So, I was in Church yesterday and my pastor said “Those who attend Church regularly, live longer than those who don’t” and I posted it to my facebook page. Well, the post kinda generated different reactions from friends, some were against the statement while some were in full support of it…so I decided to do a research with the help of a friend (Rotzman) and here’s what I found.
According to the Telegraph, “If you want to live longer, always go to Church…Research shows that regular churchgoers live longer than non-believers.
A 12-year study tracking mortality rates of more than 550
adults over the age of 65 found that those who attend services at least
once a week were 35 per cent more likely to live longer than those who
never attended church….The research also found that going to church boosted an elderly person’s
immune system and made them less likely to suffer clogged arteries or
high blood pressure”
The researchers found that among individuals who reported never
attending religious services, the risk of death over the 12-year period
was 52 per cent.
By contrast, the risk of death of those who attended church services more than once a week was 17 per cent over the same period.
Thirty five per cent of the 64 participants who never attended church died before the end of the study.
Rev John Hardie, a Church of Scotland priest and former chaplain of
St Paul’s Cathedral in Dundee, celebrated his 88th birthday this year
and attributed his longevity to a Christian way of life.
“If you live the type of life that a Christian should live and take things in modernation, then you do live longer,” he said.
“I find that I can have a drop of alcohol now and then and I
smoke a pipe, but I don’t inhale. At the moment, I go to church once a
week but I’m a bit unsteady on my pins and I find that I need another
priest to help me lift the chalice when I take communion at the altar.”
“Going to church doesn’t protect us from all the horrible things that happen, but it gives us the strength to cope with them.”
So, what do you guys think?