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Looking at the probability of mathematical errors in age based upon the differences of measuring time between ourselves and the accounts of the Hebrew texts, we're really not certain how old Noah or any Biblical figure really was, with the exception of maybe Jesus, whom we're told was around 30 when he began his ministry and 33 when he died.

Bear in mind also these Hebrew texts were written based upon stories that were of oral tradition since the time of Abraham, whom was of the Mesopotamian/Sumerian area, and that these texts weren't written into record until just a few centuries before the life of Christ began. So we have much room for error.

Edit: The oldest known copies of the early Hebrew texts are dated a few centuries before Jesus' time. Who knows if older texts exist or not? If anyone knows, or has links, please share them.

Even then, some may take it literally, others may take it as a simple story to explain the how and why that mankind was spared complete destruction, and the good that comes from walking with God in one's heart and following him. So take it as you will.

Would you care to explain why you have so many problems with Christianity, as teenage "religious rebels" tend to find trendy?

Haha! Some good points and humour as well. I like it. So we are in agreement that we're unsure of the standards by which they measured time. We're in the dark a bit. And with the oral traditions being so old, and passing along generations to later time periods, when years may have been different again as well... We get lost in translation it would seem.

Exactly. I also have a book called One True Doctrine that was published by Eschaton books, which is now defunct, and its books are out of print. In it, we learn that much of the Old Testament is founded in Babylonian/Sumerian mythology, such as the great flood in fact. However, this does not necessarily mean it was "stolen" per se, as similar stories are found throughout several cultures, even ones in other parts of the globe. I would not then call it theft, but just another telling of events rather.

As for discrepancies, we will see passages contradict one another, and sometimes the gospels of the New Testament may not even agree with one another on some things, even if they all have the same general theme. Let us look at it like this. These texts are oral traditions writ down for to finally preserve them. Over that time, the original Hebrew stories may have underwent some great changes. The debate about whether the texts were actually originally written by Moses or not still goes on, and is much the same with the gospels of the New Testament. As per the differences in the New Testament amongst the gospels, it's not as if the authors were in the same room writing at the same time the stories they were telling. They were written probably at different times, and in areas different from one another, and probably copied and recopied several times before the translations arrived that were finally compiled to form the Bible as we know it today when first put together. Keeping this in mind, we can expect errors, and differences. Even if some Christians believe the Bible inerrant and infallible, I still think it may have some issues with it. However, I don't look to a literal understanding, but a philosophical one and the general messages found within, on understanding God, our creation, our place in the world, and the sacrifice and reason of Jesus the Christ.

I'm all for Biblical discussion, and even tearing it down. It's good for a Christian to know his doctrine and understand where it differs, where it may possess errors and the such. Knowing your faith is the best thing you can do to help others see and understand the same, so that they learn from it, and don't necessarily see it a reason to atttack the doctrine itself. Or so I think. I could be wrong, as always.

Hm, in that case, he knew the secret of immoraliy like Johnny Depp. You eat just one Cadburry egg on Easter every year, and you never age. I swear it's true!

Then it may be a mistranslation, or simply just an exaggerated figure presented from oral traditions.

I wouldn't take dates seriously in the bible...
As I wouldn't take any story serious.
Many things in there are metaphorical. Jesus didn't run over water, Moses didn't separate the water.
It's just a way to glorify their work. And as said, the storys had been told for centuries without writing them down.

It's like the story about the party last week.
Person1: "Hey Anna drank a beer!! Normally she doesn't drink any alcohol!"
Person2: "Hey you heard it? Anna drank some beer?"
Person3: "I heard that Anna was drunk."
Person4: "Hey Anna must have drunk a lot beer, she was totally drunken."
Person5: "Whoa you heard that Anna couldn't walk home from the parrty because she was too drunk?"

That's only 5 persons in ~ 3 days. smile Imagine this over a few centuries. ^^