ABSTRACT

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.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

Theology and the Experience of Disability ‘Down Under'

part I|80 pages

Theology, Disability, and Being

chapter 2|11 pages

The World of Cystic Fibrosis

From Diagnosis to Dignity

chapter 5|20 pages

No Longer Strangers

Disabled Ontology and the Church as Meaningful Community in Liquid Modernity

chapter 6|5 pages

Conversations with James on Leadership

What Can We Learn about Leadership and Personhood from People with Severe Cognitive Disability?

chapter 7|9 pages

‘He's My Mate'

Cerebral Palsy, Church, and the Gift of Friendship

part II|96 pages

Theology, Disability, and Belonging

chapter 9|23 pages

Disability in the Australian Church

Results from the 2011 Church Life Survey

chapter 10|11 pages

‘A Person Standing in the Gap'

The Deaf Community as a Mission Field

chapter 11|16 pages

Banqueting and Disability in the Ancient World

Reconsidering the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15–24)

chapter 12|7 pages

Mephibosheth at the Table

A High Point in Davidic Kingship – 2 Samuel 9:1–13

chapter 13|19 pages

Welcoming and Including People with Intellectual Disability

A Report on a Study of Five Churches

chapter 14|12 pages

From Inclusion to Belonging

Why ‘Disabled' Bodies are Necessary for the Faithfulness of the Church

part III|90 pages

Theology, Disability, and Becoming

chapter 15|14 pages

Unseen Disability in the Australian Pentecostal Church

Australian Christian Churches, the Four-fold Gospel, and Challenges for the Mentally Ill

chapter 16|13 pages

Beyond Charity

How can Society have a High Value of Disabled People?

chapter 17|23 pages

Disability and Divinization

Eschatological Parables and Allegations

chapter 18|15 pages

Hope in the ‘Mountain Manifesto'

The Beatitudes' Alternative to the Social Model's Hope

chapter 19|14 pages

Disability and the Renewal of Theological Education

Beyond Ableism

chapter 20|9 pages

The Trouble with Normal

What Difference Does a Theology of Disability Make?