How old will we be in heaven?
score:7
No one knows for sure. The Bible doesn't speak directly to this issue, no Pope has spoken ex cathedra about it, and no ecumenical council has addressed it.
The "angelic doctor" Thomas Aquinas wrote in his catechism:
All will rise in the condition of perfect age, which is of thirty-two or thirty-three years. This is because all who were not yet arrived at this age, did not possess this perfect age, and the old had already lost it. Hence, youths and children will be given what they lack, and what the aged once had will be restored to them.
Aquinas cites Ephesians 4:13 for support:
until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ
However, the connection to the teaching he gives is tenuous. Read it in its full context.
Catholic apologist Peter Kreeft said in a discourse on heaven:
What age will we be in Heaven?
Medieval philosophers usually thought we would all be 33, the ideal age, the age of maturity, as of Christ's earthly maturity. I take it this is symbolically accurate: we will all be fully mature. Infants who die prematurely will be given, by God (perhaps through the mediation of their own parents!), all the maturing they missed on Earth. Geneticists say that the aging process is not inevitable; that a live organism could theoretically be immortal, never age, never die. Cancer cells do not die unless they are killed or their host dies. The aging and dying process began at a certain time in our history, after the Fall. God did not make death, but he unmakes it. In Heaven no one will be old. Yet in a sense everyone will be both old and young, as a reflection of the God who is the Alpha and Omega, oldest and youngest, "beauty ancient yet ever new." Even now we sometimes see the wisdom of old age in the musing face of a baby or the eternal freshness of youth in the twinkling eyes of the very old. These are hints of Heaven.
Though nobody knows the answer, Kreeft affirms that Aquinas' answer is "symbolically accurate." That is, though we may not know the details, we do know that we will have perfect bodies.
There's a related question on the Catholic view of heaven which may interest you.
More post
- 📝 Are there any reports of charismatic gifts in operation from the period between the 5th and 17th centuries AD?
- 📝 Jesus said no one had gone into heaven except the Son of Man, but what about Elijah?
- 📝 According to those holding that Jesus was literally born of a virgin, why did Paul not mention it?
- 📝 What is the name of this painting of Mary and the infant Jesus?
- 📝 Canons on Constantinople as New Rome
- 📝 When was the tripartite (body, soul, and spirit) view of man officially rejected by a church council?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for "believers' baptism"?
- 📝 Can a Catholic cite a religion as a reason for not doing something even if that thing isn't officially prohibited by the Church?
- 📝 Why do we use the name "Jesus" if the apostles did not use it?
- 📝 What made Jesus question at Mt 21:25 a good example for Christians or was it a bad question because the Jews could not answer?
- 📝 Is there a standard text of the Litany of Loreto accepted for universal use by the Catholic Church?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the Dual Nature of Man as opposed to the Tripartite Nature?
- 📝 Do LDS believe in Original Sin after all?
- 📝 What is the Biblical support for Hell as a singular concept?
- 📝 Did Samuel act as a priest on top of being a prophet?
- 📝 Did Solomon himself actually offer sacrifices to other gods?
- 📝 How does the Protestant OT canon differ from the Jewish scriptures?
- 📝 Why are the wicked resurrected only to be destroyed and sent to the Lake of Fire?
- 📝 Is the Vulgate the official version of the bible for entire Catholic Church, or just the Latin Church?
- 📝 God | The Shepherd That "Breaks Legs"?
- 📝 Moral implications of heaven and hell doctrine
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for using fake 'vaccine passes'?
- 📝 Did Luther consider Erasmus an unbeliever, and if so, why?
- 📝 What is the New Testament basis for the idea the God is a God of judgment and vengeance?
- 📝 What explanations are there for God's lack of culpability for the sin that was a part of the plan of salvation?
- 📝 What are the primary differences between the Roman Pontificate and the LDS President?
- 📝 Why was Jewish High Priest commanded to have a golden plate inscribed “Holiness to the Lord”?
- 📝 What are some comprehensive, reliable resources to learn about the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church?
- 📝 What has the Holy Spirit taught people after Jesus left?
- 📝 Why are Catholics singled out from "Christians"?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How can Heaven exist if we know that people in Hell will suffer?
- 📝 According to Roman Catholicism, how old will our resurrection bodies be?
- 📝 How old will we be in heaven?
- 📝 How can I tell the difference between the Moral law and other laws in the old testament?
- 📝 How much variation is in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament?
- 📝 How does free will fit with the doctrine of predestination?
- 📝 How old is old earth creationism?
- 📝 How old is the idea of premillenial rapture?
- 📝 Will there be "new people" or reproduction in heaven or "the next life?"
- 📝 How do Jehovah Witnesses support scripturely the idea that humans will live on earth after death?
- 📝 Is there any tradition that informs us of how old Mary was when she gave birth to Jesus?
- 📝 How many resurrections (raptures) will there be?
- 📝 How old were Joseph & Mary when they marrried?
- 📝 How old is the doctrine of a sinless Mary?
- 📝 How did Martin Luther's views on Free Will differ from those of Erasmus?
- 📝 When and how was the doctrine of the one divine will established?
- 📝 How does Christianity deal with biblical criticism related to the Old Testament?
- 📝 How can I understand the rise of the Egyptians as a race in the Old Testament?
- 📝 How will the earth be cleansed by fire? (LDS perspective)
- 📝 How will Jesus be recognized at the time of "Second Coming"?
- 📝 What do protestants who believe our old bodies will be resurrected think that will look like?
- 📝 How do protestants understand Jesus' statement that unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man we will have no life?
- 📝 How do Leslie Weatherhead's views on the will of God compare to contemporary Baptist thought?
- 📝 If we will have free will and be sinless in Heaven at the same time, then why did God not create a world with sinless free creatures to begin with?
- 📝 How was the Old Testament compiled?
- 📝 What's the Biblical basis for "all Christians will be together in heaven some day"?
- 📝 How many laws from Old Testament are still valid in New Testament?
- 📝 How do Arminians reconcile free will with God's omnipotence logically?
- 📝 How does mainstream Christianity's perception of Heaven differ from the Mormon perception of the Terrestrial Kingdom?
- 📝 How do people who believe in immediate heaven for believers at death explain Tabitha?