's attempt at identifying a close description of Jesus based on contemporary illustrations of Him. I have no reason to think that God would PREVENT us from knowing what Jesus looked like, but then again there are PAINFULLY few descriptions about Jesus from while He was on earth. The only two I can think of are His beard, and the scars from His crucifixion. (And no, I don't believe Jesus had long hair!)
All I can say is, I'm not sure.... For some reason, my gut instinct is that all is not as it appears. But I would never call the character of this man or his family into question without reasonable proof, which I do not have.
Either way, it is a fascinating book. My only lament is that people seem more excited about the issue of Heaven through this book than they do about all the many wonderful descriptions of Heaven given in the Holy Bible.....
Books like these are false prophets leading people to 'feelings' and most likely some sort of demonic presence or visions.
ReplyDeleteIn reply to the previous comment: Your statement is very broad and, in reality, is nothing more than your opinion - just as the book in question is the opinion of Todd Burpo, and just as the review above is MY opinion.
ReplyDeleteMany people feel the same way the anonymous commenter does, and I do not blame anyone for erring on the side of caution and skepticism. My approach attempted to be balanced, but I err with skepticism as well.
Thanks for commenting!
I love you approach, especially since, as you state, it is just opinion. I do have skepticism with it being the son of a pastor. I also have problems with them profiting so much off of the book, and how long they waited to release it. Being a Deist, I am skeptical from begining to end, but since what I say is opinion as well, I cannot comment on how truthful or not truthful it may be. I do believe though that afterlife visions come from past experiences, just like dreams, and being the son of a pastor, I believe there are experiences that ties these things together. As for the other visions, I would think a 4 year old would give vague enough descriptions that it could be tweaked to fit a certain scenario. I like the inspirational message, but think it may be more for profit, than truth. He doesn't even remember his experiences now, just that he had them, or so his Dad says.
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