Old people

The demographic transition, Reverend Thomas Malthus, transcendence at the Arsenal, and understanding life backwards

The world’s population is rapidly becoming older and older, with many developed nations seeing unprecedented proportions of their citizens in retirement age. Why is this taking place, and does this presage an era of economic stagnation or a utopia of stability? How have fears over demography shifted as fertility rates plummet across the world, and how can we avoid pitting the young against the ever more powerful old in bitter intergenerational conflict?

Demographic trends reveal clearly the next century will be one increasingly dominated by older people. If God is giving us a lot more folk in their later years, what are they for in church life? Has the modern church, terrified of decline, alienated its faithful, older congregants in a desperate attempt to lure back the young? And what wisdom and service do older Christians have to offer their churches?

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