From Dust to Dust: A Conversation with Jen Wilkin on the Theology of Aging

October 12, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Jen Wilkin’s mother died in 2022. She had multiple sclerosis, and Wilkin cared for her at home during hospice. Watching her mother perform "the hard labor of dying" sent Wilkin back to Genesis 1 and 2, where she found something she hadn’t expected: a theology of aging that predates the Fall. The result is a book that tries to answer a question the church rarely asks—what do we do with our bodies until we die?

The false story of independence

Wilkin argues that most Christians absorb a cultural myth about the shape of a life: you start dependent, you become independent, and you stay independent until you die. If you return to dependence, you have failed. That script is nowhere in Scripture. In Genesis 1, time is passing before sin enters—"it was evening and it was morning"—and God tells the man and woman to be fruitful and multiply, which implies aging into maturity. Pre-Fall, bodies and souls would have increased "from glory to glory." Post-Fall, the arc bends downward for the body, but for the believer, the inner self is still being transformed.

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What you'll learn

1 (04:22) **Why a Theology of Aging?** - Jen explains what motivated her to write a book on aging, moving beyond cosmetic concerns to deeper theological questions.
2 (07:13) **The Fear and Contempt for Aging** - Preston confesses his own dread of aging, and Jen diagnoses the cultural lies fueling it.
3 (13:12) **What Makes Christian Aging Different?** - Jen lays out the foundational question: what is the biblical theology of the body and of aging?
4 (15:27) **Aging Before the Fall** - Jen explains that time and maturity existed in Eden, challenging the idea that aging itself is a curse.
5 (17:58) **Aging as Hiding and Shame** - The conversation connects modern anti-aging efforts to the Garden of Eden narrative.
6 (20:07) **The Chiasm of Life: Dying is Like Labor** - Jen shares the profound observation that death mirrors birth, forming a literary and theological structure.
7 (26:40) **Dignifying the Elderly vs. Infantilizing Them** - Practical advice on how to treat aging parents as adults, not children.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Jackie Perry

Show Notes

What does the Bible teach us about aging, and how might our perspective change if we viewed getting older through a theological lens rather than a cultural one?

Preston and Jackie sit down with Jen Wilkin to discuss what Scripture says on the topic, explored further in Jen’s new book “Dust to Dust, Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World.”

Jen, Jackie and Preston talk about why our culture often approaches aging with fear and contempt, how the fall has shaped our experience of our bodies, and what it looks like to embrace aging as part of the story God is telling. They also discuss caring for aging parents, embracing our own future dependence, honoring the wisdom of older generations, and the church’s responsibility to care for people throughout their entire lives.

Check out Jen’s new book, “Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World” – https://www.amazon.com/Dust-Aging-Wisely-Anti-Aging-World/dp/B0GL4W27PX/

Connect with Jen and check out her Bible studies

“At My Mother’s Deathbed, I Discovered the Symmetry of a Long Life” (Jen Wilkin, Christianity Today)

Scripture references:

Genesis 1, 2 and 3

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