At the time, such physical relocation was thought to be required to enter heaven. In the book, Todd deals with the “Colton didn’t die” problem by suggesting that Colton must've been taken into heaven without dying like some figures were in the Bible -such as Elijah in the Old Testament and a young man the Apostle Paul talks about the New Testament (II Corinthians). (They don't sing Queen’s 'We Will Rock You' on request, however.) As his father (and reporters) continue to press him for details, over time Colton reveals that he floated away from his body and saw his mom on the phone and his dad yelling at God, that Jesus rides a rainbow horse and let Colton sit on his lap and that he met 'Pop' (his father’s grandfather) and his other sister who “died in your tummy, Momma.” (His parents say they never told Colton about the miscarriage.) At the end of the film, we are told of another girl from across the world who paints her visions of heaven, and upon seeing her painting of Jesus-he looks pretty much like you would expect: a brown-haired, white-skinned, blue-eyed European-Colton says “That's him' and then runs off to play. Time passes (in the book Colton is a year older), and Colton indicates that he remembers angels singing to him during the operation. The doctors operate but say he could likely die. Their sin is an epistemic one: credulity (i.e., a lack of basic critical thinking).įor those who don’t know, here is what happens.

Their sin is not a moral one-they are not lying. But I believe that Colton’s parents genuinely believe that Colton visited heaven. That's also not to say that there isn't some exaggerating going on either.

Colton really did have an experience his parents had trouble explaining. It's not a hoax-at least, not an intentional one. But I don't think that Colton, or his family, are making anything up. (The Amityville Horror story was exposed as a hoax long ago.) That's not to say that I think Colton actually visited heaven-I don’t, and we will discuss why momentarily. Unlike the Amityville horror however, this 'true story' is not actually a complete fabrication. Just like The Amityville Horror, Heaven Is for Real is said to be based on a true story. But, really, the argument belongs to his father Todd-and many adults take it very seriously. (At first I was hesitant to do so-I don’t want to be seen as picking on a small child for credulity.

Colton heaven