Knowing God in Dementia
What Happens to Faith When You Can No Longer Remember?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v4i2.30960Keywords:
Body of Christ, chaplain, dementia, dependence, faith, grace, image of God, memory, personhood, relationshipAbstract
Advanced dementia raises profound questions for what it means to be a person of faith. This article reflects on challenges which it brings, particularly to evangelical Christian faith, including the nature of personhood, cognitive assent to propositional truth and responsive relationship with God. The author concludes that relationality in the body of Christ is a significant key to understanding. Drawing on the writing of theologians, practitioners and Christian scriptures, the article argues that it is consistent with biblical theology, and affirmed by the experience described by those with dementia, that ‘knowing God’ is a relationship available for all, including those with memory loss. Whilst reflecting on the issue of dementia from the perspective of a particular faith tradition, it raises concerns which are relevant to a wide range of mental health disorders and other faith traditions.
References
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Aquinas, T. (1922) The Summa Theologica, Ia, q.93.6, translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 2nd and revised edn. London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne. Available at: http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1982 (accessed: 27 June 2014).
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Brueggemann, W. (2009) An Unsettling God: The Heart of the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
Bryden, C. (2005) Dancing with Dementia: My Story of Living Positively with Dementia. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Bryden, C., and E. MacKinlay (2003) “Dementia: A Spiritual Journey Towards the Divine: A Personal View of Dementia”. Journal of Religious Gerontology 13(3): 69–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J078v13n03_05
Buber, M. (1958) I and Thou. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Davis, R. (1989) My Journey into Alzheimer’s: Helpful Insights for Family and Friends. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
Eastman, S. (2013) “Double Participation and the Responsible Self in Romans 5–8”. In Apocalyptic Paul: Cosmos and Anthropos in Romans 5–8, ed. B. R. Roberts. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.
—(2014) “Second-Personal Knowledge of Divine Action: A View from the Apostle Paul”. Presentation at 2014 Special Divine Action Conference. Oxford: Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion. Available at: http://www.ianramseycentre.info (accessed: 13 May 2016).
—(2016) “Grace and Transformation”. Marginalia: Los Angeles Review of Books. Available at: http://marginalia.lareviewofbooks.org/grace-transformation-susan-eastman/ (accessed: 22 May 2016).
Gaventa, B. R. (2014) “Which Human? What Response? A Reflection on Pauline Theology”. Ex Auditu: An International Journal of Theological Interpretation of Scripture 30: 50–64. Available at: http://wipfandstock.com/ex-auditu-volume-30-encounter-with-god-the-human-response-to-the-divine-initiative.html (accessed 30 May 2016).
Greggs, T. (2010) “Beyond the Binary”. In New Perspectives for Evangelical Theology: Engaging with God, Scripture and the World, ed. T. Greggs. Abingdon: Routledge.
Harris, B. (2008) “Beyond Bebbington: The Quest for Evangelical Identity in a Postmodern Era”. Churchman 122(3): 201–219. Available at: http://churchsociety.org/churchman/articles.asp?art=122/3/Har (accessed 20 July 2016).
Hudson, R. E. (2016) “God’s Faithfulness and Dementia: Christian Theology in Context”. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging 28 (1–2): 50–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15528030.2015.1041669
Jensen, P. (2002) “Resourcing the Aged – Faith, Hope and Love”. Keynote Address given at The Dementia Conference and Exhibition, 10 July 2002. Available at: http://www.sidneyanglicans.net/ (accessed 28 May 2016).
Keck, D. (1996) Forgetting Whose We Are: Alzheimer’s Disease and the Love of God. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Kitwood, T. (1997) Dementia Reconsidered: The Person Comes First. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Kontos, P. C. (2012) “Alzheimer Expressions or Expressions despite Alzheimer’s? Philosophical Reflections on Selfhood and Embodiment”. Occasion: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities 4: 1–12. Available at: http://occasion.stanford.edu/node/102 (accessed 30 May 2016).
Kontos, P. C., and G. Naglie (2009) “Tacit Knowledge of Caring and Embodied Selfhood”. Sociology of Health & Illness 31(5): 688–704. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2009.01158.x
Kuhse, H., and P. Singer (1985) Should the Baby Live?: The Problem of Handicapped Infants. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Macadam, J. (2008) “A Duty to Die?” Interview with Mary Warnock. Life and Work (October): 23–25. http://www.lifeandwork.org/
MacKinlay, E., and C. Trevitt (2012) Finding Meaning in the Experience of Dementia. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Merleau-Ponty, M. (1945 [2012]) Phenomenology of Perception, trans. D. A. Landes Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Classics.
Polanyi, M. (1998) Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Post, Stephen G. (2000) The Moral Challenge of Alzheimer Disease: Ethical Issues from Diagnosis to Dying (2nd edn). Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
Sabat, S. R. (2001) The Experience of Alzheimer’s Disease: Life through a Tangled Veil. Oxford: Blackwell.
—(2006) “Mind, Meaning, and Personhood in Dementia: The Effects of Positioning”. In Dementia: Mind, Meaning and the Person, ed. J. C. Hughes, S. J. Louw and S. R. Sabat, 287–302. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sapp, S. (1998) “‘To See Things as God Sees Them’: Theological Reflections on Pastoral Care to Persons with Dementia”. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy 8(1–2): 25–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J080v08n01_03
Singer, P. (1993) Practical Ethics – Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shamy, E. (2003) A Guide to the Spiritual Dimension of Care for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia: More than Body, Brain and Breath. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Snyder, L. (2003) “Satisfactions and Challenges in Spiritual Faith and Practice for Persons with Dementia”. Dementia 2(3): 299–313. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14713012030023002
Swinton, J. (2012) Dementia: Living in the Memories of God. Grand Rapids, MI and Cambridge: Eerdmans.
—(2013) “What the Body Remembers: Theological Reflections on Dementia”. ABC Religion and Ethics (26 June. Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/ (accessed 27 May 2016).
VandeCreek, L. (2001) Spiritual Care for Persons with Dementia: Fundamentals for Pastoral Practice. New York and Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Warnock, M., and E. MacDonald (2008) Easeful Death: Is There a Case for Assisted Dying? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Williams, R. (2012) “The Person and the Individual: Human Dignity, Human Relationships and Human Limits”. Annual Lecture 2012. London: Theos. Available at: http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk (accessed 27 May 2016).
Wormell, M. (2013) “Coming to Christ in Dementia”. Unpublished dissertation, Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia.
Wright, T. (2012) How God became King: Getting to the Heart of the Gospels. London: SPCK.
Zizioulas, J. D. (1985) Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church. New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
—(2006) Communion and Otherness: Further Studies in Personhood and the Church. London: T&T Clark.
Aquinas, T. (1922) The Summa Theologica, Ia, q.93.6, translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 2nd and revised edn. London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne. Available at: http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1982 (accessed: 27 June 2014).
Augustine of Hippo (401) The Confessions of Augustine, Book 1, trans. E. B. Pusey, Available at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/ (accessed: 27 May 2016).
Bebbington, D. W. (1989) Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1930s. London: Unwin Hyman. https:/doi.org/10.4324/9780203359907
Brueggemann, W. (2009) An Unsettling God: The Heart of the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
Bryden, C. (2005) Dancing with Dementia: My Story of Living Positively with Dementia. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Bryden, C., and E. MacKinlay (2003) “Dementia: A Spiritual Journey Towards the Divine: A Personal View of Dementia”. Journal of Religious Gerontology 13(3): 69–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J078v13n03_05
Buber, M. (1958) I and Thou. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Davis, R. (1989) My Journey into Alzheimer’s: Helpful Insights for Family and Friends. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
Eastman, S. (2013) “Double Participation and the Responsible Self in Romans 5–8”. In Apocalyptic Paul: Cosmos and Anthropos in Romans 5–8, ed. B. R. Roberts. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.
—(2014) “Second-Personal Knowledge of Divine Action: A View from the Apostle Paul”. Presentation at 2014 Special Divine Action Conference. Oxford: Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion. Available at: http://www.ianramseycentre.info (accessed: 13 May 2016).
—(2016) “Grace and Transformation”. Marginalia: Los Angeles Review of Books. Available at: http://marginalia.lareviewofbooks.org/grace-transformation-susan-eastman/ (accessed: 22 May 2016).
Gaventa, B. R. (2014) “Which Human? What Response? A Reflection on Pauline Theology”. Ex Auditu: An International Journal of Theological Interpretation of Scripture 30: 50–64. Available at: http://wipfandstock.com/ex-auditu-volume-30-encounter-with-god-the-human-response-to-the-divine-initiative.html (accessed 30 May 2016).
Greggs, T. (2010) “Beyond the Binary”. In New Perspectives for Evangelical Theology: Engaging with God, Scripture and the World, ed. T. Greggs. Abingdon: Routledge.
Harris, B. (2008) “Beyond Bebbington: The Quest for Evangelical Identity in a Postmodern Era”. Churchman 122(3): 201–219. Available at: http://churchsociety.org/churchman/articles.asp?art=122/3/Har (accessed 20 July 2016).
Hudson, R. E. (2016) “God’s Faithfulness and Dementia: Christian Theology in Context”. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging 28 (1–2): 50–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15528030.2015.1041669
Jensen, P. (2002) “Resourcing the Aged – Faith, Hope and Love”. Keynote Address given at The Dementia Conference and Exhibition, 10 July 2002. Available at: http://www.sidneyanglicans.net/ (accessed 28 May 2016).
Keck, D. (1996) Forgetting Whose We Are: Alzheimer’s Disease and the Love of God. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Kitwood, T. (1997) Dementia Reconsidered: The Person Comes First. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Kontos, P. C. (2012) “Alzheimer Expressions or Expressions despite Alzheimer’s? Philosophical Reflections on Selfhood and Embodiment”. Occasion: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities 4: 1–12. Available at: http://occasion.stanford.edu/node/102 (accessed 30 May 2016).
Kontos, P. C., and G. Naglie (2009) “Tacit Knowledge of Caring and Embodied Selfhood”. Sociology of Health & Illness 31(5): 688–704. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2009.01158.x
Kuhse, H., and P. Singer (1985) Should the Baby Live?: The Problem of Handicapped Infants. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Macadam, J. (2008) “A Duty to Die?” Interview with Mary Warnock. Life and Work (October): 23–25. http://www.lifeandwork.org/
MacKinlay, E., and C. Trevitt (2012) Finding Meaning in the Experience of Dementia. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Merleau-Ponty, M. (1945 [2012]) Phenomenology of Perception, trans. D. A. Landes Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Classics.
Polanyi, M. (1998) Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Post, Stephen G. (2000) The Moral Challenge of Alzheimer Disease: Ethical Issues from Diagnosis to Dying (2nd edn). Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
Sabat, S. R. (2001) The Experience of Alzheimer’s Disease: Life through a Tangled Veil. Oxford: Blackwell.
—(2006) “Mind, Meaning, and Personhood in Dementia: The Effects of Positioning”. In Dementia: Mind, Meaning and the Person, ed. J. C. Hughes, S. J. Louw and S. R. Sabat, 287–302. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sapp, S. (1998) “‘To See Things as God Sees Them’: Theological Reflections on Pastoral Care to Persons with Dementia”. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy 8(1–2): 25–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J080v08n01_03
Singer, P. (1993) Practical Ethics – Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shamy, E. (2003) A Guide to the Spiritual Dimension of Care for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia: More than Body, Brain and Breath. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Snyder, L. (2003) “Satisfactions and Challenges in Spiritual Faith and Practice for Persons with Dementia”. Dementia 2(3): 299–313. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14713012030023002
Swinton, J. (2012) Dementia: Living in the Memories of God. Grand Rapids, MI and Cambridge: Eerdmans.
—(2013) “What the Body Remembers: Theological Reflections on Dementia”. ABC Religion and Ethics (26 June. Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/ (accessed 27 May 2016).
VandeCreek, L. (2001) Spiritual Care for Persons with Dementia: Fundamentals for Pastoral Practice. New York and Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Warnock, M., and E. MacDonald (2008) Easeful Death: Is There a Case for Assisted Dying? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Williams, R. (2012) “The Person and the Individual: Human Dignity, Human Relationships and Human Limits”. Annual Lecture 2012. London: Theos. Available at: http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk (accessed 27 May 2016).
Wormell, M. (2013) “Coming to Christ in Dementia”. Unpublished dissertation, Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia.
Wright, T. (2012) How God became King: Getting to the Heart of the Gospels. London: SPCK.
Zizioulas, J. D. (1985) Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church. New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
—(2006) Communion and Otherness: Further Studies in Personhood and the Church. London: T&T Clark.
Published
2016-12-15
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Williams, P. (2016). Knowing God in Dementia: What Happens to Faith When You Can No Longer Remember?. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, 4(2), 142-157. https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v4i2.30960
