Theology Of Disability Research Articles

Healing in the Gospel of Matthew: Reflections on Method and Ministry by Walter T. Wilson

Reviewed by: Healing in the Gospel of Matthew: Reflections on Method and Ministry by Walter T. Wilson Kay Higuera Smith walter t. wilson, Healing in the Gospel of Matthew: Reflections on Method and Ministry (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2014). Pp. 240. $39. In Healing in the Gospel of Matthew: Reflections on Method and Ministry, Walter T. Wilson presents a practical theology of healing and disability with a strongly christological focus. He summarizes the Gospel of Matthew, chaps. 8–9, as a carefully narrated florilegium of miracle stories written for the purpose of laying out the “cosmic drama” of Jesus’ eschatological announcement of the reign of God (p. 112). He foregrounds a christological component in each of these narratives and also reads these stories as dramatizations of a variety of ways to be human in the world, all with particular limitations, which Jesus overcomes. Wilson employs several methodologies and critical approaches in his analysis. He utilizes form, source, narrative, and redaction criticism read through a classic, historical hermeneutical lens. He interweaves into those approaches the hermeneutical perspectives of feminist, reader-response, disability, and even medical anthropology disciplines as well. The book consists of fourteen chapters. In chap. 1, W. lays out his methodologies. He expresses his debt to earlier redaction critics in presenting Jesus as Messiah “in words and deeds” (p. 16, 294; e.g., Heinz Joachim Held, “Matthew as Interpreter of the Miracle Stories,” in Tradition and Interpretation in Matthew [ed. Günther Borkamm, Gerhard Barth, and Heinz Joachim Held; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1963] 251–52). He also cites Saul M. Olyan’s “limits model” of disability studies (Olyan, Disability in the Hebrew Bible: Interpreting [End Page 723] Mental and Physical Differences [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008] 2), in which ability and disability are reconceived not as binaries but as points on a spectrum (p. 25). In chaps. 2–8, W. exegetes two literary triads that he finds in Matt 8:1–9:8. The first of the three triads of miracle stories includes the healing of the man with a scaly skin condition, the centurion’s boy, and Peter’s mother-in-law (Matt 8:1–16). He notes here that in each case a person on Israel’s social boundaries (a leper, someone associated with a gentile, and a woman) is restored in some way. The second triad consists of the rescue at sea, the exorcism in Gadara, and the healing of the paralyzed man in Capernaum (8:18–9:8). It is here, W. argues, in the rescue at sea, where we see Jesus as Son of Man and Son of God, the apocalyptic deliverer who is able to calm the primordial seas. In the story of the healing of the paralyzed man, W. notes the christological theme of Jesus as Son of Man—now additionally, eschatological judge (p. 148). In chaps. 9–13, W. discusses Matt 9:8–38. In chaps. 9 and 10, he interprets three pericopae about eating as pronouncement stories that prefigure the future eschatological banquet (Matt 9:9–17). These stories highlight another christological theme, Jesus as Wisdom/Sophia (pp. 177–79). In chap. 11, Wilson takes up the final triad of miracle stories, the synagogue leader’s daughter and the woman with the hemorrhage, the two blind men, and the demonized man who cannot speak (9:18–34). Again, his emphasis is primarily christo-logical, highlighting the role of Jesus as Messiah. Chapter 12 deals with the healing of the two blind men, which W. lays out as a christological statement about Jesus as Son of David. Here he also takes up the stigma of blindness in biblical narratives as well as the ramifications of such depictions (p. 233). In chap. 13, he addresses the final story in the third triad and wraps up his analysis of Matthew 8–9. In this final story, in which Jesus exorcises a demonized man who is mute (Matt 9:32–34), W. foregrounds Jesus as “Eschatological Shepherd” (p. 285). Finally, in chap. 14, W. returns to disability studies to argue for a theology of “limits.” What he means by this theology of “limits” is that Matthew 8–9 is about demonstrating the range of human limitations as...

Holistic Healing in Acts 3:1‐10

AbstractThe understanding of healing focuses on Acts 3:1‐10, where the rereading of this text with its picture of healing will lead to an understanding of inclusive healing, in the sense that the marginalized people are included in this healing. This means that the healing is holistic, rather than focusing on either physical or spiritual healing only. The research on which this paper is based sought to explore the issue of holistic healing for a transformative church. The paper brings into perspective the following questions: What is entailed in Jesus’ healing people with disabilities? And how can the issue of healing be opened to the possibility of building a community of love, justice, peace, and diversity? In an attempt to answer the preceding questions, this paper has two parts: in the first section, I focus on my personal rereading in view of my own disability experience and my experience with the participants of Bible study, whereby I use narrative interpretation of existing literature, and I interpret from a psycho‐spiritual perspective framed by a liberation theology of disability. In the second section, I engage a dialogue between biblical scholars and ordinary people on the different perspectives on healing. My overall objective in this paper is to offer a new biblical understanding on the text and, on the other hand, a theological reflection on healing to assist church leaders and Christians to understand that people with disabilities, like any human being, deserve to be in fellowship with God and with other people for the sake of social transformation.

Book Review: Renewing Christian Theology: Systematics for a Global Christianity

Renewing Christian Theology: Systematics for a Global Christianity By Amos Yong, with Jonathan A. Anderson. Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press, 2014. xxiv + 453 pp. $49.95 (paper).The rise of Pentecostal and charismatic forms of Christianity is reshaping Christianity in twenty-first century, especially in global south. This truly landmark book is first one-volume Pentecostal systematic theology take into account not only this changing global context, but also contributions of global and ecumenical theologians. At same time, Amos Yong wagers that the Christian theological tradition as a whole has something gain from engaging especially with renewal voices and perspectives and may even be revitalized in such a (p. 12).Yong uses Statement of Faith from his tradition, World Assemblies of God Fellowship, as template for structuring his book, signaling his commitment orthodoxy (p. 12). However, he treats loci in reverse order, starting with eschatology and ending with doctrine of scripture. Other theologians, such as Ted Peters, have proposed similar methodological moves, but have not structured their systematic theologies accordingly. To demonstrate Pentecostal view that theology also must pay attention orthopathy, artwork chosen by Jonathan Anderson is woven throughout to engage readers visually in order inspire imaginative thinking about and with text (p. xxiv).Each chapter begins with a narrative reflection on a New Testament character, reflecting oral tradition of global renewal spirituality. This is followed by a treatment of locus in question, first in terms of context of Statement of Faith itself, and then in conversation with ecumenical theology as well as contemporary and global perspectives, raising both contextual considerations and contemporary challenges for global theology. Yong then provides a more in-depth scriptural foundation before offering a constructive restatement of doctrine and suggested related praxis (orthopraxy). Each chapter concludes with discussion questions and a short bibliography. While acknowledging importance of historical-critical method, Yong shows a preference for narrative method of reading, not only of scripture, but also of Christian doctrine.Those familiar with Yongs corpus will recognize themes from his previous works woven throughout, such as relationship between Christian theology and natural sciences (in chapter on creation and fall), a theology of disability (in chapter on divine healing), and theology and world religions (in chapter on Trinity). …

‘Dissolving Boundaries’ – An Analysis of Threshold Concepts Within Disability Theology

This article focuses on an analysis of threshold concepts (TCs) within disability theology. It explores a range of ideas linked to TCs and the experience of people living with a disability (people LWD). The world in which Christian parishioners encounter people LWD (the focus of this article), could be described as a ‘liquid world’ which is fuzzy, uncertain, unstable and marked by ‘dissolving boundaries’ (Barnett, R. 2012. “The Coming of the Ecological Learner.” In Transitions and Transformations in Learning and Education, edited by P. Tynjälä, M.-L. Stenström and M. Saarnivaara, 9–20. Dordrecht, NL: Springer) The authors argue that, despite such boundaries, or perhaps because of them, certain thresholds need to be crossed by members of faith communities in order for a person LWD to feel as if he/she genuinely belongs to a community. Nevertheless it is acknowledged that some people involved might be both people LWD and parishioners. The three interrelated thresholds examined within this article are — empowerment, hospitality and neighbourliness. The article links these thresholds with TC theory, and also addresses two related topics — a definition of disability within the discipline of theology, and Jesus as the model for threshold crossing within the Christian tradition. Reflections on TCs in this article are deliberately grounded in the most recent collection of TC theory from Land, R., J. H. F. Meyer and M. T. Flanagan, editors. (2016. Threshold Concepts in Practice. Rotterdam, NL: Sense). Finally, the article considers some relevant, practical responses which, it is argued, members of Christian faith communities ought to consider, so that people LWD feel that they genuinely belong to that particular community. It concludes with a summary of key insights and some possible future research directions.

Is There a “Theology of the Disabled Body”? John Paul II's Theology of the Body on Limit and Sign

ABSTRACTThis essay examines the potential influence of John Paul II's theological anthropology as expressed in the Theology of the Body audiences and associated literature on key issues raised by the contemporary Theology of Disability. Although John Paul II did not directly address the issue of disability in the audiences, he does spend the first half of the audiences elaborating a theology of the sign of the human body, and its import in understanding that we are all called to self-giving relationship. The foci on the ensouled body as sign and the imago Dei best perceived in relationship can both reveal a way of thinking about the meaning of the impaired, ensouled body that honors and frames the experience of unexpected limit and the universal call to holiness.

The Gospel of Luke: A Framework for a Theology of Disability

A disability is anything that puts one at a disadvantage. This article will argue that Christ's ministry to the vulnerable and the outcast provides a model and a mandate for the church to reach out to those with disabilities. In Luke, Jesus highlights those with disabilities as “unexpected” disciples, as examples of true humility—a hallmark of discipleship—and as those who will be most welcome into the kingdom of God.

“Sinful Creature, Full of Weakness”: The Theology of Disability in Cummins’s The Lamplighter

“Sinful Creature, Full of Weakness”: The Theology of Disability in Cummins’s The Lamplighter

Christianity, John M Hull and notions of ability, disability and education

In his editorial, Simon reflects on the significance of the work of Professor John Hull, who is a giant amongst academics working in the theology of disability. John was my main supervisor for my doctoral studies when I was working on developing an evangelical theology of religious education for British schools. He was a remarkable tutor with whom I enjoyed the most stimulating debates. I disagreed with his basic position and critiqued that in my thesis, but was heavily influenced by his ideas and the challenges he presented me with. His book, What Prevents Christian Adults from Learning?, first published in 1985, is still, in my opinion, one of the most important books that I have read on Christian learning. However, as Simon too acknowledges, it was John’s personal qualities that had the most impact. I started as his doctoral student not long after he finally lost his sight in 1983 in the middle years of a distinguished academic career. Such a happening would cause many to give up. Not John. Up to the moment of his death in the early hours of 28 July 2015, he was still producing ground-breaking work. It is fitting that this special issue is dedicated to him

Keindahan dalam Disabilitas

This article challenges conceptions of intellectual disability that view such conditions from the perspective of normalcy. In Indonesia, conversations of theological anthropology still employ a medical model lens, which perceives disability merely as bodily and intellectual impairments, thus failing the standard of "normal." Normalcy unilaterally defines disability and dictates normative approaches toward persons with disabilities. Consequently, persons with disabilities are perceived in Indonesia as mere objects of charity to be pitied. On the other hand, they remain susceptible to suffering violence. These trends owing to the fact that Indonesian society does not adequately provide either tangible resource considerations or sufficient social support. Lacunae in the theological literature concerning disability in Indonesian contexts foment in the life of the church further challenges for persons with disabilities. For persons there with intellectual disabilities, in particular, the situation is even more severe, as their condition is regarded as a kind of punishment for sin and further stigmatized as abnormal. This article offers a constructive theology of disability to dismantle the myth of normalcy, which reduces persons with disabilities to being merely impaired organisms within society. Theological musings on the beauty of all creation, the perichoretic relationship within the Trinity, the doctrines of imago Dei and imago Christi are taken up in this essay, to offer an inclusive theology expressly for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Flannery O'Connor: Writing a Theology of Disabled HumanityTimothy J.Basselin. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2013.

Flannery O'Connor: Writing a Theology of Disabled Humanity Timothy J. Basselin. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2013.Timothy J. Basselin's Flannery O'Connor: Writing a Theology of Disabled Humanity is a captivating work which explores Flannery O'Connor's fiction from a perspective of disability studies and a theology of disability. Throughout the book, Basselin presents a compelling argument for the influence O'Connor's illness played in molding her writing and discusses how her perceptions of good, evil, sickness, and limitations enhanced her uniqueness as a writer.The text is structured into four primary chapters covering topics ranging from how the authentic grotesque manifests itself in her fiction to the inherent conflicts that existed between O'Connor's perspectives and that of society's modern Enlightenment-de rived philosophies. Some of the O'Connor works specifically examined include A Good Man is Hard to Find, A Temple of the Holy Ghost, Everything That Rises Must Converge, Good Country People, Habit of Being, Parker's Back, Revelation, The Displaced Person, The Enduring Chill, The Lame Shall Enter First, The River, and The Violent Bear It Away.The book also features a tasteful postscript section in which Basselin elaborates on some of the challenges he encountered when incorporating disability studies language into the text. The attention devoted to expounding on the difficulties of this task alludes to his impressive ability to address sensitive, philosophical issues with the tactfulness and care they require. Flowever, much like O'Connor, Basselin does not shy away from making bold, declarative points to support his theories and does a commendable job of thoroughly supporting his assessments with necessary literature.Aesthetically, the book's cover is quite attractive with an engaging design featuring a picture of a young O'Connor immersed in reading a publication with which she assumes a contemplative, if not disturbed, expression. Fier furrowed brow interestingly emits a discernible tension present in her examination of the publication, which is a visual readers may identify as particularly foretelling to the inquisitorial spirit she was known to have exhibited throughout her life. The book itself seems relatively slight when considering the extensive body of literature available on O'Connor as well as the wealth of information published on disability studies. However, upon delving into the beginning paragraphs, it quickly becomes apparent this resource takes full advantage of its allotted pages by treating readers with clear and purposeful writing.From the opening pages, Basselin intricately sows stories of O'Connor's childhood, life experiences, and family relationships to form a foundation upon which he discusses her struggle with lupus and the substantial impact her limitations had on developing her ideologies and writing. …

From Rain Man to Sherlock: Theological Reflections on Metaphor and ASD

The discipline of practical theology has created a significant body of work considering the theological implications of disability and illness. Within that, less attention has been given to High Functioning Autistic Spectrum Disorder (HFASD), also described as Asperger Syndrome. It may be that this is because more attention has been focused on the associated and more easily diagnosable condition of autism. Disability theology has also recognized the existence and function of metaphor, both within the Bible and society. Emphasis on liberation has been a particular theme, with lesser attention given to hermeneutical approaches. This paper attempts to bring together the experience of HFASD together with the historical study of metaphor and, in so doing, suggests possible avenues for further research. The canonical-linguistic hermeneutic of Vanhoozer serves as a foundation for theological reflection.

The Infertile Womb of God: Ableism in Feminist Doctrine of God

The Infertile Womb of God: Ableism in Feminist Doctrine of God Lisa D. Powell Since its burgeoning in the 1970s and 80s, Christian feminist theology has deployed a variety of metaphors and symbols to wrest conceptions of God from the oppressive structures and formulations dominating Christian thinking and worship. A significant focus of much of this early work was on the exclusive use of masculine imagery and language for God. Feminist theologians sought fresh symbols inclusive of women's experience. Quickly the work expanded not only to question patriarchy in theology and Christian worship, but also to expose currents of white supremacy in theology and theological institutions. In recent decades, responding to queer theory, post‐colonial theory, and ecology, feminist theology discovers still more symbols to express the relationship between God, humanity, and the cosmos in ways that do not perpetuate kyriarchy but undermine those systems of power and oppression. One such challenge to rethink Christian systems comes from disability theory, which exposes the ableist assumptions in theology that consecrate a norm constructed against differently abled persons; Christian disability theology envisions new symbols for God that rebuff conceptions of power modeled after a militarized ableist culture and fosters an understanding of power appropriate to a religion in which God is disfigured on the cross, in which God is even disabled. Disability theorists also probe feminist thought to expose the ableism in its celebration of independence and the idealization of a certain form of female embodiment, which reinforces the idea of a “normal” female body. Even as feminism challenges society's objectification of women and its standards of beauty, disabled women find they do not embody the feminist ideal. Susan Wendell critiques the exaltation in feminism of a woman's control of her body. She quotes Adrienne Rich, who writes in Of Women Born: “In order to live a fully human life we require not only control of our bodies (though control is a prerequisite); we must touch the unity and resonance of our physicality, our bond with the natural order, the corporeal ground of our intelligence.” Rich emphasizes our control of our bodies and asserts a universal unity among women based in a shared physiology. Rich's volume, and many texts influenced by it, contains this glorification of woman's ability to control her body, particularly when speaking about conception and birth, maintaining that women are universally connected in their corporeal fertility. Wendell writes “Until feminists criticize our own body ideals and confront the weak, suffering, and uncontrollable body in our theorizing and practice, women with disabilities and illness are likely to feel that we are embarrassments to feminism.” Rosmarie Garland‐Thompson makes a similar charge, instead noting the idealization of self‐sufficiency: “One of the most pervasive feminist assumptions that undermines some disabled women's struggle is the liberal ideology of autonomy and independence that fuels the broader impulse toward female empowerment.” Doreen Freeman brings these critiques to thealogy and feminist theology, arguing that disabled women “embody all that the blossoming feminist does not want to be,” as they often “reinforce the stereotypes as ‘passive, dependent, needy’ recipients of care.” She asks if thealogians can celebrate the body as an image of the divine if it is a “deformed, leaky, sometimes smelly, constantly fatigued, psychotic, [and/or] dysfunctional body.” She charges that in its emphasis on “wholeness of mind, body and spirit,” feminist theology centers on “goals of competence, wisdom and well being, [and] the flourishing of the woman's physical cycle,” which then marginalizes disabled women. In the process, the disabled woman is “negated, isolated and alienated.” Disability theory has yet to lay bare the implicit ableism in some accounts of the doctrine of God in feminist theology, namely the image of God as mother in the face of infertility. This essay exposes how Christian feminist theology glorified female fertility, grounding reconstruction of the doctrine of God in this notion of a shared physiological capacity for childbearing, thus negating the infertile woman, rendering her an invisible outsider. However, recent feminist theology exhibits a shift in the way Christian theologians depict God as mother. This essay traces this change in the use of mother imagery in the doctrine of...

From dependence to interdependence: Towards a practical theology of disability

Disability has remained on the fringes of research in Africa in general and Southern Africa in particular, especially in the field of theology. Its glaring absence constitutes an indictment against both church and society, revealing in the process both the church’s and society’s penchant for a dependence paradigm which has been the paradigm with respect to issues of disabilities and people with disabilities. Using the participatory method with its proclivity for bringing to the fore the voice of the ‘other’ and the marginalised, both the dependence and independence paradigms within the context of disability are put under scrutiny. In the process and through the voice of people with disabilities, the practical theological paradigm of interdependence emerges as the most appropriate and friendliest one, as it resonates with both the New Testament notion of koinonia through love and the African notion of botho through interconnection. The practical theology of holding each other in arms resonates with the theology of embrace that has been popularised by Volf within the context of much hatred and alienation. All these different dimensions of the theology of interdependence become the bedrock for inclusive and respectful treatment of each other irrespective of race, gender,

God on Wheels: Disability and Jewish Feminist Theology

God on Wheels: Disability and Jewish Feminist Theology

Healing and Belonging: Godly Play in Pediatric Medicine and the Theology of Disability.

Godly Play can serve as an effective therapeutic and spiritual intervention for children experiencing physical, emotional, and/or spiritual stress. As many pediatric healthcare providers note, this type of intervention is an important component to a child's healing. This article situates Wolfson Children's Hospital's practice of Godly Play within two larger discussions that advocate for improved care for children with mental and physical impairments and concludes that this practice provides insight for the church and society to create a world in which children with mental and physical impairments belong.

Towards a Theology of Disability Sport: A Misconstrued Game Plan

Effort devoted to exploring a theology of disability sport is not only misdirected but counterproductive to the interests of athletes with a disability. A theology of sport, in a generic sense, has emerged in the context of theologies addressing areas of specific interest and it is this expansive process that could promote a theology of disability sport. This prospect is not surprising, and is perhaps seen as being caring and inclusive. Athletes with a disability do need and deserve special attention, recognition and support. In general, people with a disability are often regarded as disadvantaged, sometimes as inferior, not only physically, but socially, and even spiritually. From a spiritual point of view, this reaction has led to disability being linked to moral imperfection, as a punishment for sin, as a test of faith, or as an opportunity for redemption through suffering (Eiesland & Saliers, 1998; Yong, 2011). In response to such concepts there have been calls to explore a theology of disability but this, and I think quite rightly, may be rejected in favor of an inclusive theology of humankind. To pursue a theology of disability sport is to reinforce a familiar reaction towards people with a disability. For the athletes involved, a theology of disability sport may not only be unwelcome but unintentionally discriminatory.

Flannery O'Connor: writing a theology of disabled humanity

Timothy J. Basselin. Flannery O'Connor: Writing a Theology of Disabled Humanity. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2013. xi + 144 pp. $29.95 cloth.imothy J. Basselin's study addresses a significant gap in O'Connor criticism and provides a key point for changing the conversation surrounding O'Connor's representation of disability in her fiction as well as the presence of illness and disability in her own life. Basselin takes an overtly theological view of O'Connor's work that will resonate with many O'Connor scholars, though he challenges the readings of disability as a negative trope that pervade much O'Connor scholarship.Basselin begins late in O'Connor's writing life, focusing first on her Introduction to Memoir of Mary Ann, calling attention to the conflicts O'Connor herself wrote about in responding to Mary Ann's circumstances and to her own illness and limitation and its complicated relationship to her work. In addition to the theological framework underpinned by a strong and accessible depiction of theology of the cross, Basselin makes use of disability studies as a means of articulating the cultural significance of disability without resorting to the sentimentality that both O'Connor and many in the disability community despise. Within his discussion of a theology of disability, Basselin emphasizes the transformative potential of disability to reveal dependence and mutual vulnerability as key sites of theological reflection available in O'Connor's depictions, and he contrasts this with the modern lust after independence, capability, and perfection against which O'Connor set her startling figures.Though there are disabled characters in nearly all of O'Connor's works, Basselin focuses his attention on a few key stories that illuminate the theological framework, emphasizing the presence of the good within the grotesque rather than good externally conferred. Beginning with Revelation and Lame Shall Enter First, Basselin raises the question of the grotesque good and its effect on those confronted by it. In both stories, Basselin claims that the encounters Ruby Turpin and Sheppard have with grotesque characters and the suffering they experience disallow the sentimental interpretation of disability, leaving the characters instead in social and spiritual upheaval. As a consequence, Ruby and Sheppard become dependent on the genuine good encountered in the grotesqueness of Mary Grace and Rufus as well as in their own lives. Basselin then considers the role of acceptance-of limitation, of dependence, of vulnerability-as the responsive position that allows for grace, developing thorough discussions of A Temple of the Holy Ghost and Enduring Chill.Basselin extends his discussion of acceptance and its theological consequences in a brief meditation on Mary, the mother of Jesus, and uses it as an introduction to the acceptance of death he connects to the sacrament of baptism, particularly as O'Connor presents it in both River and The Violent Bear It Away. In particular, Basselin pays close attention to Bishop, claiming that there may be no fuller expression of the good in O'Connor's work than what she embodies in Bishop and in Rayber's relationship with him (77), drawing out the dual representation of good and of original sin at work in the novel's representations of the grotesque.In returning to the theological focus, Basselin draws out the profound implications of Enlightenment thinking on our cultural constructions of disability and on our theological inclinations toward sentimentalizing suffering rather than accepting it. …

Subjectivity and Embodied Limits: Deborah Creamer's Disability and Christian Theology

This article explores the tensions between our subjectivity and our status as embodied and limited beings, specifically in relation to Deborah Creamer's Disability and Christian Theology: Embodied Limits and Constructive Possibilities (2009). Moreover, this article aims to supplement and expand on Creamer's “model of limits” by arguing for a stronger attentiveness to the radically disruptive potential of our embodied limits. It also claims that such an attentiveness helps us to recognize two points at which Creamer overextends herself: (1) the claim that we are able to determine for ourselves what our individual limits are, and (2) the claim that we able to draw on our limits to creatively construct an image of God as similarly limited.

Narrating Suffering, Remembering Hope: Metz's Theology as Paradigm for Examining Mental Illness and Disability Theology

This article proposes to explore new ways of speaking about disability by drawing from the theology of Johann Baptist Metz. Specifically, it uses Metz's ideas of subjectivity, narrative, memory, and hope and applies them to mental illness, with the intent to enable theologians to respond to mental health issues in a more nuanced way and to encourage Christians to foster a deeper solidarity with those suffering from mental illness. The article then briefly considers how Metz's paradigm may be used to enhance our understanding of other categories of disability.

Moving Beyond Time: Finding God “In The Past”

This article responds to the reflections on Disability in the Christian Tradition that are collected in this journal issue, especially to those by Thomas E. Reynolds, Sarah Melcher, Willie James Jennings, Emily Stetler, and M. J. Iozzio. Moreover, this response explores the nature of time and lays out a rationale for taking seriously theological perspectives from across the ages. The discussion lays out an Augustinian perspective on time within which the revelation of God in history is perceived as unbounded by time, and within which the communion of saints offers new possibilities for the theology of disability.