Walking with Jesus in Strange Places

by John Swinton

Theology doesn't come to us neatly packaged from above. There is a sense in which all theology is autobiography. We learn it as we live it, and the place where we live it out is within our own story. It's not that there is no such thing as objective truth. It's just that we come to know what we know not only as we think our way into it with our minds but as we live into it with the whole of our lives. As theologians, our own stories inevitably matter. In this book, John Swinton uses fragments of his own story to show how that story has impacted the way he sees and practices theology. His place of formation walking alongside people living with intellectual disabilities, mental health challenges, and dementia has gifted Swinton with the opportunity to ask different questions of the tradition--questions that emerge from the lives of people who see the world differently. That learning has shaped him as a theologian. It has also raised some crucial questions around the nature of faithfulness, discipleship, and exactly what kind of community the church is and should be in both theory and in practice. As we reflect on these matters, the hope is that all of us together can begin to appreciate more deeply the goodness, kindness, and love of God for all human beings. In the My Theology series, the world's leading Christian thinkers explain some of the principal tenets of their theological beliefs in concise, pocket-sized books. 

Genres: Theology

96 pages, Paperback

Published May 10, 2022

About the author

John Swinton (born 1957) is a Scottish theologian. He is the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen. He is founder of the university's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. He is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and Master of Christ’s College, the university's theological college. Swinton is a major figure in the development of disability theology.

Reviews

[Frank]

There is a lot of wisdom to ponder in this slimmest of books by the Practical Theologian, John Swinton. He notes the problems created by our society placing more emphasis “on issues relating to intellect, reason, productivity, competitiveness and power than on things like love, community, good relationship and human flourishing.”

Within the church, this leads to misunderstanding that knowing things about God is essential so that we find questions like, “How can this person take the sacrament when they don’t know what they are doing?”

Swinton dismisses this forcefully with this example: “Just how much do people think you need to know about Jesus before your salvation is retained or slips way? Such a perspective also makes everyone’s salvation insecure. Imagine standing at the top of a flight of stairs. You trip and fall down the stairs and sustain severe brain damage. At the top of the stairs, you are a disciple, but by the time you reach the bottom you are not! It would be a rather fickle God who treated us in such ways.”

He adds, “We may not know many things, but our knowledge is not the basis for God’s love. We may not remember many things, but God’s memory will not let us go.”

He is most helpful at bringing those on the margins to the center of our thinking about God and that was Jesus’ signature move. His prior service as a nurse and chaplain add depth to his work as an academic and demonstrate how critical it is for those who want to speak of God to do so from lived experience on those same margins.

[Christian Barrett]

Swinton draws from personal experiences to navigate the perplexities of ministering to those who often get abandoned in common evangelical culture and in theological discourses. This is a short, but challenging book that draws readers to think a little more deeply about their theological understanding of all kinds of people in all kinds of places.

[Alyssa Foll]

What a beautiful book on formation, vocation, and theology! I love the idea of a "My Theology" series which looks at the intersection of one's autobiography and the theological work that he or she is doing. John Swinton writes about his formation as a nurse, a healthcare chaplain, and as an academic theologian. I deeply appreciate the questions that each of these experiences formed within him. When he was a mental health nurse caring for dementia patients he found himself asking, "What happens when a person can no longer confess Christ? What happens when a person's memory is gone and they can no longer believe in the essential aspects of faith?" There is a sense in which these questions might not have occurred to Dr. Swinton were it not for his formation and vocation as a mental health nurse.
I wish every theologian would take the time to consider the autobiography of their own theology or would take the time for theological reflexivity (as is discussed in the book). Similarly, I wish that every person, whatever their vocation, might be encouraged to take their own questions and ponderings seriously because they, too, have a front-row seat to asking theological questions and living into the answers.

[Wesley Ellis]

This is a beautiful little book that provides some deep insight into one of the world's greatest practical theologians. If you're interested in the work of John Swinton, or practical theology, or disability theology, or theological ethnography, this book is a must read.... and it won't take you long.

[Kara Koester]

A small, but powerful book. A challenge to the church on inclusion.

[James Wheeler]

"Caring for the poor is an aspect of knowing God."