It has been said to me "What other organization offers a hope of a paradise earth?" to "prove" that Witnesses have the "truth".
It seems to me that this "spiritual materialism" and the inability to see beyond the physical and fleshly world draw many to become and remain Witnesses.
As for me, I fail to see such a fleshly reward set out in scripture and more so I cannot possibly see how anything fleshly could live forever in a problem-free environment.
Everything fleshly and physical is temporary and changing. Nothing lives forever. If it were remotely possible, we would basically have to be like Adam and Eve wandering around naked eating fruit off trees.
There can be no homes like the pictures portray. Any tools made from metal would require mining operations, shipping, factories. So would things like glass windows and any kind of machinery. Economies would naturally develope.
Mankind cannot go back to such a primitive state. Expression and invention are part of human nature. As much as progress is beneficial, it also is destructive and reaches a point where it is not sustainable.
I am beginning to think that life is a lesson in highlighting the futility of fleshly and physical things and the enduring qualities of the spiritual things. At some point people come to realize that material things bring only a limited and temporary happiness, which is why the argument that a person living forever would become bored at some point may have some merit.
I believe that the spiritual things as expressed in our relationship with others in how we treat each other and the world around us are things that we are constantly learning until the day we die.
Of course, these are just my thoughts, and I'm always open to change.
Just curious to see what others thoughts are and what they believe and why or why not on the matter of heaven and earthly hopes.
Path