Immortality
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Immortality is the concept of having eternal life or a perpetuity of existence. An immortal organism has the potential of living an infinite or indeterminate length of time. The most common form of immortality believed in today involves a spiritual existence of the soul after physical death. The doctrine of immortality is taught in the Biblical Old Testament, with Christians holding to a full revelation of this doctrine by way of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches that death came into the world as a result of sin, but we remain potentially immortal beings that may be resurrected to a new life in heaven. The book of Genesis also clearly implies that humans were designed to live immortal in their physical body before Adam and Eve committed the original sin. This action which caused God to curse the creation is formally known as the fall of man.
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Organismal Immortality
Physical immortality is theoretically possible for any lifeform, and the factors which cause organisms to begin to grow old and die remain largely hypothetical. Multicellular organisms are designed so that new cells replace older cells on a never-ending cycle. If a cell is provided all the metabolites and nutrients it needs to survive, its lineage should never die-out. But due to some unknown cause they simply cease.
Plants are actually or potentially immortal organisms that will live indefinitely provided their environmental requirements are met. In striking contrast to plants, humans and animals have a maximum life expectancy regardless of whether their needs are fulfilled. Although it is true that some plants grow as annuals, all plants are actually perennials by nature, and have adapted to a programmed life cycle in some instances to match growing seasons. Otherwise, plants only die because of biochemical starvation or disease. If their physical requirements are met, plants will grow indefinitely.
Cellular Immortality
The most widely accepted theory to explain cellular mortality proposes that the ends of chromosomes (telomeres) degrade through time, and active genes eventually become affected by similar erosion. However, programmed cell death (apoptosis) is now known to occur, and clearly indicates a control mechanism is governing cellular mortality. Cells are responding to signals we do not yet recognize, and will essentially die on a preprogrammed schedule.
It is also now well established that plant and animal cell lines can be easily immortalized. Immortalized plant tissue can be obtained by simply isolating the plant's wound-response tissue called callus. When separated from the plant's signaling mechanism that tell the cells to die, callus will grow indefinitely in tissue culture.
Cancer cells are considered immortalized. They have become genetically unresponsive to the signals that would normally restrict cells from replicating their DNA and dividing. Unlike their host organism, immortalized cell lines will continue to grow and divide as long as their necessary elements are maintained.
The Tree of Life
- Main Article: Fall of man
The Tree of Life was a tree in the Garden of Eden, which was apparently placed there so humans could live forever. According to Genesis 2-3 , God placed two trees in the garden of Eden; The Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. God then gave Adam and Eve specific instructions not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge or they would die. Despite this command and warning from God, Eve was tempted by a serpent and she ate the fruit anyway, then gave some to Adam. This act of disobedience was the first time that humans had sinned against God, and is therefore, called the original sin.
Unlike the Tree of Knowledge, God did not forbid Adam and Eve from the Tree of Life. Upon eating of the Tree of Knowledge, God immediately removed Adam and Eve from the garden, and placed a flaming sword to guard the tree so they could not eat from the Tree of Life. In Genesis 3:22-23 , God is quoted as saying "He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden... This passage clearly indicates that Adam was removed from the garden before he would have the opportunity for to eat of the tree of life and become immortal.
There remains some debate within the theological and creation science community regarding the nature of this immortality. Because they did not die immediately after eating of the fruit, most Christians interpret this passage to mean that Adam and Eve were spiritually immortal before committing this sin, and they died spiritually on that day. Alternatively, many people assume Adam and Eve were physically immortal, and began to grow old for the first time on this day. Many creationists teach that the entire creation was immortal in the beginning, and nothing on Earth died prior to the fall of mankind. This latter perspective is often used to contest the evolutionary interpretation of the fossil record as being evidence of millions of years of death and decay prior to the presence of humans.
From this story in Genesis 2-3 , we can conclude that on the day Adam and Eve ate of the "Tree of Knowledge" they experienced their immortal death because God removed their access to the "Tree of Life". This tree, which had been originally placed there for them, would apparently provide some essential factor without which any human would eventually die. It is assumed that the "Tree of Life" was able to transform the biological nature of human beings who were alone designed to eat from the tree and live in this way. However, because our ancestors disobeyed God, they brought death to all mankind through their punishment. Christianity teaches that it is now only by faith in the LORD Jesus Christ that our sins will be forgiven, and we can regain our place with God through eternity.
Life
- Main Article: Life
Life is the characteristic, state, or mode that separates living organisms from dead matter. The word may itself refer to a living being; ongoing processes of which living things are a part; the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death); the condition of an entity that has been born and has yet to die; and that which makes a living thing alive.
Biological Definition
There is no universally accepted biological definition of life, but it is generally defined in terms of the following biological characteristics: organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli, and reproduction.
Biblical Definitions
Many use Biblical to the "breath of life" or blood, to exclude organisms such as plants, insects, or microbes regarding immortality prior to the fall of man.
Breath of Life
- Genesis 1:30 - And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.
- Genesis 2:7 - then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
- Genesis 6:17 - For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall die.
- Genesis 7:15 - They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life.
Blood
- Genesis 9:4 - Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
- Leviticus 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.
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