# About those 72 virgins waiting for you in Paradise... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 2, 2015, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194 "2015-12-02T06:21:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/41 "2015-12-03T00:46:38Z")
Maybe all those virgins are like Earl, the overweight, middle-aged postal worker who still lives with his Mom. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/42 "2015-12-03T01:19:21Z")
The Western presumption of noncarnality in Heaven seems to be linked to the view of the physical/fleshly as corrupt or impure, and only pure spirit being good. However that itself is noncanonical. Besides, in mainstream Christian belief, eventually the dead _will be resurrected in the flesh_, because the human is spirit, mind AND body. Whether that means that if (as a majority of mainstream Christianity believes) in the meantime you exist in a purely spiritual plane, you still will or will not experience something like sex is AFAIK not canonically determined (although I have a feeling many of the churches would lean towards “no”). Y’know, the houris sound pretty hot _ **until** _ you get to that bit about their flesh being translucent all the way to the bones. It’s like they were coming up with every possible way in which they’d be the opposite of the human women you knew in the physical world, and did not know when to stop. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/43 "2015-12-03T01:36:27Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Y’know, the houris sound pretty hot _ **until** _ you get to that bit about their flesh being translucent all the way to the bones. It’s like they were coming up with every possible way in which they’d be the opposite of the human women you knew in the physical world, and did not know when to stop. It seems pretty obvious to me that they are all robots. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/44 "2015-12-03T01:53:07Z")
72 days of raping virgins and then what, their not virgins anymore. Now you have 72 barefoot n pregnant bitchy females, hollering for pickles n ice cream. Maybe it is hell. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/45 "2015-12-03T04:15:17Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Y’know, the houris sound pretty hot _ **until** _ you get to that bit about their flesh being translucent all the way to the bones. I don’t get this either, Guessing maybe its some variation of idealizing pale skin taken to the extreme? Anyone want to comment on some reasoning for why this see through skin is described as an ideal? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/46 "2015-12-03T05:07:55Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > I don’t get this either, Guessing maybe its some variation of idealizing pale skin taken to the extreme? Yup. We moderns in our tan-positive societies tend to forget how prized “alabaster fairness” used to be, at least in societies where natural skin tones ranged from very light to brown. The subdermal peepshow favored in many western countries involved veins rather than bones, as in this 1837 novel [_The Poet’s Daughter_](https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=gVUEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA43): > [@](#): > > A profusion of fair ringlets veiled her youthful cheeks, and as she moved, their hues of gold danced in the bright lamplight; her eyes were large, soft yet brilliant; their tinge was that of the spring violet, as they lay half-concealed beneath their thick dark fringes […] The pure and delicate skin lay like a snowy and transparent veil over the delicate tracery of the blue veins […] This trope has by no means vanished from western literature nowadays, as you can verify by googling “delicate tracery of veins” or similar expressions. In fact, having skin fair and translucent enough to show the veins underneath it was traditionally considered such a mark of beauty in the western world that for several centuries fashionable women used to lightly trace their veins on their skin with blue pencil or paint. The notion of skin being translucent enough to actually show the bone marrow (although mind you, the Islamic texts speak of it showing “like lines in pearls and rubies”, i.e., as a shadowy indication through translucent flesh rather than full-on Visible Woman transparency) seems to be basically just a poetic amplification of that. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/47 "2015-12-03T08:59:55Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > 72 days of raping virgins and then what, their not virgins anymore. Now you have 72 barefoot n pregnant bitchy females, hollering for pickles n ice cream. > > Maybe it is hell. If all the virgins in heaven were laid end to end, there wouldn’t be any more. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/48 "2015-12-03T10:01:56Z")
Oy. :rolleyes: Hey, can I nominate _myself_ for an SDMB Medal for Persistence in Upholding GQ Standards in the Face of Relentless Frivolity, or does somebody else have to put my name in? (She inquired modestly. :)) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/49 "2015-12-03T11:48:27Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Don’t forget the acne. Now the transparent skin doesn’t sound so bad. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/50 "2015-12-03T12:21:27Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Of course, in Muslim Heaven There Is No Beer. If it’s eternal beer you’re after, it’s Pastafarianism you want, with a paradise of beer volcanoes and stripper factories. Actually there are beer volcanoes and stripper factories in the FSM’s hell too, but the beer is flat and the strippers have STIs. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/51 "2015-12-03T14:00:42Z")
It’d be nice if every religion had its own heaven, and after you die you could try them all out and pick your favorite to stay in. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/52 "2015-12-03T14:43:46Z")
It’s a trap! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/53 "2015-12-03T15:42:08Z")
Chuck Norris’ daughter lost her virginity. He got it back. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/54 "2015-12-04T01:09:56Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Oy. :rolleyes: Hey, can I nominate _myself_ for an SDMB Medal for Persistence in Upholding GQ Standards in the Face of Relentless Frivolity, or does somebody else have to put my name in? (She inquired modestly. :)) Thank you for sticking to the subject, I enjoyed reading the informative posts and skipping over the others. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/55 "2015-12-04T01:44:22Z")
😉 (she replied informatively.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/56 "2015-12-04T04:49:27Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It’d be nice if every religion had its own heaven, and after you die you could try them all out and pick your favorite to stay in. It’s a scam. You have to pick your religion, and thus your heaven (you should be so lucky, or so virtuous), _sight unseen._ Then when you get there, it might very well turn out to be just swampland in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/57 "2015-12-04T04:50:18Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Then when you get there, it might very well turn out to be just swampland in Florida. That’s mosquito heaven. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/58 "2015-12-04T05:04:37Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Then when you get there, it might very well turn out to be just swampland in Florida. > [@Colibri](#): > > That’s mosquito heaven. You mean every time I kill a skeeter, it goes to Florida? Swat! Swat! Swat! Swat! Swat! Swat! Swat! Swat! Swat! Swat! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/59 "2015-12-04T09:58:04Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I mean, if not, what male adult would really want to spend eternity with, what, 72 12-14 female middle/junior high school females? Well, now… ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194/60 "2015-12-04T10:04:58Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It’d be nice if every religion had its own heaven, and after you die you could try them all out and pick your favorite to stay in. I’d say, without giving up too much it’s possible to be a practising Christian / Buddhist and Hindu all at the same time. Buddhism and Hinduism are both flexible enough that they can incorporate you being a Christian without a major conflict, and yes there are various Hindu groups that accept those not burn as Hindus. Throw in the occasional ritual to some open minded folk religions and you’re then in with the religions used by almost 4 billion people. Hedging your bets its more likely than not you’ll end up in one of the heavens you follow 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-72-virgins-waiting-for-you-in-paradise/739194.md?page=4)