Alzheimer’s and the Dementia of God

Recent developments in the theory and practice of care for persons with dementia
have reopened questions, traditionally explored by theologians, to do with the nature
of personal identity and its dialectical relationship to social recognition. This new
perspective on classical theological questions serves as a potential theological resource
in contemporary western society, where God appears to have withdrawn from the
prevailing public discourses. In this article, I explore the analogical potential of imagery
of a ‘dementing God’, as a way to describe the contemporary experience of western
Christians, to develop appropriate responses to the current climate in public
theology and to continue to talk of God in public, while respecting Bonhoeffer’s
desire to celebrate a secular world in which humanity may ‘come of age’.