Image of God
The following is an extract from an article published by the Ecclesia Project, the full version of which can be found here, where further issues are also unpacked.
PERSONHOOD, THE DIVINE IMAGE, AND DEMENTIA
Alzheimer's Disease has sometimes been termed “the theological disease” because of the fundamental questions it raises about sel ood and the ima- go Dei. In the time of Jesus, sel ood and the divine image were strongly associated with corporality, which is why leprosy was so widely feared. e physical dis gurement caused by Hansen’s dis- ease robbed its victims of their essential identity as the “self ” they had known. Additionally, those with leprosy were barred from entering the Temple because they were no longer perfect o er- ings—no longer fully formed in the divine image—limiting direct access to the presence of God. Purity laws also removed them from their normal role in the web of relationships that constituted com- munity; lepers were unclean, and therefore barred from physical contact with friends and neighbors. When Jesus touched lepers, as he so o en did, he provided healing in multiple ways, restor- ing their sel ood, a rming their relationship with God, and re- storing their relationship with the persons who constituted their community.
In our era, selfhood and the imago Dei are almost exclusively associated with cognition: “I think, therefore I am.” Cognition is essential to the abilities we have been taught give our lives worth and meaning: productivity, autonomy, independence, etc. Dementia is the most feared illness among persons over the age of 65 because it threatens our identity as selves and our role as pro- ductive, contributing members of the community. e constructs of modernity tell us that “becoming a burden on others” marks us as a failure at the task of successful aging.
Even as those with leprosy were barred from the Temple and removed from social relationships with others, the shame and stigma too o en associated with dementia can lead to similar isolation. Friends may stop calling or visiting, mumbling phrases like “he’s just an empty shell of the man he used to be.” Family members may cease bringing the person with dementia to partici- pate in worship, claiming “she really doesn’t get anything out of it anymore.” Too o en we fail the tests of friendship and community, treating the person living with dementia as one who has already passed from this world.
But Christians have a di erent story to tell about what gives our lives worth, value and meaning. Personhood is not de ned solely by our corporal bodies or our cognitive abilities, but rather by our relationships with others. And we are creatures created in the divine image not because we physically or intellectually resemble the Almighty One, but because God remains in faithful relationship with us in all circumstances and conditions. God’s goodness can be experienced within the reality of cognitive loss, even as it can be within physical disability, chronic pain or heart- rending grief.
Some question whether persons with dementia can continue to live their faith if they are no longer able to remember God. They can, because faith is not dependent upon individual memories or cognitive ability. If we should forget God, God will not forget us. And if we forget God, our community of faith can remember us to God and bring God’s presence into our lives through means that do not require us to grasp that presence cognitively.
PERSONHOOD, THE DIVINE IMAGE, AND DEMENTIA
Alzheimer's Disease has sometimes been termed “the theological disease” because of the fundamental questions it raises about sel ood and the ima- go Dei. In the time of Jesus, sel ood and the divine image were strongly associated with corporality, which is why leprosy was so widely feared. e physical dis gurement caused by Hansen’s dis- ease robbed its victims of their essential identity as the “self ” they had known. Additionally, those with leprosy were barred from entering the Temple because they were no longer perfect o er- ings—no longer fully formed in the divine image—limiting direct access to the presence of God. Purity laws also removed them from their normal role in the web of relationships that constituted com- munity; lepers were unclean, and therefore barred from physical contact with friends and neighbors. When Jesus touched lepers, as he so o en did, he provided healing in multiple ways, restor- ing their sel ood, a rming their relationship with God, and re- storing their relationship with the persons who constituted their community.
In our era, selfhood and the imago Dei are almost exclusively associated with cognition: “I think, therefore I am.” Cognition is essential to the abilities we have been taught give our lives worth and meaning: productivity, autonomy, independence, etc. Dementia is the most feared illness among persons over the age of 65 because it threatens our identity as selves and our role as pro- ductive, contributing members of the community. e constructs of modernity tell us that “becoming a burden on others” marks us as a failure at the task of successful aging.
Even as those with leprosy were barred from the Temple and removed from social relationships with others, the shame and stigma too o en associated with dementia can lead to similar isolation. Friends may stop calling or visiting, mumbling phrases like “he’s just an empty shell of the man he used to be.” Family members may cease bringing the person with dementia to partici- pate in worship, claiming “she really doesn’t get anything out of it anymore.” Too o en we fail the tests of friendship and community, treating the person living with dementia as one who has already passed from this world.
But Christians have a di erent story to tell about what gives our lives worth, value and meaning. Personhood is not de ned solely by our corporal bodies or our cognitive abilities, but rather by our relationships with others. And we are creatures created in the divine image not because we physically or intellectually resemble the Almighty One, but because God remains in faithful relationship with us in all circumstances and conditions. God’s goodness can be experienced within the reality of cognitive loss, even as it can be within physical disability, chronic pain or heart- rending grief.
Some question whether persons with dementia can continue to live their faith if they are no longer able to remember God. They can, because faith is not dependent upon individual memories or cognitive ability. If we should forget God, God will not forget us. And if we forget God, our community of faith can remember us to God and bring God’s presence into our lives through means that do not require us to grasp that presence cognitively.