Why is the Human Body Designed to Die?

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Larniavc

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But even then, I have to wonder if everything is based on some kind of scale, where life is somehow smart enough to live only so long that it doesn't pose more problems than successes... And how is it all determined, why a beneficial mutation would knowingly fail a species in the long run before it occurs.
None of that is accurate. Animals die through predation, disease and accident as well as old age. Even an immortal organism will eventually die somehow.

The necessary increase of entropy means at some point something will cease to function.
 
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Larniavc

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because lives that live longer, would likely have more offspring than those who live shorter lives.
The problem is after a while the cell replication which occurs in reproduction becomes to degraded to function. Telomer end get too short and offspring becomes unviable.

So if you did live forever you would be eventually unable to reproduce.
 
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rturner76

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It's very obvious to me, that after 3.5 billion years, life could have evolved to live longer by now, possibly even for many hundreds or thousands of years or longer -- but hasn't.

I believe the obvious reason for this is to prevent overpopulation on earth, which would ultimately destroy life..

...So how does life know this beforehand..?
I think everything is designed to die. Suns, galaxies, planets, all come to an end. God is the only thing that exists outside of space and time. He is the beginning and the end, we all have a beginning and an end in this life.

Our lives being prolonged will be based on technology before evolution. Cybernetics now allows a person to have a hand or arm replaced by a prosthetic you can move with your mind. THey are nw growing organs in laboratories. They have unlocked the secret to what makes us age but they don't know how to reverse the effects yet.

The next evolution is the mastery of sciences that will prolong and improve life. We just need to figure out how to stop killing each other and feed the hungry. Then instead of using technology to kill we could focus on using it to heal.
 
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J_B_

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Gene therapy is so consciously directed. Its creator driven engineering, and so totally outside the scope of the OP question.

Causation was irrelevant to my point, and to underscore that I added mention of a natural process that could possibly accomplish the same thing. The only point is that gene replacement is possible, and therefore a mechanism is available. How the various environmental pressures play out with respect to the relative mechanisms is mere speculation.

I'm just throwing this out there to the OP as a possibly plausible explanation.

I'm glad you said this, as I was doing the same thing. Were this to devolve into two stubborn people trying to win a debate for the sake of bragging rights or some such thing, I would feel obligated to resign the discussion.
 
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angelsaroundme

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The Bible can be construed as suggesting that the flesh itself is mortal, meaning you cannot be "human" as we perceive it, as a person with meat and bones, and live forever.

"For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality."

And the New Living Translation, "For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies."

Jesus says the new man will be similar to an angel. The implication of them not marrying is that they won't procreate.

"Jesus answered, 'The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.'"

"For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him... The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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Just pointing out that gene replacement is possible. Given it's possible, we don't know what might happen to an immortal of any species. The retrovirus could be nature's version of gene therapy - though more hit and miss ... as evolution supposedly is.
A hit and miss natural 'gene therapy' by gene transfer from unrelated organisms would be far more likely to be detrimental than beneficial for an individual, which is why gene transfer is most frequent between related organisms with large populations and rapid reproductive cycles, such as bacteria. Complex multicellular organisms take great pains to avoid such transfers, although some do get through.
 
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J_B_

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A hit and miss natural 'gene therapy' by gene transfer from unrelated organisms would be far more likely to be detrimental than beneficial ...

That's supposedly true of all evolutionary mutations. But given enough time ... and infinity is a lot of time.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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That's supposedly true of all evolutionary mutations. But given enough time ... and infinity is a lot of time.
Yes, but evolution is about changes in reproducing populations. When talking about a potentially immortal individual, a detrimental genetic change is likely to be the end.
 
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J_B_

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Yes, but evolution is about changes in reproducing populations. When talking about a potentially immortal individual, a detrimental genetic change is likely to be the end.

True, but for the individual, not the population. And our weird conversation becomes weirder - maybe beyond the bounds it can bear, for if our immortal is mortal, then ...

... nah, I'm not interested in moving goal posts to go there.
 
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renniks

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Yes, but evolution is about changes in reproducing populations. When talking about a potentially immortal individual, a detrimental genetic change is likely to be the end.
Actually that's true regardless. Most gene changes lead to problems not improvements.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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Actually that's true regardless. Most gene changes lead to problems not improvements.
In fact, most gene changes are relatively neutral - hence genetic drift. Having said that, of the rest, there are fewer advantageous changes than disadvantageous changes.
 
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Glorytothefather2245

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It's very obvious to me, that after 3.5 billion years, life could have evolved to live longer by now, possibly even for many hundreds or thousands of years or longer -- but hasn't.

I believe the obvious reason for this is to prevent overpopulation on earth, which would ultimately destroy life..

...So how does life know this beforehand..?
The human body wasn't created to die, but when Adam and Eve did what God told them not to do that's the reason we have death. Women given birth was never suppose to be painful either.
 
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renniks

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The human body wasn't created to die, but when Adam and Eve did what God told them not to do that's the reason we have death. Women given birth was never suppose to be painful either.
I've thought about this a bit. Why do we grieve when someone dies? Especially if we know they're going to heaven? There seems to be this innate knowledge that death is a intruder in this world. It's part of what makes this reality broken.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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They haven't lost anything if they go to God. They have gained a whole lot.
That's the claim, but believer's actions generally don't support that thesis. They also fight to stay in this 'veil of tears' just as hard as the non-believer who acknowledges no heavenly afterlife. How strange... ;)
 
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Strathos

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But why do that? Why not look at the source of truth?

What many people don't realize is that if you look at a scientific explanation for something, and then a theological explanation, they may have differences, but they often ultimately support the same conclusion.

Science says that eternal life in this world is biologically inefficient and disadvantageous.

Scripture says that eternal life in this world is not workable, and will only be achieved in the next world.

So in that way, they agree.
 
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Bradskii

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That's the claim, but believer's actions generally don't support that thesis. They also fight to stay in this 'veil of tears' just as hard as the non-believer who acknowledges no heavenly afterlife. How strange... ;)

Surely they'd throw a party. When my family and I moved to the other side of the planet for what we assumed was to be a better life then we had a party. And there were tears with people we might not see again for many years if at all. But everyone was happy for us to go even though we were leaving 'for good' and we were just as happy to be going.

Rather than looking forward to an eternity of bliss, your average Christian seems like she'd be screaming and fighting everyone not to get on the plane.
 
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coffee4u

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It's very obvious to me, that after 3.5 billion years, life could have evolved to live longer by now, possibly even for many hundreds or thousands of years or longer -- but hasn't.

I believe the obvious reason for this is to prevent overpopulation on earth, which would ultimately destroy life..

...So how does life know this beforehand..?

The body dies because of sin.

Romans 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
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public hermit

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Surely they'd throw a party. When my family and I moved to the other side of the planet for what we assumed was to be a better life then we had a party. And there were tears with people we might not see again for many years if at all. But everyone was happy for us to go even though we were leaving 'for good' and we were just as happy to be going.

Rather than looking forward to an eternity of bliss, your average Christian seems like she'd be screaming and fighting everyone not to get on the plane.

Right. I agree. Even Jesus seemed a bit baffled his followers weren't happy to see him leave. John 14:28
 
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