I was reading a Facebook Meme the other day which complained that the Bible stated that Methuselah lived for 969 years. I think the feed stated another number but 969 is what the Bible actually states. It also stated that this was false because we know that there are numerous genetic factors that would make it impossible for a man to live to 969 years.
Of course the gist of the meme was how could Christians believe this nonsense. I guess it all comes back to what you believe and your background. I mean the biggest challenge we face in this life is death and the human body would seem to be susceptible to any number of maladies that can lead to death. Not the least of these being, that humanity seems to be prewired to cease life somewhere around seventy years of age which is also the limit of human life as defined by God in the Bible.
This all happens
because of the shortening of telomeres in our cells telling our DNA to stop
dividing, exposure to solar radiation, aging in certain cells and any number of
other physiological factors. The most pertinent factor is, however, that
Jehovah said that the end of our variant of humanities life would be in the
range of seventy to eighty years. So what of Methuselah.
Well, Methuselah lived before the flood when the Earth was a hot house world covered in the original forest that God had created. Everything was new, Mankind had fallen but was genetically in excellent condition. God allowed those who close to Him to live for a very long time. Jehovah, reduced the length of human life to reduce the exposure of the world to sin. Wicked men with long lives could inflict much harm on those around them whereas, with shorter lives that harm was limited. Imagine the mayhem unleashed if some of the Kings of Earth had lived for a thousand years.
So where does all of this leave us? Well, the person who wrote the meme believes that science has shown beyond dispute that for various physiological reasons no man can live to the age of 969 years. This is his belief and he has faith in the science behind it. I deduce that his faith is naturalistic and he or she is an atheist. This is a world view, a faith. They would contend that if something cannot be proven by science or if the science can be said to disprove it then it is not true. This is a simplistic notion. There is much even on Earth that we cannot know because we don't have the means to genuinely evaluate the facts before us. Whether that is because we were not there when something first formed or because we don't have a method that we can investigate the truth of some matter with. Therefore we are limited to theorising an answer to our investigation.
In the case of Methuselah's age we can say based on what we know today he could not have lived to 969 years but what if tomorrow a scientist came up with the keys to the tree of life. A potion that causes our body to begin rebuilding itself in the way that it did when we were first conceived. Would our atheist friend believe that mankind could now be immortal because science has found a way for Methuselah to live to a great age? Of course, the answer is yes because science can demonstrate that immortality is now possible.
So, really the issue is that the writer of the meme believes in science but does not believe in God. He or she, has faith in science but does not have faith in Jehovah God. Therefore, truth is a matter of perception not a matter of fact. You see, you can believe in science and only believe what can be proven in the laboratory or you can believe in God and every word that comes from the mouth of God. What matters in the end is Truth and most unbelieving folk know in their hearts the God created the Heavens and the Earth. They just don't want admit it.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." ESV
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