Human Disability and the Service of God: Reassessing Religious Practice

by Nancy L. Eiesland (Editor), Don E. Saliers (Editor)

A living religious tradition continually reassesses its practices. In our contemporary situation, the task of reassessment must attend to the presence of persons with disabilities who are increasingly taking part in public life and therefore in the worship and work of the churches. What questions, insights, and perspectives should be advanced if people with disabilities, in all their diversity, were placed at the center of religious life and education?

The fourteen contributors to this volume address this multi-faceted question. Drawing upon various disciplines and diverse experiences, the authors explore how human disability bears upon the service of God. In turn, the chapters examine how the participation of people with disabilities relates to interpretation of biblical and other sacred texts that speak of sin, disability, and healing; what theological vision is necessary to integrate the disabled into Christian life and worship; what the socio-cultural context is within which people with disabilities press for full inclusion; and how worship, as a theological act, can form communities in a more relevant spirituality of inclusiveness.

Congregations are challenged by these writers to re-envision their actual practices of communal life and worship. This collaborative work shows that the "service of God" as liturgy and as communal accountability can deepen and mature only as the diversity of human capabilities is honored.

Genres: Disability, Theology, Justice, Christian, Nonfiction, Religion

384 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

Reviews

[Tanya Marlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edited by respected disability theologian Nancy Eiesland, this pulls together a number of helpful academic contributions around the theme of how disability theology interacts with the church community, so it is both academic and practical.

Part One offers three valuable chapters on interpreting scripture and one on liturgy; Part Two is dedicated to Theological Reflections, including one by Moltmann, Part Three looks at how culture and society define disability (including a fascinating chapter by Adele M. McCollum on how folktales have portrayed disability – a side interest of mine), and Part Four has some empirical practical theology studies. I very much appreciated Sarah J Melcher’s contribution on Leviticus and disability exclusion, Colleen C Grant’s examination of the healing narratives and Simon Horne’s chapter on impairment and sensory deprivation in the New Testament.

Whereas The Bible and Disability (Melcher, Parsons and Yong) applies disability theology to readings of the Bible, Human Disability… focuses on liturgy and ritual. The writers tend to hail from a more liberal Christianity stable and this can therefore sometimes make for uncomfortable reading, as they often point out the problems without looking for solutions. Recommended for anyone interested specifically in the topic of disability theology and corporate worship.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good collection of essays on different aspects of disability and how it intersects with the practice of faith.