Section A: The Aging Society
In recent Japan which has the large older population determined five National Task Forces for the new millenium among which is 'Silver Industry Task Forces.' This is a fast move to the coming demographic change and the consequence of recognizing the importance of older population in the next century.
Dorsia Carson points out the predictions which can be inferred from 1994 data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census as follows:
1. Since 1900, the percentage of Americans over age sixty-five has more than tripled.
2. A Child born in 1993 could expect to live seventy-five and a half years, about twenty-five years longer than a child born in 1900.
3. About 2.1 million people celebrated their sixty-fifth birthday in 1994 (5,600 per day). In the same year, about 1.7 million people sixty-five or older died, resulting in a net increase of 385,000 (1,050 per day).
4. By 2030, there will be about 70 million older people, more than twice the number in 1990.
5. People sixty-five years and older are projected to represent 13 percent of the population in the year but will represent 20 percent by 2030.1)
This shows how the demographic texture of this society will be gradually dominated by the older population. Considering this social trends it is no wonder that many churches has had increased percentage of older membership in a few decades.
Richard H. Gentzler mentions the characteristic phenomena of the older population. First, older women outnumbers older men. This proportion is conspicuous in middle older (75+) and oldest older (85+) than young older adults (65+).2) Second, in 1994 remarriage ratio is doubled in older men compared with older women because older men can hardly live alone and because men tend to marry women younger than themselves.3) Third, even though having one or more chronic symptoms, majority of older people has confidence in their health. "According to results of the 1989 Health Statistics, nearly seventy-one percent of older adults living in the community described their health as excellent, very good, or good."4) Fourth, the poverty rate for older people is almost the same as the other age group. According to the statistics of 1994 the poverty rate for older population was 11.7 percent, while the poverty rate for sixty-four and below was 11.9 percent. On the basis of such evidences, Gentzler asserts the necessity of eliminating the stereotypes concerning older people. The myths which must be removed from our society are:
1. As people grow older, their ability to learn decreases.
2. Older adults want to disengage from life.
3. Older adults are in poor health.5)
Therefore, it is necessary to help younger generations be aware of the reality concerning older people and older generations live in a positive way. In this respect the FACES statements are noteworthy.
1. Finding worth in one's being, not through having or doing.
2. Accepting one's life journey and faith story.
3. Confronting losses and acknowledge our gains.
4. Experiencing a new (or renewed) relationship with God.
5. Serving the needs of others.6)
Many churches including my congregation are being filled with older people. They are unburdened from child care, goal pursuit, preparation for future achievement. They have much more time, money, and talents than other generations. Furthermore, they are in the stage of maturing, so that they can contribute to the younger generations by their own wisdom more powerful and necessary than accumulated information and knowledge. Therefore, we pastors should recognize the importance of older people within the church boundary and out, empower their own people to move toward the positive living even in the late life.
Section B: Theoretical Foundations of Aging: Three Theoretical Perspectives
Theoretical foundations of aging that I was concerned in the assignment readings are stratification theory, continuity theory, and development theory.
1. Stratification Theory.
According to this theory people experience the same events or phenomena as differently as their age is. For example, the World War II was an enormous impact to all generations but might be felt differently according to what age you were at that time. When remembering the Korean War, my mom's (9 year old girl), her elder sister's (19 year old teenager), and her mother's (36 year old housewife) reminiscence were largely different since their roles and tasks at that time were so different. Older people are not all the same. Each subdivided group may have their own experiences and stories. When we come to older people, we need some stratification of each age group such as 55+, 65+, 75+, and 85+.
2. Continuity Theory.
According to Robert C. Atchley the continuity theory of aging "first arose out of an examination of how elders cope with retirement, and how retirement influenced identity and self...In retirement their identities contained a strong element of continuity with the self of the past."7) From that observation Atchley propose the continuity theory which "implies a vision of one's past, present, and future as interconnected."8) Life is an non-stop evolutionary process of "the conscious, continuous, intentional development and maintenance of the human personality and self and the external arrangements that support them."9) The goal of such evolution is growth.
Atchley discerns internal continuity from external. Internal continuity is the "persistence of a structure of ideas and memories...formed by the values, beliefs, knowledge, worldview, philosophy of life, and moral framework that are the core of the personality."10) He identifies religious faith as taking an important role in the growth of internal continuity. External continuity is the "existence over time of geographical location, relationship, and activities."11) Atchley points out religious activities will contribute to the enrichment of external continuity.
3. Development Theory.
The development theory of aging emphasizes the "connections between physiological characteristics, personality, the environment, and societal factors which intersect in ways that make it possible to identify and examine developmental tasks which persons experience as they move through the life span."12) The characteristics of the older adult era is described as follows:
LATE ADULT ERA
Integrity vs. despair
Ego differentiation vs. work-role preoccupation
Body transcendence vs. body-preoccupation
Ego transcendence vs. ego preoccupation13)
By introducing the faith development model of James Fowler Vogel asserts that older people have much chance to enhance their own level of faith from "Synthetic-Conventional Faith" (Stage 3) to "Individuative-Reflexive Faith" (Stage 4) and "Conjunctive Faith" (Stage 5).14) But not all wants to move to growth. For this reason Vogel points out the necessity of reeducation to empower older men and women to "learn new roles and new ways of relating with others."15) It is his assertion that when moving to the higher level of faith development older people grow toward making meaning, nourishing souls, and wholeness in spirituality.
4. Comparison of Three Theoretical Perspectives.
Stratification theory teaches us to be much more sensitive in dealing with older people. They have their own life experience accumulated throughout history, personal and communal. When I try to speak of the union of South and North Korea, each subdivided age group responds differently. 55+ group affirms the necessity of union, 65+ group make some reservations while acknowledging the necessity. Those who have families and friends in North Korea reveal stronger hope for union than others.
Continuity theory will be very helpful to those who has just retired or who are preparing retirement. Of course, retirement may be a dramatic change to personal life. But self is and should be going on after any dramatic change just as you must go through the sorrow of losing your beloved. This may encourage older people to keep self-esteem and positive attitude toward growing older.
Development theory suggests each individual to have the goals of growing mature, not simply growing older. For Christian maturation discipleship program is necessary not only for younger generations but for older.
I'd like to assert the combination of those three theories rather than to pick up one of them because each theory will compensate and interact with the other.
Section C: Theological Foundations for Aging: My Theology of Aging
I believe aging is a natural process. Actually everything is moving and changing. Just as process thinkers assert, process is actuality of all phenomena, natural and spiritual. I want to opt a process perspective.
1. Doing and Being.16)
Aging is considered losing sensations and activities. It is true in some respect. But in other respect when getting older you may obtain intuitions while losing sensational data. You have probably worked for social recognition or self-satisfaction. When you were young you had to move on and on for higher achievements, so that you might be under less enjoyment of what you were doing. But if you are getting older and older, you may simply enjoy what you are doing. In this respect old age is the time for enjoyment and celebration.
2. The Attainment of Peace.17)
Throughout lifetime we are peaceless so many times. Many components operate in our peaceless life. From Christian perspective when you move toward your own direction you lose peace as St. Augustine of Hippo pointed out. For this reason we regards God's call and following it as so important in attaining peace in our spiritual journey.
According to process theory God's call is unique to everybody in every moment. You don't need compare yourself with others. If you respond to God's love, your response has itself value. But many times you try to think your love with regard to contribution to many. Your loving has itself meaning and value without regard to how significant you make contributions to the existence of God and neighbors. In this way your spiritual journey passes naturally into peace.
3. The Contribution of Wisdom.18)
The modern human beings tend to accelerate the accumulation of knowledge. Computer has contributed to this phenomenon. So younger generations tend to take older people as less competent in information society and as even useless. But human life is sustained not simply by the quantity of knowledge but profoundly by the quality of knowledge, that is, wisdom.
We Koreans are to respect the old because they have accumulated wisdom more precious than knowledge in constructing better society. Younger generations have pursued some goals, so tend to view realities from such goal-pursuing perspective. It is never easy for them to move beyond that perspective. But older generation may stand and see from different perspective. Their different perspective will inspire and enrich younger generations. With regard to contribution to society by wisdom none of generation can match for the older generation.
4. Dying.19)
Dying is fearful. We tears when we lose our beloved. If you feel so painful at a certain death, you may deplore and deteriorate into depression. But human living is not simply natural. It is more than that. It has the spiritual dimension.
From Christian-process perspective dying is not disappearing but being accepted by God in eternity. I have pondered how I must understand death. If God really loves me, how can he allow me to perish? What if I die suddenly in a flight or car or boat? Where goes my endeavors to love, achieve, and sacrifice?
A year ago Hangul & Computer the Korean software company was about to become bankrupt. It was dying because many people including government officials used that program by illegal copies. When Bill Gates tried to purchase that company and to eradicate the soil of Korean software industry, Koreans began to purchase the softwares of Hangul & Computer. In recent the company has recovered its financial standing. When it was not loved by people it was about to disappear. But when people began to love it, it came to survive.
Everybody knows Coke is not good for health. But the company has lived for almost a century because many people throughout the countries have loved Coke. No matter how vicious it is to our health, as far as loved by many people, it will survive longer.
Likewise, any existence loved by God the eternal will live eternally, never perish. In the face of immediate death we have nothing to comfort those in losses. I feel deeply sorrowful. But God is love, and his love is never ending. Whoever is loved by God the enternal will never perish but be cherished by God eternally, so that we may have courage to be and to die. This is what we believe based on biblical witnesses and supported by process philosophy.
Section D: Religiosity Among Older Adults
I'd like to speak of a special virtue of older people as accountability. I define accountability as responsibility with regard to relationships. I presume that responsibility is more broadly used than responsible act with regard to relationships. I'd like to confine responsibility to a restricted meaning.
When there took place a serious turmoil, my older people behaved with accountability. Many young opposed me and even tried to drive me out of the church. When I am remembering now that incident, the issues were very trivial. But the young did not recognize that fact. At that time my older members said, "It's nothing. It does not determine my or your destiny. Almost all issues under disputes in local churches make no difference at all about our status as the children of God and about our spiritual journey. Once when I was young, I strongly resisted my former pastor. I thought it was necessary and absolute from my perspective. A few decades later I found the issue for which I felt obliged to fight was nothing. I realized it was O.K. whether it was done in this or that way. Under God's gratuitous love many things could be done in this way or that way." Their wisdom saved me from crisis.
No matter how well-balanced and prudent you are in thinking, you may not know the whole truth because you may see reality as such from one perspective. Getting old is not always getting persistent but frequently growing mature by viewing realities from other perspective(s).
One of my older people told me, "I come to know what the Bible says all about. Why do the Scriptural passages emphasize the virtue of obedience so many times? When I was young, I thought good faith is claiming something righteous. From that perspective I found so many things and people unrighteous and criticized them. But I found one day the Church of God could be established by such claims. She has no coercing power to correct or punish like school or government even when you do not come, even when you are lazy for church works. Throughout my 36 year spiritual journey I realized faith is claiming not, claiming-not my own righteousness but being claimed righteous by God. I will never repeat disobedience in the rest of my life."
But I don't want to idealize what older people are. I find my older people are very slow to move in some respect. I know they are very persistent in some respect. But in other respect they think reality as such not from the single minded but muti-dimensional perspective. When you are young you can never reach the other aspect of reality as such. But when you grow older you naturally know what's really going on around you even if you do not try hard so. In this respect getting old is not a punishment but an amazing gift from above. You many teach the young to see other elements of reality or it from different perspectives. This is the gift and privilege of the old as Koreans have admitted for decades of centuries.
In addition their loving is more comforting and embracing compared considering youths' or younger adults' loving is sometimes hurting and secluding. Without getting older it is never easy for human beings to achieve such virtue. In this respect getting older is growing mature in humanity.
A secular Wisdom says, "The pen is mightier than the sword." We know many cases human capacities are not restricted to physical conditions, if significantly influenced by it though. Older people are the live evidences of that. They are really the crown of glory because they have deeper intuitions and wisdom in their spiritual journey. Such gift is unique among older people. The Church of God is built upon such gift of theirs.
1) Dorsia Carson, ENGAGING IN MINISTRY WITH OLDER ADULTS, The Alban Institute Publication, 1997, p.6
2) Richard H. Gentzler, Jr. & Donald F. Clingan, AGING: GOD'S CHALLENGE TO CHURCH & SYNAGOGUE, The Discipleship Resources, 1996, p. 6.
3) Ibid, p. 7
4) Ibid., p. 8.
5) Ibid, pp. 13-4.
6) Ibid, pp. 16-21.
7) Robert C. Atchley, "The Continuity of the Spiritual Self" in AGING, SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION, edited by Melvin A. Kimble, Susan H. McFadden, James W. Ellor, and James J. Seeber, Fortress Press, 1995, p. 68.
8) Ibid., p. 69.
9) Ibid.
10) Ibid., p. 70.
11) Ibid., p. 71.
12) Linda J. Vogel, "Spiritual Development in Later Life" in AGING, SPIRITUALITY, AND RELIGION, Fortress Press, 1995, p. 75.
13) Ibid., p. 76.
14) Ibid., p. 77.
15) Ibid., p. 79.
16) Thomas AU, John B. Cobb, Jr., "A Process Theology Perspective" in AGING, SPIRITUALITY, AND RELIGION, Fortress Press, 1995, p. 444.
17) Ibid., p. 452.
18) Ibid., p. 454.
19) Ibid., p. 455.