---
product_id: 7511549
title: "Dementia: Living in the Memories of God"
brand: "john swinton"
price: "R1083"
currency: ZAR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/7511549-dementia-living-in-the-memories-of-god
store_origin: ZA
region: South Africa
---

# Dementia: Living in the Memories of God

**Brand:** john swinton
**Price:** R1083
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Dementia: Living in the Memories of God by john swinton
- **How much does it cost?** R1083 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/7511549-dementia-living-in-the-memories-of-god)

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## Description

Dementia: Living in the Memories of God

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    An Important Book on an Increasingly Common Condition
  

*by E***R on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 6, 2013*

John Swinton, professor of practical theology and pastoral care at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and founding director of the Centre for Spirituality, Health, and Disability has written Dementia: Living in the Presence of God (Eerdmans, 2012). In it he explores the question: Who Am I? by looking at the different definitions of what constitutes a person. He approaches dementia as a thoroughly theological condition. His basic premise is that standard neurobiological explanations of dementia  are deeply inadequate for a full understanding of the nature and experience of dementia. He challenges the notion that when people lose their memories that they are no longer the person they were before. Human beings are much more than bundles of memories. Instead our identity is tightly held in the memories of God.He questions the description of personhood in terms of purely human relationships. "The problem is that if it is our relationships that make up our personhood, then presumably if we don't have such relationships, we are no longer persons." But what about our relationship with God? "To be a person is to be in an I-Thou relationship specifically with God." The security of human personhood is wholly determined by God. "Even if human beings do not or cannot respond, they remain persons as God the absolute Person continues to relate with them." (Martin Buber) Swinton writes that it is impossible to understand the full meaning of being a human person without first understanding who God is and where human beings stand  in relation to God. "It is only when we begin to realize and acknowledge the position of human beings before God that the situation of people with dementia can be fully understood, their personhood authenticated, and their care effectively implemented." We are radically dependent on God. Christian discipleship is about learning to receive our life as a gift without regret. We are not the authors of our own stories. "The experience of dementia brings to the fore a broader amnesia that has befallen the world which has caused it to forget where and what it is: creation. "There is more to being human than memory alone. We are more than our brain's structure and function, which declines daily. Loss of memory does not inevitably lead to loss of self and self-identity. None of us are clear about who we are if who we are is determined by the accuracy of what we remember. To be human is to be held in the memory of God. God watches over us and know us intimately, and remembers us. It is not a person's memory that assures them of their identity, it is the memory of God and, by proxy, the memory of others. (Psalm 139)We Christians are called to be attentive to the presence of God in others. To be attentive is to pay close attention to the other, and in particular to those among us who may be considered weak and vulnerable (1 Cor.12:21-31). A church that remembers well and is attentive to the needs of people with advanced dementia is a church that is remaining faithful. To love one another we need to be present for one another. Love means saying to the other: "it's good that you exist; it's good that you are in this world." We care for the body-self, not just the mind. The body remembers even when the brain does not.Swinton calls for an understanding of the affliction of dementia as part of the passion of Christ. He describes people with dementia as strangers in our midst, but since all believers in Christ are aliens and strangers in this world we have a vocation to include the disabled by providing hospitality to them, for as Jesus said, "I was a stranger and you took me in." (Matt.25)This is an important book that throws much gospel light on an increasingly common affliction.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    God Remembers
  

*by A***N on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 23, 2022*

This has been a timely read for me. My wife does not have dementia but she is experiencing 'brain-aging'. It is both challenging and difficult to grow old together learning to adjust to our failing mental abilities. This book is very insightful pointing out the areas of change that are needed when growing older. Having read the author's hypothesis, and digested his argument, I am in agreement with his conclusion.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Profound in many ways
  

*by D***N on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 2, 2021*

This book makes a good, solid case for seeing people with dementia as more than they are, making sure that we don't lose sight of the fact that they, as well as we who are not sick with this disease, are made in the image of God and are worthy of love, care and respect.

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*Product available on Desertcart South Africa*
*Store origin: ZA*
*Last updated: 2026-03-19*