This from the reader who initially wrote to take issue with some of Haugen’s lyrics.
In common American English parlance, to say “not in some ….” is to cast doubt upon the truth of whatever word comes next. This appears to be disparagement of the concept of heaven. “Now is the kingdom, now is the day” is not a problem in itself, as we are told that we as the Church really are the body of Christ. However, since it follows right on the heels of a statement questioning the concept of heaven, it appears to be saying that we will make our version of heaven now, here.
Mr. Shirley indicates that you need to read the first sentence in the context of the second, and his concept of different versions of heaven is unnecessarily convoluted in order to make that work. Logic usually supports the simplest explanation, and the simplest explanation is that the first sentence sets the context.
I also believe that Mr. Haugen probably did not mean to denigrate heaven or support atheism or humanism. But his PC theology is sloppy here, and at the very least he allowed something questionable to stay in his work. It’s understandable, given that he is non-Catholic, that his emphasis is on community, brotherhood, etc. As Catholics, we do need more of that. However, all too often people seem to feel that this is all that is necessary; that if you have love and brotherhood (or should that be siblinghood?) that’s all you need. You don’t need all those niggly details that are so hard to remember and even harder to practice, like respecting the life of unborn children, obeying God’s commandments on chastity, clothing the poor, etc. Just enjoy that good, warm fuzzy feeling, and that will get you to heaven.