Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back Paperback – Unknown format, October 31, 2010

Here a minister co-authors a book about what happened to his four year old son when the boy was laying on the operating table. This minister leads a small Nebraska Methodist church located in a town that is 60 miles from the nearest Walmart store. He supports himself and his family by installing garage doors and earning a meager salary from his church congregation.As I read this book, I began to see the same pattern of issues that is present in the book PROOF OF HEAVEN. Here we see a minister whose personal life and relationships with others is convincing proof that what he writes is the absolute truth. His wife, a good Christian woman, who is for all practical purposes as important to his congregation as he is, was a full party to the events reported in this book. Whatever their son Colton told his farther, he simultaneously told his mother. And occasionally, he also made comments about what happened to him in the presence of others whose reputability cannot reasonably be questioned. And this minister's close friends include more than a few other ministers who are also leading Christian churches in western Nebraska and other nearby states. So as I read about these events, I was assured that they actually had happened, but I also observed that they seemed to be somewhat ridiculous. For example, Colton's great grandfather, who resided in heaven, had wings - wings much larger than Colton's wings. But, many of the things that he told his parents were, besides being, at times, ridiculous, also were often amazing. Colton clearly knew things he could not reasonably be expected to know. Things his mother and father had never told him: for example, they had once lost a child to a miscarriage; a little girl. Colton knew this fact and met her in heaven. Another example is that he could recognize his great grandfather by being shown a picture of him when he was in his late twenties; but he could not recognize his great grandfather when he was shown a picture of him as an elderly person.Colton met God and the Holy Spirit. They were two separate beings. He had no trouble getting personal time with God. Colton said Satan was still alive and well and would someday have one last fight with the souls of heaven.Now if I were to spend enough time I could list dozens of things said in this book that do not agree with my own spiritual beliefs. I will cite only a couple of them. I believe in original sin, therefore, children have sin, but Colton was easily able to enter into heaven. In my opinion, no one can enter into heaven who has any sins in his soul. Even Jesus remains outside of heaven, until the end of this age (in my opinion), because He is carrying sins of the cross. And the book I mentioned above, PROOF OF HEAVEN, presents a full-grown man who enters heaven numerous times. Again, I envision him as not able to enter into the real heaven until the end of this age when his soul will be sinless. But are we to question his honesty? Are we to question Colton's honesty, or his minster father's honesty, or his Christian mother's honesty?And there are other accounts like these, although not always so well known to the public. They are recounted in magazine articles and books that often don't make the best sellers list. There are so many of them that it is hard for us to reject them all as bogus. Quite the contrary, we are looking, in my analysis, at a phenomena of a psychic nature that is somehow often connected with our own human spiritual evolution, and our own spiritual faith. HEAVEN IS FOR REAL is heartwarming. I do not take every word literally, but I would say that we can see clearly in the case of this book that psychic things have taken place inside of the realms of a Christian family that are below the level of absolute spiritual revelation but are far above the level of day dreams, or night dreams. Something happened to this young boy; something that was good. He knew things he should not have known. Hopefully, as millions of Christians read books like this one and as the years pass we will have men/women arise among us who will be able to make sense out of this increasingly common thing, which I think of as spiritual/ psychic phenomena.I will also mention that I recently downloaded (free) a book that is pure interpretation of New Testament Bible scriptures. The author points out such obvious facts as that no one can go to heaven before Jesus goes to heaven and that will only happen when the end of this age arrives. We all want to think that we will be in heaven in the next few years while those behind us are still struggling with the challenges of life. Not so according to this book. Thus it contradicts HEAVEN IS FOR REAL. The circular I received gives Sunday Sept 22 and Sunday Sept 29 as the next two days that it can be downloaded free. Otherwise it is expensive. I would balance a book like HEAVEN IS FOR REAL by reading this book, it is called HEAVEN IS IN YOUR FUTURE, author David Arthur DuRocher. It will make you feel good. You will come away convinced that everybody goes to heaven (in the end). That message is not found in HEAVEN IS FOR REAL. According to the beliefs of Colton's father, many will go to hell.I am now reading THE ZEALOT by Reza Aslan. It is a New York Times best seller. The author is a gifted writer and historian. He gives us a Jesus who is a historical figure, not a spiritual figure. Before you read this book, I strongly suggest building your spiritual fortress by reading HEAVEN IS IN YOUR FUTURE, and possibly some other books written by strong believers in the divine nature of Jesus. But, does that mean I don't like THE ZEALOT? No! I think it is going to turn out to be the best book I have ever read about the history of the middle east in the years when the New Testament was written. I will write a review about it when I am finished reading it. God speed.....

I find this story fascinating and believable. I am a believer, and after reading Colton’s story I have a clearer picture of where I hope to be. God bless the Burpo family for sharing their unbelievably believable story.

I absolutely love this book. Everyone needs to read it, everyone. I would recommend and will recommend this to everyone!

02/25/11 review of `Heaven is for Real'Although I must say that I quickly agreed with the person who said they skip to the end to see if there is a disclaimer and don't read those reviews. I guess I can understand a publishing house offering the bribe of a free book just to get a review because they're so anxious to see if the book they put all this printing money into will succeed or not, but why read the rather coerced, or at least obligated review of someone who would never have selected that book except it was in their in-box.Then there are the `writer wannabees' whose reviews are nothing more than really awful attempts at fiction with just the suggestion of an opinion floating in it somewhere. I mostly skip those, too.But the bulk of the reviews really run along the lines of the individual's theology...or lack thereof. And what really distresses me the most about them is the continued enslavement to Marxist Political Correctness and the place it has brought our country - to an arrogant, prideful, superior, overblown sense of entitlement - no humility, no shame, no doubt. So, yes, you are entitled to your opinions - you are entitled to blow off God and the Bible and its countless verifications and confirmations to the truth of Jesus as His Son, and His words which proclaim Himself the Only Way to the Father, and it entitles you forfeit your invitation to the Heaven you so vehemently pooh-pooh and gives you a free pass, all expenses paid, whether you believe it or not, to Hell. Yeah, as I understand it, you don't get to decide where you go "after" any more than Colton or any other NDEers got to decide to go on their little trip... it is entirely up to the Father and His plan, and your acceptance of it, of course, ..... or not..... And ya know what? Jesus talked more about Hell than he did about Heaven! (I won't bore you with the details, you can look it up yourself.) But then, I have met Jesus Christ, so I was predisposed to believe this story with a child's heart, one that wants to believe what it hasn't yet seen, and recognizes the guilelessness and innocence that told the story.. and ya know what else? Jesus said you had to have a child's heart to enter the kingdom of Heaven! Don't take my word for it. You can look that up, too.And to all the really Religious critics throwing around "exegetical" and "theological" validity, and hair-splitting about halos and wings and modes of travel, I can only say as a Christian I have heard many Heaven-visit stories, each is different, and each is believable. It's the old `ya can't put God in a box' line. Just when you think you have all the details hammered down, He climbs out of the box.Did I believe this book? Yeah, mostly. Did I enjoy it? Unquestionably. I laughed out loud in spots and I cried shamelessly in others. Will I recommend it? Undoubtedly. Already have, in fact.Oh, and one more thing. Kahlil Gibran? Really? The kindest thing I can say about him was that he was talented enough to study with Rodin, that he was a sot and a Bible plagiarizer (in a twisted sort of way) and the people of his day recognized it, but the Bible-illiterate, pot-smoking, pseudo-intellectual college crowd of the 60s wholeheartedly resurrected and embraced, like Harrison did the Hare Krishna... so, there's my opinion.And by your standard, I'm entitled to it.