Tom, I really enjoyed reading your very thoughtful points. I agree with everything that you said, except that I should point out, in defense of the Bible, that the reason it says the streets of Heaven are paved with gold is not to appeal to a person’s greed. If one understands this saying hermaneutically, it is clear that the reason the streets are of gold is a statement about the true eternal value of gold, in other words, it’s value is so little compared to the spiritual riches of being in the presence of Christ that it is fit only to be trodden upon. (Feet were very dirty in the sandal days, and anything that they touched was also considered dirty; so a road made of gold demonstrates that gold has very little or no value in eternity.)