# How Old Are We in Heaven **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 9, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532 "2009-01-09T15:59:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/1 "2009-01-09T15:59:08Z")
Since heaven is infinite, I’m not talking about age in the way we think of it here on Earth, so much as the physical shape and capabilities of the human body. For instance, if you are a baby in heaven, do you grow up? If so, doesn’t that mean everyone continues to age in the same way as we do on Earth? If we don’t age in heaven, is it really fair to an elderly person that he has to go around in an old decrepit body for eternity, while a young man of 25 who died in a drunken motorcycle accident gets to spend eternity in the prime of his life? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/2 "2009-01-09T16:00:27Z")
…There’s no…such…thing…? ---
**Author:** ![Tupug\_Anachi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tupug\_Anachi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tupug_Anachi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/3 "2009-01-09T16:04:05Z")
AFAIK in heaven we are ageless and have no bodies. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/4 "2009-01-09T16:20:03Z")
> [@Tupug\_Anachi](#): > > AFAIK in heaven we are ageless and have no bodies. So, no eating, drinking, sex, thought, emotions, or senses for that matter. I for one find the prospect of singing and playing instruments for all eternity to be quite scary. I mean, I suck on the guitar and can’t sing for squat. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/5 "2009-01-09T16:26:30Z")
> [@Tupug\_Anachi](#): > > AFAIK in heaven we are ageless and have no bodies. I always thought that, but doesn’t that contradict the idea of the rapture? Physical bodies ascend to heaven, right? I’m an atheist, and I don’t know every bit about it, but I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I’m open to corrections. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/6 "2009-01-09T16:35:00Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > I for one find the prospect of singing and playing instruments for all eternity to be quite scary. It doesn’t seem to bother the Rolling Stones. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/7 "2009-01-09T16:45:13Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > …There’s no…such…thing…? Yes, of course, but if there were? What does the Bible say about this? I went to church every Sunday and Wednesday growing up, and I never heard anything about being ageless with no body. What good are all though mansions in heaven that I always heard about? ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Stranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Time\_Stranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Stranger)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/8 "2009-01-09T16:48:15Z")
> [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > I always thought that, but doesn’t that contradict the idea of the rapture? The way I was taught in Sunday school at a very conservative Southern Baptist denomination is that the physical body ascends, but when you are judged to be worthy of entering heaven, God remakes you into a new being. It is a perfect body, but details are of course beyond our human comprehension. Those who are sent to hell are not remade, and must deal with their earth selves as they suffer through eternity. That said, different denominations may vary, and I have been away from religion for a long time, so my memory could be hazy. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/9 "2009-01-09T16:51:30Z")
> [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > I always thought that, but doesn’t that contradict the idea of the rapture? Physical bodies ascend to heaven, right? I’m an atheist, and I don’t know every bit about it, but I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I’m open to corrections. The Catholic Church holds that body and soul are forever joined, that one doesn’t exist without the other. The earthly body dies but there is some sort of glorified body at its resurrection. That’s why cremation wasn’t allowed for a long time and even now is allowed as long as it doesn’t indicate the person’s “denial of faith in the resurrection”. > **[Catechism of the Catholic Church - PART 1 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 1 ARTICLE 1...](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s2c1p6.htm)** > > Second Edition English Translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church with Index, Cross-references and Search Utility 365 The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body:234 i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature. 366 The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not “produced” by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection.235 Personally, none of this means to me that we will enjoy the same kinds of things in heaven that we do on earth, but that the body is a key element of who we are and can’t perish after death. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/10 "2009-01-09T16:56:14Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > …There’s no…such…thing…? I think you forgot to wipe. ---
**Author:** ![Tupug\_Anachi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tupug\_Anachi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tupug_Anachi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/11 "2009-01-09T17:16:54Z")
> [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > I always thought that, but doesn’t that contradict the idea of the rapture? Physical bodies ascend to heaven, right? I’m an atheist, and I don’t know every bit about it, but I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I’m open to corrections. :eek: Has it started??? Disclaimer: I don’t have a horse in this race. Just a little humor. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/12 "2009-01-09T17:29:03Z")
Does it matter? In infinity can time exist? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/13 "2009-01-09T17:33:28Z")
In Heaven, we’re all Brad Pitt, circa _Legends of the Fall_ – even women. ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/14 "2009-01-09T18:12:01Z")
That TV psychic guy John Edwards seems to think that people look just like they did when they died and that we’ll be reunited with all of our families and loved ones when we get there. Spending eternity with my family sounds more like hell than heaven to me so it’s a good thing that I’m an atheist. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/15 "2009-01-09T18:37:28Z")
If we’re reunited with all our loved ones, who’s Tommy Manville spending time with? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy\_Manville](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Manville) ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/16 "2009-01-09T18:39:02Z")
**Time Stranger** , that’s what I remember too. I was raised Catholic until I was 4-6, but knew a lot of Baptists when I was a kid. **Gigi** , that’s familiar too, but it just plain never made sense to me. I guess that’s why it’s faith…😕 ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/17 "2009-01-09T18:46:13Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > If we’re reunited with all our loved ones, who’s Tommy Manville spending time with? > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy\_Manville](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Manville) Probably the last wife as well as any others that did it for the money too. I don’t know what we catholic kids were supposed to believe but I always pictured the white gowns, halos and harps and being able to fly from cloud to cloud. I think I got that image from an old movie “The Littlest Angel”. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/18 "2009-01-09T18:46:18Z")
In the fundamental evangelical church, the _resurrection body_ is expected to be more like Christ as he was when he had a physical body - so, physically perfect, about 33, and ageless for eternity. Jesus states in the gospels that there is no giving or taking in marriage for the resurrected (in response to a question), so genitalia may not be provided. Si ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/19 "2009-01-09T18:54:26Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > In the fundamental evangelical church, the _resurrection body_ is expected to be more like Christ as he was when he had a physical body - so, physically perfect, about 33, and ageless for eternity. Jesus states in the gospels that there is no giving or taking in marriage for the resurrected (in response to a question), so genitalia may not be provided. > > Si Wait, so in heaven there is no sex? Hmm, I am now less enthused at the concept of an afterlife. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532/20 "2009-01-09T18:58:31Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > It doesn’t seem to bother the Rolling Stones. Are you kidding? Have you seen them recently? Keith Richards looks like a mummy. That’s after just a few years, what would an eternity be like? Besides, what kind of instruments would be able to play? You have to have fingers to play stringed instruments, lips for a flute, etc. And all of these instruments require air, some of them to work at all, but all of them to propagate the sound wave. If there’s no air, there’s no sound. Not that we would have ears to hear with anyway. Billions of people who can’t hear each other trying to play instruments with no hands in a vacuum isn’t my idea of a good time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-we-in-heaven/480532.md?page=2)