"Imperfection in Paradise: Reading Genesis 2 through the Lens of Disability and a Theology of Limits," Horizons in Biblical Theology 38.1 (2016): 1-21. (original) (raw)

Disability and Christian Theology: Embodied Limits and Constructive Possibilities

2009

Attention to embodiment and the religious significance of bodies is one of the most significant shifts in contemporary theology. In the midst of this, however, experiences of disability have received little attention. This book explores possibilities for theological engagement with disability, focusing on three primary alternatives: challenging existing theological models to engage with the disabled body, considering possibilities for a disability liberation theology, and exploring new theological options based on an understanding of the unsurprisingness of human limits. The overarching perspective of this book is that limits are an unavoidable aspect of being human, a fact we often seem to forget or deny. Yet not only do all humans experience limits, most of us also experience limits that take the form of disability at some point in our lives; in this way, disability is more "normal" than non-disability. If we take such experiences seriously and refuse to reduce them to mere instances of suffering, we discover insights that are lost when we take a perfect or generic body as our starting point for theological reflections. While possible applications of this insight are vast, this work focuses on two areas of particular interest: theological anthropology and metaphors for God. This project challenges theology to consider the undeniable diversity of human embodiment. It also enriches previous disability work by providing an alternative to the dominant medical and minority models, both of which fail to acknowledge the full diversity of disability experiences. Most notably, this project offers new images and possibilities for theological construction that attend appropriately and creatively to diversity in human embodiment.

-- Disability and Christian Theology [CHAPTER FIVE, UNCORRECTED PROOF]

Both the medical model and the minority model highlight aspects of disability that are relevant for theological refl ection: attention to the diversity of human embodiment (i.e., there are disabled bodies) and attention to justice concerns arising from observations of exclusion and oppression (i.e., the lens of disability offers a unique and valuable perspective). This calls us to attend to embodiment and liberation theologies. Yet as was described in the fi rst chapter, these two perspectives are not our only alternatives as we refl ect theologically on experiences of disability. I have proposed that we also consider a limits model, attending to the fl uidity of human embodiment and most particularly the claim that limits are an unsurprising aspect of being human. Limits are normal. Rather than acting as a defi cit, they lead us toward creativity, and even toward God. In this chapter, we will explore the possibilities of and implications for such a model in constructive theology.

Finding God in our Bodies: Theology from the Perspective of People with Disabilities, part 2 (1995)

Journal of Religion, Disability & Health, 2:2, pp. 67-87., 1995

ABSTRACT Places of worship and religious theologies do not include and often misrepresent the experiences of persons with disabilities. The author explores the bias toward “ability” present in traditional Christian theology. Creamer suggests that experiences of disability need not be understood as either a curse or blessing, but rather can become a source for theological reflection.

Disability Theology in a Missional Context

In this essay I will be assessing the contribution of the Old Testament to a positive description of disability today. I will approach this by examining current attitudes today towards people with disabilities (PWD). I will outline some of the positive and negative attitudes found in the Old Testament and then focus in on the Levitical practices through Melcher’s use of signs and then apply this to a more positive area of the Old Testament in Ecclesiastes. I will then seek to compare the two using Raster’s Anthropic Zones. These will be held in tension to provide a more positive description of disability from the Old Testament.

God Doesn't Treat His Children that Way: The Experience of Disability in the Families of God (2005)

2005

This article connects the portrayal of people with disabilities as child-like with the traditional image of God as Father. As children under the authority of an all-powerful Father, people with disabilities can be seen to lack agency, an assumption with significant theological weight. Models of omnipotence often support such visions of dis-ability, thus failing to theologically represent the richness of parent-child relationships and other possibilities for relationship with God. This article argues suggests that reflection on disability can serve as a needed critical lens for existing models of God as well as a creative frame for new images and possibilities.

On the borderline – representations of disability in the Old Testament

Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 2014

This article explores disability in the Old Testament. The discussion takes its starting point in a number of domains and arenas where disability was visualized and investigates the significance and meaning that can be attached to these domains in relation to the problem of inclusion and exclusion. The analysis highlights complex and contradictory phenomena, where the interpretation was not given but rather dependent on the cultural context and different mechanisms at work.