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 [...]