Memories in Heaven

[dailey]

This doesn’t seem right to me. I thought the church teaches that once in heaven, we can pray for our love ones on earth. If we have no recollection, then that doesn’t make any sense?

 

[monalisa]

“For behold I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.”
Isaiah 65:15

 

[Vico]

Do we have memories in Heaven? …

St. Thomas Aquinas insisted that the soul retains its proper operations of will, intellectual memory, and understanding after death when no longer united with the body. He also states that the intellect is the form of the human body. S.T. I, Q76, A1.

 

[Edgar]

Yes. That’s quite an accurate way of putting it. Except that there was no frustration at that point of not knowing that I HAD been someone with a life.

Just beginning a life and adding to one’s experiences is completely different to having all of one’s experiences removed. It’s akin to having a lobotomy.

Being “born again” in Heaven with no memories of this life means you won’t miss what you don’t remember.

 

[Thom18]

We necessarily must retain our memories, if we believe in any of the Church’s approved private revelation. Consider the Blessed Virgin Mary- she has appeared to countless people since her Assumption into Heaven, and she is still able to recall not just aspects of her Son’s public ministry, but also of her own life, which is not recorded by Scripture or brought to light in Sacred Tradition.

 

[Edgar]

But we are not “born again” in Heaven. This is not what the Church or the Bible teaches. We are accepted into Heaven or thrown into Hell for how we have lived and our memories are intrinsic to this. What I did wrong and what I did right. The race to the end of our earthly life determine our destiny (Corinthians 9:24).

We are judged by our “works” in this life, but after the Judgement there is no need for us to remember our earthly life. Memories of this life will be as irrelevant as a dream that comes and goes and is forgotten as soon as one awakes.

 

[Edgar]

Two guys in hell: Dave: What am I doing here? Pete: Don’t ask me. I’ve no idea what I did to deserve this myself.

1. There may not be anyone to talk to in Hell. It may involve eternal solitude.
2. Knowing why one is in Hell isn’t going to make it any more pleasant. Hell doesn’t have to make sense to those in it and even knowing why one is there may still make so sense.

 

[Edgar]

Understand too how agonizing Purgatory is, that it is said that the least pain in Purgatory exceeds the greatest pain on Earth.

Sounds like a medieval myth.

 

[Thom18]

@Edgar Surely Moses was judged upon his death, right? And when he appeared with Christ and Elijah, he had certainly already received his judgement by this point, yes? Do you think that he had completely lost any sense of who he was? Do you believe that he had no idea what he was doing with these two men (Jesus and Elijah) on the Mount? How could he speak to the Lord about His Exodus in Jerusalem if he couldn’t recall the one that he (Moses) himself had made with the Israelites?

 

[Edgar]

This doesn’t seem right to me. I thought the church teaches that once in heaven, we can pray for our love ones on earth. If we have no recollection, then that doesn’t make any sense?

Yes, this represents a valid argument against my No Memories theory, for which I haven’t developed a satisfactory counter-argument. Can intercession work without earthly memories? I don’t know. Maybe.

An alternative theory is that our memories are retained only up to the point of the Resurrection - ie, entry into Heaven.

 

[Edgar]

We necessarily must retain our memories, if we believe in any of the Church’s approved private revelation. Consider the Blessed Virgin Mary- she has appeared to countless people since her Assumption into Heaven, and she is still able to recall not just aspects of her Son’s public ministry, but also of her own life, which is not recorded by Scripture or brought to light in Sacred Tradition

Fair points.

 

[Edgar]

@Edgar Surely Moses was judged upon his death, right? And when he appeared with Christ and Elijah, he had certainly already received his judgement by this point, yes? Do you think that he had completely lost any sense of who he was? Do you believe that he had no idea what he was doing with these two men (Jesus and Elijah) on the Mount? How could he speak to the Lord about His Exodus in Jerusalem if he couldn’t recall the one that he (Moses) himself had made with the Israelites?

Fair points.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

If we believe the Bible, we know that Jesus retains some of His scars of the crucifixion in His glorified body.

Drawing from this, I would say we will remember and even be marked by our time here on Earth, but in a way that won’t be painful.

I don’t worry exactly how that will work.

 

[tafan2]

Memories of this life will be as irrelevant as a dream that comes and goes and is forgotten as soon as one awakes.

Why is that the case?

 

[Beryllos]

Do we have memories in Heaven? I figure if memories reside in the soul, we take them with us. If they reside in the chemical processes of the mind, what happens to them?

Let’s assume memories are stored in biological structures or processes. When we die, they would be erased, unless or until they are resurrected along with the rest of our body. Christians believe in the resurrection of the body, right? However, that is not supposed to happen until the last day. Until then, maybe our souls, memories, and thoughts are kept safe in Christ. I think that’s why it is so important that we become members of the Body of Christ.

 

[mhmtas63]

We cannot know the exact situation after death. We know that there will be no any sorrow in Heaven. As it is explained in Qur’an and Hadiths people will remember memories of world life. To get into Heaven all sins must be forgived so people in Heaven will be sinless. God will forgive them and that sins will not disturb any more. Perhaps all bad thoughts will be removed. For people in Hell… Good memories will not enjoy them because deprival of wealthy will more injure.

 

[Nita]

Scripture and that God will not remember our repented sins

Jeremiah 31:34 "…for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more .”
Isaiah 1: 16-18 “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; …cease to do evil, learn to do good; …though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;”

but our good deeds will follow us in to heaven.

Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

So it seems to me that anything that is sinful (from the littlest thing to the biggest) will not be present anywhere (and that means the memory also) in heaven. But all that is good will be there.

 

[Edgar]

As an example, when someone here on earth suffers catastrophic long-term memory-loss, usually associated with some severe brain-injury, the people in that situation speak of the person with absolutely no memories of who she was and what she experienced previously as “gone.” As in, “the Amanda we once knew is gone.

If Amanda lost all her memories, she would retain her soul and personality. She would feel very disorientalted at first, but would then simply get on with learning about and adjusting to life, as well discovering who her family is - just as she did when she was a new-born baby with no memories.

Well then, who is the I in the above sentence on that scenario? Who would you say that you are, outside of your memories? … God will know who I am and I will be just fine with that. Ok then, who is the “I” in that scenario?

When I was born I didn’t who “I” was. It didn’t seem to bother me. So neither will it bother me if I wake up in Heaven with no memories, not knowing who “I” am.

Who would you be, remembering nothing? I guess you’d be like a programmable android.

Why would being born again in Heaven with no memories make someone a “progammable android”?

When you were born you had no memories. Did that mean you were a “programmable android”?

If, like Amanda, you lost all your memories as an adult, would you (or Amanda) become a “progammable android”?

 

[Edgar]

‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.’ - Rev 21:4

If one remembers terrible things from this life, I can’t see how “the former things” will have “passed away”.

 

[Edgar]

I would say we will remember and even be marked by our time here on Earth, but in a way that won’t be painful.

When we get to Heaven, God may make us aware that we each lived a former life and that Jesus was crucified and died in order that we have eternal life. But it may not be necessary for us to remember any details of our earthly life. In that sense we will each be like new-born baby starting a new life in a new world.