Who would have thunk it?

This week not only is Jesus and Mary in the news but also heaven. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say the absence of heaven is in the news. First things first. Yep, it's official, at long last Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene have returned. From the pictures and videos I've seen, they have aged marvelously over the past 2000 years. Seems as though this Australian couple are claiming to be the second coming of the biblical figures.

Their following of 30 gullible and deceived disciples has purchased some land and plan to build an international visitors center. If I were them, I think I would have timed it wee bit better to coincide with this Saturday's fictitious event.

Now on to the other news. British Theoretical Physicist Stephen Hawking is proclaiming what his fellow Brit, John Lennon, once encouraged us to imagine, that there is no heaven. "It is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark" states Hawking.

Dr. Hawking who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which leaves him paralyzed and wheel chair bound, is no doubt a brilliant, gifted and courageous scientist. But what I find admirable is his faith. Yep his faith. Much of his science goes far beyond what can be physically observed in a microscope or in a telescope. That's why they're called theories. Many of the things that Dr. Hawking professes cannot be proven because they are untestable, and believing in heaven is one of them. The existence of heaven is beyond the scope of scientific knowledge, even for Stephen Hawking. That means when Hawking confidently states that there is no heaven he isn't speaking as a scientist but as a person of faith. He is expressing his opinion that is not based on scientific evidence. It is a belief beyond evidence. Hawking has the faith that there is no heaven. He has every right to do this. He might be sincere but he is sincerely wrong. My faith is based on what Jesus said to the thief on the cross, and if He has promised that to him then that promise is extended to me and you also.

What will be next? The end of the world on Saturday? Just sayin'...