Disability Society And Theology

Disability, Society and Theology: Voices from Africa is the result of a workshop which brought together African theologians, persons with disabilities and disability expertise in the Region to prepare resource materials to enrich the disability study process in the context of the Africa region. The book is in six parts and includes contributions from scholars across the continent. The parts are: Disability Theology: Issue to Debate; The Able Disabled and the Disabled Church: The Churchs Response to Disability; Disability and Society; Disability Theology: Some Interfaces; Disability and Caregiving; and Disability in the African Experience.

“No other mainstream theologian has so consistently and trenchantly taken a stand with and for people with developmental disabilities.”—John Swinton Critical Reflections on Stanley Hauerwas’ Theology of Disability: Disabling Society, Enabling Theology examines the influential writings of one of the most important contemporary theologians. Over the past thirty years, Time magazine Theologian of the Year (2001) Dr. Stanley Hauerwas has consistently presented a theological position which values the deep theological significance of people with developmental disabilities, as well as their importance to the life and the faithfulness of the church. Ten key Hauerwas essays on disability are brought together in a single volume—essays which reflect and illustrate his thinking on the theology of disability, along with responses to each essay from multidisciplinary authoritative sources including Jean Vanier, Michael Bérubé, John O'Brien and Ray S. Anderson. Dr. Hauerwas has always been a fearless voice in the field of theology. Critical Reflections on Stanley Hauerwas’ Theology of Disability: Disabling Society, Enabling Theology presents his work on the true meaning of disability and provides critical multidisciplinary discussions about his challenging ideas and their validity. In his essays, Hauerwas discusses his views on issues such as the social construction of developmental disabilities, the experience of profound developmental disabilities in relation to liberal society, and the community as the “hermeneutic of the gospel.” Included is a new essay by Dr. Hauerwas responding to the contributors to the book. Critical Reflections on Stanley Hauerwas’ Theology of Disability: Disabling Society, Enabling Theology explores Hauerwas’ thoughts on: the political nature of disability in liberal society the creation of a society where there is more love the dimensions of what is “normal” the key role of those treated as outsiders in building community the theological understanding of parenting which places responsibility for the individual child firmly within the Christian community using the model of the church as a social ethic developmental disability being equated with suffering the concept of the person in the theology of disability the developmentally disabled and the criteria for “humanhood” the importance of family in the process of caring for people with developmental disabilities Critical Reflections on Stanley Hauerwas’ Theology of Disability: Disabling Society, Enabling Theology is a fascinating exploration of contemporary theological reflection on disability and is essential reading for students and teachers of practical theology, pastoral counselors, clergy, chaplains, and social and health care students.

This book provides a framework for a new theology of disability which begins with the notion that limits are an unsurprising element of human life. This profoundly challenges common sense categories of disabled and non-disabled and offers significant new images and possibilities for theological reflection and action

The Christian gospel compels humanity to embrace deeper ways of being human together that will overcome false divisions and exclusions in search of flourishing and graced communities. Presenting both short narratives emerging out of theological reflection on experience and analytical essays arising from engagement in scholarly conversations Theology and the Experience of Disability is a conscious attempt to develop theology by and with people with disabilities instead of theology about people with disabilities. A mixture of academic, professional, practical, and/or lived experience is brought to the topic in search of constructive multi-disciplinary proposals for church and society. The result is an interdisciplinary engagement with the constructive possibilities that emerge from a distinctly Christian understanding of disability as lived experience.

Persons with disabilities in Church and society : a historical and sociological perspective /Samuel Kabue --Claiming and developing a disability hermeneutics : towards a liberating theology of disability /Arne Fritzson --Perfect God and imperfect creation : in the image of God and disabled /Joseph D. Galgalo --Sin, suffering, and disability in God's world /A. Wati Longchar --One in Christ : priesthood of the disabled and the exercising of gifts /C.B. Peter --Biblical perspectives on disability /Sammy Githuku --Lazarus, come out! : how contextual Bible study can empower the disabled /Janet Lees --The Church, public policy, and disability concerns in Kenya /Phitalis Were Masakhwe --Cultural barriers to the disabled people's participation in Church life /Reuben Kigame --Education, employment, and health : a disability perspective /Anjeline Okola --Society and leadership : challenges and opportunities for people with disabilities /Esther Mombo --Disability : social challenges and family responses /Joseph Shiriko --Disability and sexuality /Salome Wairimu Muigai --Gender and disability challenges wihin the Church /Joseph Sinyo --Combating HIV & Aids among persons with disability : a disability perspective /Paul Chappell --Persons with disabilities and psychological perspectives /Ndung'u J.B. Ikenye --Psychosocial disability : attitudes and barriers to social integration in Church and society /Janet Amegatcher --The Church and pastoral counseling for disability /David Kiarie --Persons with disabilities in Madagascar /Ralphine Razaka --Persons with disabilities in Malawi : what are the issues? /Rachel Kamchacha Kachaje --A profile of Tanzanians with disabilities /Kaganzi Rutachwamagyo --Persons with disabilities in Uganda /Gidudu Balayo N. Seezi --Persons with disability in South Africa /Joy Sebenzile P. Matsebula.

A theologian and father of a child with disabilities reveals how disability highlights our common brokenness and need for grace.

Disability is not a boundary to holiness, because God is with us. But it can sometimes be an obstacle to full participation in the life of the Church, simply because many do not understand what is needed to help people with disabilities overcome any physical, mental, or interpersonal challenges they may face in church and in leading an Orthodox Christian life. This book addresses the question from theological, practical, and experiential perspectives, giving individuals and families with disabilities the opportunity to voice their needs and suggest some things the rest of us can do to make them welcome in the household of God.

Pastor Lamar Hardwick was thirty-six years old when he found out he was on the autism spectrum. This revelation prompted him to reconsider the church's responsibilities to the disabled community. Insisting that the good news of Jesus affirms God's image in all people, Hardwick offers practical steps and strategies to build stronger, truly inclusive communities of faith.

For two millennia Christians have thought about what human impairment is and how faith communities and society should respond to people with perceived impairments. But never has one volume collected the most significant Christian writings on disability. This book fills that gap. Brian Brock and John Swinton's Disability in the Christian Tradition brings together for the first time key writings by thinkers from all periods of Christian history - including Augustine, Aquinas, Julian of Norwich, Luther, Calvin, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Bonhoeffer, Barth, Hauerwas, and more. Fourteen contemporary experts in theology and disability studies guide readers through each era or group of thinkers, offering clear commentary and highlighting important themes.