The author argues that disability is not a problem, but “a dignified, incarnate human experience through and in which God is at work.” As the church reflects on its many privileges, ableism has not always received enough discussion. Even our use of language needs much work because being able-bodied and disabled are “false binaries.” The mere framework of inclusion is not enough. Disability has always been a social justice issue.
The author Erin Raffety begins with congregational research showing churches’ preference for inclusion regarding people with disabilities. But the paradigm of inclusion “rarely critiques, exposes, or dismantles the unequal power dynamics between able-bodied and disabled people in society.” Like in other areas such as gender, race, and class, the church has been complicit in marginalizing certain groups. What is needed for today’s church is to “lament ableism and injustice faithfully alongside disabled people.”
This book also engages with Scripture, ethnographic research, and personal experience to show how Jesus invited people with disabilities into “dignifying dialogues.” The church needs to elevate leaders with disabilities and theologians specializing in disability themes. Raffety does not say this lightly because she has been an advocate for her daughter Lucia who suffers from a progressive, genetic disease of the brain and multiple disabilities. As an ableist parent, she gave in to the many “normative, self-referential ideas” about disability. At the same time, however, Raffety is amazed by how her daughter shows love to people, “unhindered.” As she writes, “What’s happening in loving and learning alongside Lucia is that my preconceived notions of what love looked like have been powerfully disrupted by her different and good ways of being in this world.”
Churches that favor deep theological intellectualism are arguably more culpable for perpetuating ableism. We may not give in to materialism, but we let the winds of worldly ableism in. Believers with disabilities are left out and disempowered. We fail many opportunities to learn from them about love. This book does not just stop at calling for a change of heart, but it also provides practical tools for ministry and communion with people with disabilities. (Baylor University Press)
About the Author
Mary Li Ma is a member of Plymouth Heights CRC church in Grand Rapids, Mich. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and now works as a research analyst for a national research center on education equity.