As I understand, the essentially Pantheistic view of
the universe expressed on this site has it that there
is a "progression", if you will, of life from lower to higher forms, via reincarnation.
(Not to dis Pantheism... it makes WAY more sense than the "desert monotheisms" that dominate Western society. Anyhow...)
Here's my question...
Deteriorative aging occurs mostly among mammals. Humans age in such a manner that they spend the last one-half to one-third of their lives suffering from mounting medical problems and decreasing mental and physical function. Human aging is set up in such a way that just as soon as you have amassed some experience and gained some actual practical WISDOM about life... you begin to fall apart!
Compare this with the aging of crocodiles. A crocodile does not age like we do, although they have a similar lifespan. A 100-year-old croc is KING of the pond. He likely has only a few more years of life (100 years being about the limit of lifespans throughout the animal kingdom) and when he does die, typically his body will fail over a period of a couple weeks or so, and the end comes quickly. But those remaining years will be GOOD years. The croc even has a HEALTHY SEXUAL FUNCTION right up to the end! VERY fortunate is the human who gets to say the same when his bell tolls...
So WHY, then, does a stupid reptile (a lower life form!) get the "good life" for its entire lifespan, and HUMANS get screwed? 100 years is plenty long, sure... but for humans, only about 35-45 years (20-30 years if you subtract childhood) are any damn good!!!
Sometimes, I think Somebody #$@!-ed up.

It is also interesting to see that our society, based on capitalism, focus on curing instead of preventing problems.

So instead of doctors actively endorsing healthy lifestyles with exercices and all that stuff, we are faced with doctors who prefer to wait until you are in trouble to try and fix everything.

Be active mentally and physically, eat correctly and you WILL age correctly.

I don't think the problem is death itself.

The problem Brendan pointed out was actually the deterioration of the body long BEFORE death could occured.

If you do find a way to stop the deterioration of normal cells (caused by the death genes) I heard we could live up to 5000 years. Of course this can't be officially proved right now.

Why do humans deterioratively age?

Perhaps the reason is because earth is like a spiritual boot camp for humans.  If life were always fun and easy, we wouldn't learn much and our spirits would not grow.  It takes a lot of spiritual effort, through willpower, to continue living a productive and meaningful life despite the ravages of old age.  Just look at Pope John Paul II.  I'm sure his spirit grew a whole lot during his life on earth, where he had to fulfill the responsibilities of the papacy while suffering from Parkinson's disease and other ailments.  Now that he is in the afterlife, he is probably a much stronger spirit than he was before he incarnated.

Freebird

I agree. The Holy Father touched my heart beyond my understanding. And I'm not even Catholic. He taught us not only how to live, but how to be alone,  how to forgive, how to grow old, how to accept suffering both physical and emotional (he looked on it as a gift as well) and how to die. He must be one of those "old souls" I hear people speak of on occasion. And I certainly hope he has all the joy and love anyone could ever want right now and forever more. He truly deserves it.

Uhhh, Truseeker...
The late Pope was a fine man, no doubt...
But I'm a bit skeptical over whether he REALLY
looked upon suffering as a "gift."
John Paul II was a very compassionate man, and
I believe he sincerely wanted to make a difference
in the world.
But we must accept the fact that he had to operate
within the strict confines of an extremely dogmatic
religion (Roman Catholic.) This church has used the
"suffering as a gift" line now for two millennia. But
note it is always the POOR who are allowed this
"gift" in the most generous portions.
Please note that the Church high-ups seldom volunteer for the "gift" of suffering... when was the
last time you saw a starving priest, or even one in
a hair shirt?
So, I doubt that the Pope viewed suffering as a "gift"... more likely a necessary (for whatever reason) evil.
That being said, I hope he found his heaven (and I hope the Catholic Church is WRONG about the nature of the universal afterlife, for what it's worth...)

Why Not?

Does the bible not say that "man hath but three score years and ten to live" (i.e. 70 years)?

So it has been decreed that we would die, and who would want to die at that age, or when our time duly arrives, feeling as young and energetic as, say, an eighteen year old?
Can you imagine what a world we would be living in if nobody ever died? Probably standing on the shoulders of someone standing on the shoulders of....and so forth.
Also, I wonder what our forefathers would think of the technological age we live in today? This made me wonder as to whether spirits of our long departed ones are aware of the advances made in the physical world and what their observation/comments would be?
A few more questions leading to yet more comments, perhaps?

roger

TruSeeker, please don't leave. Everyone has their own opinion and by discussing all points of view, spiritual enlightenment comes. For true enlightenment, we must set our egos aside and not be 'hurt' by what others say. No one group/forum has all the answers as we're all seekers.

With Love,
Mairlyn