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Russia fires a top geneticist who claimed people could live to 900 before sins caused Biblical flood (apnews.com)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world
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Russia’s science and higher education ministry has dismissed the head of a prestigious genetics institute who sparked controversy by contending that humans once lived for centuries and that the shorter lives of modern humans are due to their ancestors’ sins, state news agency RIA-Novosti said Thursday.

Although the report did not give a reason for the firing of Alexander Kudryavtsev, the influential Russian Orthodox Church called it religious discrimination.

Kudryavtsev, who headed the Russian Academy of Science’s Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, made a presentation at a conference in 2023 in which he said people had lived for some 900 years prior to the era of the Biblical Flood and that “original, ancestral and personal sins” caused genetic diseases that shortened lifespans.

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[–] APassenger@lemmy.world 28 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

That's quite literally in the Bible. People are stated as having extraordinary lifespans (e. g., Methuselah).

Then there was a flood after which people saw a rainbow for the first time ever. Gods promise not to flood us again.

The implication seems to be that the earth was in a firmament bubble and the bubble burst, sending down water. Then we had direct sun and not the filtered kind that He* created us for.

No longer in our best element, we die earlier.

I'm not saying the above is true, I'm saying I've heard this for decades now and it checks out against biblical description.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 9 points 9 months ago

And this is why, while you can have smart Christians, you really can't have smart biblical literalist.

[–] jaxxed@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Can you give a reference please? Sounds like sermon quoting to me, they tend to have a ranting quality to them.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah

There ya go, all the references, plus a family tree!

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Isn't there a genealogy with a timeline somewhere in Genesis? It's like a whole chapter of who fucked who and how long they lived.

[–] prole@sh.itjust.works 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, there are entire books in the OT dedicated to lineage, and I'm pretty sure it's all been debunked. It's not a historical document in any way whatsoever.

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world -1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Lol I mean how do you debunk something that wasn't originally intended to be a scientific document. (I know that's not the mindset among Christians)

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ok it has been debunked because the events described are often not only internally inconsistent they do not match up with what we now know. And before you start on "it's an analogy" keep in mind it wasn't for the people who wrote it and lived with it as well as the confusion of what it is an analogy for.

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Sorry, think you mistook me. I'm saying debunking is something you do witth certain genres of material and not others. We might debunk a news report or a biography or a scientific study. We don't debunk a novel or TV show or a campfire story.

I got a few credit hours away from being a bible major before I dropped it and eventually became an atheist. Our biblical interpretation professor started the first class by saying, "whether the six days in which God created the earth are literal or metaphorical doesn't matter." He said the Bible was not written to be a textbook, it started as an oral tradition which was later written down, and it's purpose was to describe a people's identity, where they fit in the universe and what they should do.

You're right to say the genealogy is not historically accurate, I was just saying it's not something it really makes sense to say was debunked.

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I am glad you changed majors, I almost went for that subject myself.

With that said I fully reject his assertion that it's purpose was to help the individual. That requires way way too much. The Bible we have is a product of multiple major and minor cannon making attempts. with associated many scribes. To claim all of these men, across a continent and +15 centuries of history speaking different languages under much different governments in much different cultures all had the same purpose is damn near impossible. Anyone claiming that has fallen under the spell of univocal textualism, i.e the Bible speaks with one voice.

Also you know it's factually wrong. Over 60% of the NT are the letters of Paul or people pretending to be him. The Apocalypse of John was definitely a stand alone pamphlet. And the Gospels are for the most parts just fanfics off other writings with little to no oral tradition behind them. Same thing for the OT. Judges very unlikely to have ever had an oral tradition behind t for example.

Much of the bible does serve a purpose however. Propaganda.

Genesis: this is why we were picked to be the best

Numbers: this is how we are the best

Leviticus: here is a bunch of rules to follow and skydaddy will kill us if you don't

Duet.: this is why the foreigners are foreign

Early prophets: listen to Rabbis or skydaddy is going to get really angry again

Judges: democracy sucks, follow the Rabbis, no not the temple ones, the other ones

Middle Prophets: we got the best king

Late prophets: fuck why did you people sin so much?

Letters: I am Paul, I am so great

Mark: Paul was so great

Matthew: don't forget about Jesus!

Luke-acts: both are great

James: James was also great

John: hey guys remember us Jerusalem followers? We are also kinda nice.

Different John: Nero sucks

There. I solved the Bible. No long ass genealogies needed.

[–] APassenger@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Genesis 6 through 9.

You're asking me to provide a reference for the biblical flood story. When I say it's in there... It's in there.

I get that you don't know me, but the second sentence of your post isn't helpful.