I want to return now to the main thread that I left off a couple of months ago about developing views of the afterlife in ancient Judaism and then in early Christianity.

I didn’t actually leave that thread – I simply moved deeper into a specific aspect of it.  If you’ll recall, the broader thread is simply about where the modern notions of heaven and hell came from; the specific aspect I’ve been covering involved the “otherworldly journeys” that you find in pagan, Jewish, and Christian traditions.  These journeys are of particular interest to me, since I am planning to write a scholarly discussion about them.  And while I was thinking through how I wanted to frame my study, I decided to devote a number of posts to the issue.  But enough of that!  I’m ready to return to the main thread.

For that thread, here’s the deal.  In our own world …

To read the rest of this post you need to belong to the blog.  It won’t cost much to join, but it gives huge benefits.  So fork out and live long!