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Human longevity: Difference between revisions
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== Pre-flood longevity == | == Pre-flood longevity == | ||
Prior to the flood, Genesis records that people lived extraordinarily long lives: routinely over 900 years. [[Methuselah]] is known for living longer than any other human in history, dying at the age of 969. | Prior to the flood, {{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=5}} records that people lived extraordinarily long lives: routinely over 900 years. [[Methuselah]] is known for living longer than any other human in history, dying at the age of 969. | ||
This longevity is believed to be so extraordinarily long in part because environmental conditions were optimal for longevity before the [[Earth]] was destroyed, perhaps maintained by a [[vapor canopy|dense atmosphere]] which collapsed during the flood. | This longevity is believed to be so extraordinarily long in part because environmental conditions were optimal for longevity before the [[Earth]] was destroyed, perhaps maintained by a [[vapor canopy|dense atmosphere]] which collapsed during the flood. | ||
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It should be noted that there is nothing known about the human body which would fundamentally prevent humans from having lived that long in the past, or to one day live that long again.[http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1998071403.shtml] | It should be noted that there is nothing known about the human body which would fundamentally prevent humans from having lived that long in the past, or to one day live that long again.[http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1998071403.shtml] Scientists do not know why humans age and ultimately die, although some have speculated that it might be due to the shortening of [[telomere]]s, which could theoretically have been much longer prior to the flood. | ||
=== Josephus on early human longevity === | === Josephus on early human longevity === | ||
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* The ages of the Biblical [[genealogy]] are exaggerated. | * The ages of the Biblical [[genealogy]] are exaggerated. | ||
It is argued by some that the decline in human longevity was either an intended or knowingly concomitant result of the flood. The following passage quotes the | It is argued by some that the decline in human longevity was either an intended or knowingly concomitant result of the flood. The following passage quotes the words of God when he basically says that the days of man will be 120 years because He would destroy the [[Earth]] by flood. Although one possible interpretation of this scripture is that this was a statement of when the flood would occur, it is very compelling that the maximum life expectancy for humans is almost exactly 120 years. The longest verified modern lifespan on record for a human was Jeanne Calment who lived to be 122 years of age[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Calment]. Immediately after the flood, many lived longer than 120 years, including [[Nahor]] (148), [[Terah]] (205), [[Abraham]] (175), [[Ishmael]] (137), [[Isaac]] (180), [[Jacob]] (147), and [[Job]] (140). | ||
{{Bible quote|''"Then the L<small>ORD</small> said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." ... The L<small>ORD</small> saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The L<small>ORD</small> was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the L<small>ORD</small> said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them."'' - |book=Genesis|chap=6|verses=3-7}} | {{Bible quote|''"Then the L<small>ORD</small> said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." ... The L<small>ORD</small> saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The L<small>ORD</small> was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the L<small>ORD</small> said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them."'' - |book=Genesis|chap=6|verses=3-7}} | ||
