Biotechnologists in Iceland
report they advanced the
search for the secret to eternal life after
locating the gene responsible
for healthy old age. The gene has been named the
Methuselah gene after
the Old Testament figure who lived for 969
years.
Scientists pinpointed the
gene using Iceland’s comprehensive
family records to compare 1,200 people who had
lived beyond the age of
90 with a similar number with average lifespans.
They found the people
who lived longer were more closely related than
in the other group.
The researchers discovered
that those who lived longer
appeared to have inherited a single gene that
protected them against old
age, rather than being born into families that
did not inherit genes that
made them vulnerable to illnesses.
A similar study in the United
States found that many
people who lived past 100 had built in defenses
against old age. Their
children were more likely to live ten to 15 year
longer than average.
Previously, scientists
believed thousands of genes
worked together to determine how long people
live. They now say it may
be possible to make drugs which would replicate
the action of this specific
aging gene, and provide longer life for
everyone.
—http://thescotsman.co.uk,
Scientists find key to
eternal life, February 4, 2002. Illustration by
Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.
Yes the scientists’ findings
are remarkable, but they
don’t really hold the secret to eternal life,
just longer temporal life.
The only way to have true eternal life is to die
to self and be born again
into Jesus’ family.
John 3:3, 5-6 NIV “In reply,
Jesus declared, “ I tell
you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God
unless he is born again.”
“ I tell you the truth; no one can enter the
kingdom of God unless he is
born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth
to flesh, but the Spirit
gives birth to Spirit.”
ETERNAL LIFE
A recent survey conducted
by the Pew organization
shocked many believers by announcing that nearly
six in ten evangelicals
agreed with the idea that religions other than
their own could lead to
eternal life. To clarify things Lifeway
Research reworded the question,
and coupled it with a more precise definition of
the word evangelical.
The newer finds indicate only 2 in 10
evangelicals think there is more
than one way to eternal life.
The new definition focused
less on attending church
than an overall set of beliefs about Jesus
Christ, such as whether Jesus
lived a sinless life on earth and that the Bible
is accurate in all its
teaching. Associate Director of Lifeway
research Scott McConnell
said the way the question was originally worded
was confusing and may have
lead people to believe they were talking about
other Christian denominations.
He said, “I believe the Pew study is
directionally right in pointing out
that a surprisingly small number of
self-identified American Christians
believe in the exclusivity of Christ as a means
of salvations, and therefore,
getting into heaven.”
--New Study Finds Fewer
Evangelical Universalists
than Reported,
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080704/new-study-finds-fewer-evangelical-universalists-than-reported
;
July 4, 2008. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and
Jim Sandell
Acts 4:12 (CEV) Only Jesus
has the power to save!
His name is the only one in all the world that
can save anyone.
ETERNAL LIFE
Zsa Zsa Gabor, the
93-year-old screen legend, “has
always dreamed that her beauty would be
immortal.” Indeed immortality is
a dream, a wish, a goal for many. Her husband is
planning to make her wish
come true by having her “plastinated” after
death. Plastination is the
process of replacing the water and fat in the
body with plastic.
--The Week, September 17,
2010 p. 16 Illustration
by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell
Jesus promised eternal life
to those who believe
in him, and there is nothing “plastic” about
that promise.
John 10:28 (NIV) I give
them eternal life, and they
shall never perish; no one can snatch them out
of my hand.
ETERNAL LIFE
Since Ponce De Leon spent years searching
Florida for the fountain of
youth, and even before, humans have been
looking for ways to delay the
aging process. Today’s seniors are seeking
Amortality, or agelessness in
a variety of exercises, life style
adaptations, drugs, and supplements.
Catherine Mayer writes about it in her book,
Amortality: The Pleasures
and Perils of Living Agelessly. (Published in
2011 by Vermillion)
Biologists tell us that 120 years is our
maximum longevity because of
the limitations of cell growth.
--Time, April 25, 2011, p. 46 Illustration by
Jim L. Wilson and Rodger
Russell
Given the 120-year limit, perhaps we should
first make sure of our immortality
before worrying about our amortality. Let us
make sure of our eternal destiny
before we worry too much about out physical
longevity.
John 8:52 (NASB) The Jews said to Him, "Now
we know that You have a
demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also;
and You say, 'If anyone keeps
My word, he will never taste of death.'
ETERNAL LIFE
Robert Ettinger, who died in 2011, wanted to
live forever. If he could
not live forever, he wanted to be deep-frozen
at the time of his death.
His hope is that some day in the future,
science will discover how to cure
him of his ills, and will thaw him out and
return him to life.
“We were able to freeze him under optimum
conditions,” said his son,
David. “So he’s got another chance.”
--The Week, August 12, 2011 p. 39
Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and
Rodger Russell
Eternal life is already available, without
the expense of cryonics.
You can pay the $30,000 to be frozen and
stored with the 100 people who
are already in Detroit at the Cryonics
Institute waiting for science to
discover the cure for what kills you or you
can trust in Jesus Christ and
receive eternal life now.
John 6:40 (HCSB) For this is the will of My
Father: that everyone who
sees the Son and believes in Him may have
eternal life, and I will raise
him up on the last day.”
ETERNAL LIFE
Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2 premiered in
the movie theaters on November
16, 2012. Advanced ticket sales broke previous
records. The twilight series
is based on a love story between a young woman
and a vampire. The film
makers make it seem so romantic that vampires
don’t age and they life forever.
The American dream is to stay young and live
forever. It won’t happen
in this life—and eternity is so much more than
those hopes. –Jim L. Wilson
and Tim Hammond
John 5:24 (HCSB) “I assure you: Anyone who
hears My word and believes
Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not
come under judgment but has
passed from death to life.
ETERNAL
LIFE
Kurt
Pilgeram
of California contracted with Alcor Life
Extension Foundation to
cryogenically preserve his late father.
People do this hoping that at some
later time, after a cure for whatever killed
the patient is discovered, they
can be unfrozen and cured. Pilgeram
discovered the company only preserved his
father’s
head. He sued the company saying, “There is
little, if any, hope of bringing
his head ‘back to life’ under the
circumstances here.”
The
Week,
September 21, 2018 P. 6
Christians
have
a more certain hope of resurrection. At the
end of time, Christ is going
to bring about a resurrection of the
believing dead. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger
Russell.
1
Thessalonians 4:16 (CSB)
For the Lord
himself
will descend from heaven with a shout, with
the archangel’s voice, and with the
trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will
rise first.
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