In the spirit of Joe's post below, I am offering something more fun than serious for the blog's consideration.I remember hearing once that everyone in heaven would be 33 years old--the perfect age, Jesus's age.I think that age was perfect for Jesus. But as for the rest of us, I have always thought that was a recipe for a rather self-involved social group. In fact, there once was a television series about how that might go-- it was called "30-something" and it quickly became unwatchable.My own utterly unfounded theological speculation/hope is that people in heaven will be the age that they are most fully themselves--whatever age that is, and it is not the same for everyone. I call it their "eternal age."We've all met children we consider "old souls," and senior citizen pranksters. In fact, I think with many people, it's not that hard to identify an age that suits their personality best. I've tried it with some of my friends and colleagues, and gotten remarkable agreement about what the eternal ages of various people are--even from the people themselves!Does anyone else have the same experience?

Cathleen Kaveny is the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor in the Theology Department and Law School at Boston College.

Also by this author
© 2024 Commonweal Magazine. All rights reserved. Design by Point Five. Site by Deck Fifty.