Keck found that contemporary theologies of a liberationist bent were of little help to the families of Alzheimer's patients. That is no comfort to those whose dementia leaves them without the capacity to act. By contrast, classical theologies emphasize that it is God who acts on our behalf. Similarly unhelpful were theological voices that echo the individualism of our age. Alzheimer's patients lose their sense of self, and it is only in the collective memory and the common prayer of the community that they find their Christian identity.
Classical theology emphasizes that communal context.
Current theologies also play down the soul, locating the person in the body-mind unity. Classic theologies help Alzheimer's families by locating the person in something other than body or mind. Keck's book is a rewarding reappropriation of classical theology through the crucible of Alzheimer's. As part of the Lilly Endowment-funded Religion, Culture, and Family Project, I had the opportunity to respond to a paper Witte wrote, in which he outlined in bold strokes the differences between medieval Catholicism and Reformation Protestantism in their understanding of marriage. Building on that paper, Witte's book chronicles the history of marriage law and the theology with which it was inextricably intertwined from the high Middle Ages through the Reformation and on into the Enlightenment.