Abstract
The challenges of aging and how to cope with caring for the elderly are not peculiar to any particular society. The Bible clearly teaches that there should be reciprocal dependency between parents and children. While children depend on their parents in meeting their needs at early stage in life, children on the other hand, should care and support their parents when they are old. Unfortunately, there have been negligible attitude on the care and support the elderly receives from their immediate family members. The task which this research undertook was to explore a possible means of alleviating the plight of the elderly by pragmatically applying biblical teachings on family responsibilities and support from the church. Basically, the support provided by the church may include welfare packages such as feeding, clothing, housing and health care in the society. Hence, this study examined place of biblical teachings as well as involvement and assistance of the church in addressing inequality challenges and enhancing sustainability among the elderly in our contemporary times. Data for the study was gathered from Bible verses, oral interviews, relevant literature and news reports. Findings show that there is a paradigm shift in biblical principles. In conclusion, this paper, based on the cited Bible references, proved that adherence to biblical teachings will have positive effects on the well-being of older people in our societies. The paper argues strongly that to properly address the challenges of inequalities and enhancing sustainability among the aged, biblical teachings and practices are indispensable.
Presenters
Philip EgbuleLecturing/Researching, Department of Social Science Education, University of Delta, Agbor, Delta, Nigeria
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
ELDERLY, AGED, FAMILY, INEQUALITIES, SUSTAINABILITY, THE CHURCH, CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES
