What Do Religions Think Of Longevity & Immortality? Affecting Research, Legislation

I was reading the Tanakh a bit and it said the lifespan for humans is 120 years or something. Do anyone know what the hard limits different religions have set for human lifespans? I’m thinking this is important to know with regards to unconscious limits on human lifespan affecting research, legislative action by the religious or ultra religious.

There are some religious figures in the old testament who supposedly lived for hundreds of years. Methuselah, for example, lived for 969 years.

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In the beginning there are passage after passage of different beings living hundreds of years, but can that and Methuselah be interpreted for potential to live a long time for humans? So at best hundreds of years? What about immortality?

No one but god (and Jesus for Christians) is truly immortal in Christian, Jewish and Islamic religions.
Regardless it is my belief that greed will win out against religious concerns in the end because politicians either want a longer life or want to prevent the shrinking of their working population. Asia and Europe will be especially affected by that.

It sounds like Job lived a couple hundred, suffered a lot and wished he hadn’t:

“Why does he[a] give light to one in misery
and life to those bitter of soul,
21 who wait for death, but[b] it does not come,[c]
and search[d] for it more than for treasures,
22 who rejoice exceedingly,[e]
and they are glad when they find the grave?

A bible verse I recently heard referenced on TV…apparently lifespan for most folks is 70 or possibly 80, as mentioned in Psalm 90:10:

10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

They mixed the Sumerian and another calendar if you observe Genesis. Especially in Chapter 5. Genesis is not authored by one person. The style of writing changes from 1st point of view to 3rd point of view. Let me see if I can find any articles … that is in a nut shell. I am not saying this is the best but it gives you an idea. Long Life Spans in Genesis: Literal or Symbolic? - BioLogos

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We can be immortal, but I believe what you consume is only a part of the equation… I do not expect to live forever. I rather leave my old body and come back with a younger one. I believe it is easier to remember my past life than to extend my life beyond the norm. Imagine being 200 years old and having to hide that fact… too much effort.

I always like to think that 969 years was mistranslated from 969 months. That would have put him at just over 80 which at that time would be very long lived indeed!

Of course, I’m hoping the 969 years was right. :wink:

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Before the flood at the beginning of Noah’s story:

Genesis 6:3 ESV
[3] Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

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Bryan Johnson has mentioned a lifespan over 120 years is his goal, so when I saw that in the Tanakh I recognized that number.

“I’m traveling to a remote island for an extreme Medical procedure that could change the future of humanity. Humans have a 120-year ceiling and so far no one can punch through it. Gene therapy might be the answer. This is a journey in search of the Fountain of Youth,” says Johnson.

Since the actual oldest humans who have ever lived become around 120, I wonder if someone actually lived that long back then.

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I take the Bible as true, so I believe the 800-900+ lifespans in Genesis, and also the 120 year cap.

But regardless, has there been discussion about limiting lifespan promoting research for religious reasons? I can’t speak to all religions, but Christianity has historically promoted medicine and healthcare, with Catholic hospitals as a notable example. Physical health, and life itself, are highly valued in the Christian tradition, and are seen as part of proper stewardship of God’s creation and respect for his image in man. Jesus acted out God’s will for bodily wholeness through his healing ministry, after all.

All of the above can be true while still remaining skeptical and even critical of Bryan Johnson’s program because of the underlying hubris and self-reliance.

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Realistically there was maybe 1 human every thousend years who managed to get over the age of 100 so to play it safe, the writers of this verse made 120 the limit.

I like the optimism!

I’m going for five score.

Job became immortal when they named a syndrome after him. :angel:

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I thought the endpoint of all religions was immortality?

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I grew up in the Church of England… I even went to the theological college … after that I became an atheist… it was only in the last 8 years that started to understand the meaning of all religions. I will not stop people from believing what they want as long as they do not push it on others. The problem is people goes around saying my way or the high way… If God is a fair and uphold justice, just like what the Bible said, then there will be an avenue to which non believers will have the opportunity to redeem themselves… despite following other ways (most born into those ways) … and vice versa for all the other religions… Thus in the current form, all religions are like kindergarten education in my opinion, where there are no room for alternatives. Basically, no avenue for self realization.

As for immortality, we all are, just not in the way we understand. The essence of the person never dies… it just transform. Have you ever dream at night… it is similar to that except there is no waking up back into current reality. I was always fascinated by the stories of Joseph, Samuel and King David… I do not think the Bible is infallible like I used to, but if you can read in between the lines, you will understand it. It is just like a history book, written in a way the historian wants people to remember it. It could be distorted or even false.

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Point of view is an important consideration.

A focus on the immortality of your unique genetic code is a baked-in in feature of every creature alive today. That’s how we got here after 4 billion years of competition. Of course your code can only be blended with other codes to continue forward but that is what keeps the fast evolvers in the shared environment from overwhelming “your” code.

Reincarnation could be thought of as the reuse of atoms and electrons. The immortality of matter and energy.

Whether my consciousness will continue after my death is an open question. It seems more likely that consciousness is more like the ability to sense hot vs cold than a separate entity living in my brain. So, how would ”consciousness”continue without the meat?

I wish I knew. I need more time in life to figure this stuff out.

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Being alive equals consciousness to me. If the complex structue in my brain breaks down, my consciousness fades to nothing and will remain so forever which equals death.

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