The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-11
A STUDY OF HEAVEN.
And Its Somewhat Curious Result In .
Little Book Called "rhe Heaven OF
the Bible."

Few persons, II asked TO give their idea Of
Heaven, would be able to put In correct terms
Just what sort CT place they have In their
minds, however orthodox their belief might
he as to the materiality Of the place to which
we all hope TO 20, ~nd meantime design to
find AS much Of il as possible the while we
arc passing our few brief days on this exceed
ingly substantial planet.
Not so Ida c. Craddock. She has a very
tangible iiea OF Heaven. and she Is able 10 ex-
press IL with almost mathematical accuracy.
Most OF Us who have perhaps been led TO doubt
OF Heaven at all a specific location for final
and eternal residence by rea on Of inability TO
easily comprehend how room is to be found
within bounds of, at least, human appreci-
etion for the countless numbers, dead and yet
10 die.haye been content to accept the figuring
OF certain curious speculators as to the metes
and bounds discovcrable from Scriptural re-
search that have awakened new apprecia-
tion OF the capacity of cubics. But Miss era d.
dock Is not content, nor does she particularly
concern herself with the demonstrated capac-
ity of Heaven 10 hold all the beings who have
ever lived, or are likely to live, but she pic
lures Heaven with much elaboration and as
much accuracy AZ may be somewhat after tho
fashion of Baedeker, and furnishes doscrip-
tions of its layout, its inhabitants, its fora
and animal life with an interest and exacti-
tude that perhaps may contribute 10 "a desire
TO journey there for the especial reason of veri-
Tying Miss Craddock's views, albeit these tend
we should say, TO seriously rob the inexprossible
imagination, restrict the vision of the soul
and are perhaps even calculated to make the
reader feel as did the young lady from Boston,
who liked II well enough--hut after ali, il
wasn't Boston,"
IL Is difficult to treat of such piece OF writ
ing as Miss Craddocks Tho Heaven of the
Bible" tprinted By the j. b. Lippincott Com
pany and for sale by Gregory for 50 centsD
without appearing to be irroverent. Although
the writer quotes and interprets the Bible
for her authority.we should say that the Hea-
ven she describes is rather the Heaven of Miss
Craddock thsn hat of the Bible. Neverthe-
less, she Is plainly sincere and devout, and
evidently considers her task from the point of
Christian inspiration, backed by the spirit of
the sincere investigator, who Is prepared to
have demonstrated for the satisfaction OF
human sense all our hopes of a future state.
The visions of John, upon which our ideas of
Heaven are largely constructed, certainly
lack, as the writer points out, materiality and
relate chiefly to the religious side of the future
life. 60 Miss Craddock searches the Scrip
lures and finds that ''all through the Bible
may be caught glimpses of that life, not only
in its religious, but also in the social and i'm
dustrial aspects. And if we bring our intell
gence TO bear upon each OF thess momentary
revelations of Heavenly customs, we shall be
able to construct fairly vivid mental picture
of lifs in Heaven" And taking these gimp-
scs, the writer builds her Heaven, adorns
it with buildings and trees and flowers fills
1t with residents, takes its census and pre-
sents the whole not withou. interest and with
not a few startling results.