stage when it says: “Train up a boy according to the way for him; even when he grows old he will not turn aside from it.”​—Proverbs 22:6.

Soon the child attends school, and for a number of years his major project each day is taking in new knowledge about different subjects. His natural desire to learn is handled to some degree by his teachers. He learns new concepts, new skills, and the world gradually opens up for him.

All too quickly school years are over, and a young adult steps out into the world. He now has to learn how to deal with grown-up people and acquire skills for making a living. In most cases he ends up in a regular job, and here the learning process starts to slow down. Most young adults get married, have children, are burdened with pressures and responsibilities, and they gradually cease to enrich their lives with new learning.

When the family grows up, the parents find that now they have time for themselves again. But, in many cases, the pattern of not learning has been established. They are not as inclined as they were when young to start investigating new things, or to ask questions. In Japan some speak of being born in another era. A man may say, ‘I was born in the Meiji era.’ That was the political era that ended in 1912. Hence, having reached an age of at least seventy, he feels his learning days are over and he could never pick up new thoughts in this modern, incomprehensible age.

But does that have to be the case? True, as a person ages his physical body changes. His joints may get stiffer, his muscles less pliable, his eyesight a little weaker and his hearing a little less acute. But unless he gets sick, this causes only a slowing down, not a stopping of all activities. The fact that a group of over-seventies could hold an athletic meet proves that. Is the same thing true for the mind? Or is it true that a person can be too old to learn?

Too Old to Learn?​—“Never!”

IS IT possible to be too old to learn? Well, consider just a few of the things elderly people have achieved. At ninety-two years of age composer Irving Berlin was still writing music and pianist Arthur Rubinstein was still giving performances at ninety-four. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, at the age of ninety-two, took up the study of Greek. At the age of eighty, Moses embarked on a new career as national leader and public speaker. (Exodus 7:7) And the apostle John must have been in his nineties when he was used to write his well-known Gospel and the book of Revelation.

No, age does not have to limit the mind’s activity. There are some diseases that can slow down the thinking processes of the elderly. The main one of these is Alzheimer’s disease, sometimes called senility, that causes physical deterioration in the brain. Some other diseases show similar symptoms. But the vast majority of older people do not suffer from such diseases. For these, one researcher said, “Creativity is ageless.”

In tests at Cambridge University, England, the performances of some old people were as good as those of the young students. Dr. Weinberg, a psychiatrist and recognized authority on aging, reports that, unless some disease intervenes, a person’s mind retains vigor and learning ability into a fine old age​—particularly if older people keep physically active and mix with people who care for them. “The future for the elderly is bright,” says seventy-year-old Dr. Weinberg, “as long as they maintain their curiosity and their desire to learn and to grow.”

For some, this has certainly been so. In fact, Dr. Weinberg’s statement has been proved true doubtless in a more remarkable way than even he anticipated.

Time to Change Course

Consider, for example, Alice Okon in Nigeria. Her son was a practicing Christian, and he encouraged his mother to read the Bible and learn of the hope it offers. Eventually, she consented to study the Bible, was built up in faith and, at the age of eighty, was baptized in water to show her determination to use the rest of her life serving God.

She strongly believes the statement: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) And because she now exercises that faith, she looks forward confidently to the eternal life that God promised. At eighty years of age, she certainly was not too old to learn.

To Make Decisions

Old people can make tough decisions and live with the results of them. Seventy-nine-year-old Paul Iryang Atua, who also lives in Nigeria, had a difficult decision to make. All his life he had been seeking a religion that taught Bible truth. Eventually, Christian witnesses of Jehovah called on him, and he knew that he had found what he was looking for. However, others were not pleased with his decision.

A minister from a religion with which Paul had previously associated visited him. When he saw a Bible on the table in Paul’s house, he seized it, called it a false religious book and ripped it to pieces. Paul now had to deal with this irate man and calm him down, while trying to defend some of the Bible truths that he had learned.

The minister was not satisfied. He angrily left and tried to stir up persecution against Paul. Moreover, Paul’s fellow villagers wanted to appoint him a village chief to distract him from his newfound faith. Paul rejected their offer, realizing their motive.

Then Paul had to take an even more difficult step. The Bible tells us that a Christian, to be pleasing to God, must be “a husband of one wife.” (1 Timothy 3:2) So Paul had to make arrangements, in harmony with Christian principles, to become a monogamist. This he did. His marriage was legalized, and, finally, he could be baptized.

Remember, Paul was seventy-nine years old when he made these major adjustments in his life. He says: “Even though all these changes have taken place in my old age, I am thankful to Jehovah that he has provided the opportunity to use my last days in his service.” Paul, too, now has a much brighter view of the future than he used to have. Too old to learn? Not seventy-nine-year-old Paul Iryang Atua!

In Spite of Illness

Elderly people sometimes have health problems, but this does not have to prevent them from being curious about things and wanting to learn. A full-time evangelist named Michiyo Fujimi found this to be true. Michiyo was visiting people in the northern part of Honshu Island, Japan, when she met elderly Mr. Kato.

Mr. Kato attracted Michiyo’s attention when he said: “The God of Christianity wants people to have life, not death. Is that not so?” It was an intriguing observation. However, a discussion was very difficult because the old man was almost totally deaf. He was interested in reading, however, and Michiyo left Bible magazines with him. She tried to help him to study the Bible, but he did not seem to understand the arrangement. So for three years, she regularly took Bible magazines for him to read. She learned to answer any questions he had by means of pencil and paper.

A few months ago Mr. Kato​—now ninety years old—​indicated that he had some things he wanted to discuss. He had gained a deep knowledge of the Bible from his reading. A magazine article had directed him to get in touch with Jehovah’s Witnesses, since they could help him to learn how to do God’s will. He asked: “How do I get in touch with Jehovah’s Witnesses?”

Michiyo raised her index finger to her nose​—a Japanese gesture meaning “I am the one.” Yes, she was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The old man was delighted and wanted to know where the Kingdom Hall was. He had learned about that, too, from his reading. Now, in spite of his deafness, this elderly man is studying the Bible using the pencil-and-paper method of communication. He is getting a clear understanding of Bible truths and is associating with fellow Christians. Is Mr. Kato, at ninety, too old to learn? Certainly not!

And neither is Mrs. Takahashi. Compared with Mr. Kato, she may appear young​—she is “only” seventy-three years old! But she has a problem. Forty-three years ago she went blind, and she never had the opportunity to learn Braille. Yet when she was contacted by Jehovah’s Witnesses, she indicated that she wanted to learn about the Bible, so two evangelists studied it with her. Because of her blindness she had to memorize what she learned; hence, at seventy-three years of age, Mrs. Takahashi started to memorize parts of the Bible.

Now, she regularly attends religious meetings in spite of her affliction and age. And, although she is liable to suffer from travel sickness, she has traveled 600 kilometers (370 mi.) in order to attend a religious convention. Last year she was baptized. Too old to learn? Mrs. Takahashi did not think so!

Why They Say “No!”

Yes, as Dr. Weinberg said: “The future for the elderly is bright as long as they maintain their curiosity and their desire to learn and to grow.” For those who in their old age develop a curiosity about God and his purposes, and a desire to learn about him and to grow in faith, the future is very bright.

They realize that their life up to now​—whether seventy, eighty or ninety years or more—​has been a gift from God. They also realize that, even though they are old and experienced, there are still things they can learn. In fact, by God’s reckoning, they are not really so old. The Bible says: “One day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8) By this calculation, an eighty-year-old man has lived for only about two hours! Hence, even an old person can learn from the wisdom of God, who lives “from time indefinite to time indefinite.”​—Psalm 90:2.

Moreover, God offers to all, young and old, the prospect of living as long into the future as he does. Jesus Christ said: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) Is it possible to be too old to respond to this offer from God? Around the world, elderly men and women are answering: “Never!”

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In tests at Cambridge University, England, the performances of some old people were as good as those of the young students

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At ninety years of age Iwaji Kato, although almost totally deaf, was not too old to learn the true religion

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Tei Takahashi, seventy-three years old and blind, shares with others what she has learned