original sin and lifespan...?

Question

so apparently it was original sin that shortened the lifespan of people from as much as 1000 years down to about 100 years. so why do many of adam and eve's offspring still live to be nearly 1000 when many of them were already corrupt with original sin?

Answer 1

The answer to this question is simply that the biblical record is contradictory. Much of it contradicts known and well attested to history, and furthermore it is internally inconsistent. The first few books of the Old Testament especially suffer from this because they are comprised of multiple sources and are the product of numerous authors who are cataloging generations of oral tradition.

The book of Genesis alone is the product of 4 differing traditions according to scholars. That is why in the first two chapters of Genesis you have two accounts of creation that puts the origins of animals, plants, and humans in a different sequence. It is this varied authorship that also causes there to be differing accounts of Noah’s flood.

Many men have written volumes about the various contradictions in the Bible. The one you underscored is just one of many contradictions that underscores the fact that the literal verbal divine inspiration of the Bible, which is the cornerstone of the Christian fundamentalist belief system, is specious.

Answer 2

I always understood that it was the aftermath of the flood not "original sin" that shortened lifespans. Before the flood, 900+ years was a normal lifespan...within a few generations after the flood, the average lifespan dropped to less than 100 years. This makes sense if you consider what would have happened to the environment after a great flood that covered the entire earth. Think of all the dead bodies of people and animals and the diseases that would have come out of all that destruction. Life would have also been much harder (farming in a mud pit). ...and genetics would also suggest that defects would begin to enter the human genome due to inbreeding (not a problem with adam and eve because they were perfect...but that perfection ended with the original sin so in a way, perhaps it was a result of the original sin). In short, the flood radically changed the environment of the earth and decreasing lifespans was the natural result.

Answer 3

When God created the earth it was perfect. When God created people they were perfect. The climate was so ideal that people could live without clothing. There was no rain until the Flood. Before the flood streams came up from earth and watered the whole surface (Gen.2:6)
At one point the wickedness of people had increased so much that people's thoughts and actions were EVIL ALL THE TIME and therefore God sent the Flood. (Gen. 6:5) to destroy all mankind except for Noah and his family.
After the Flood the climate changed and people's life span decreased gradually.
Why did God let people live that long? Because He is a gracious and patient God. If God would punish every sin committed immediately, no one on this planet would be alive anymore.
2. Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is PATIENT WITH YOU, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Answer 4

It was after original sin that God limited man's life to 120 years.