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For me, heaven would be a lack of alienation. The whole time I was growing up, I felt comfort was inherently evil. I think that, for me, heaven isn't about couches and milk shakes and never having a troubling thought again.

There's nothing like impending death to rouse you from existential boredom.

To me, the idea of heaven would give you certain pleasures, certain joys - but it's very important to have an intellectual understanding of why you want those things.

My belief is that 'heaven' and 'hell' are metaphorical terms for what you make of your life. In any instant, you have the ability to make your life total pleasure or total hell.

I'd rather there wasn't an afterlife, really. I'd much rather not be me for thousands of years.

I'm an atheist, I always thought, 'This is it.' If there is going to be a heaven, it should be on earth. I feel much happier than most people. I'm fairly stoic about death, but I'm not keen on dying if it's going to be long and protracted. I don't have dark nights of the soul, except occasionally. I'm such a little busy bee.

You live in this shadow that you're going to burn in Hell until you're saved. And I still worry about it a little. I don't believe in Heaven, but I do still fear Hell.

I'd rather be dead and in heaven than afraid to do what I think is right.

To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.

One of the fascinating things about researching Heaven and Hell is, of course, the fact that there are so few descriptions of Heaven, because most people can't really explain what it would be like beyond a couple of sentences, whereas Hell is quite often personal.