But though I believe gender is innate, I'm not so sure about the eternal part.
Not sure on the Catholic teachings, but Jesus said this:
Matthew 22:30
"For when the dead rise, they won't be married. They will be like the angels in
heaven." (NLT)
I believe the NIV (can't find my copy) says, "will neither be married, nor
given in marriage," or something like that.
Either way, it seems to suggest the impossibility of marriage after the
resurrection - and relates this to the existence of angels. Suggesting to me
that gender will not apply after we receive our "heavenly bodies".
Of course, it also suggests that angels have no gender - and since this doesn't
apply to Tolkien's Ainur then perhaps this loss of gender doesn't apply to his
humans
either.
“She is a pretty flower, but she badly needs watering, she does!”Sam, on Galadriel
John Boorman's "Lord of the Rings" script
Read my Tinúviel script
`Forn by the Dwarves, Orald by Northern men, and other names beside.`
