Issue: July 2007

Volume 7 Number 7

Children of God and Mental Illness

[1] I recently completed a research project[1] which sought to identify characteristics of congregations in which people with chronic mental illness[2] were full participants. In this article I will briefly describe the project, present the theological reflections of the participants, report the research findings, and offer my own theological reflection on the research project and […]

In the midst of things we cannot understand…

[1] Her eyes were red and puffy and dried out from all the tears she had shed. Her head was swimming from all the information and terminology she had heard these last few days. She asked the nurse in the clinic, “Do you have somebody who can come and help me understand what I’m supposed […]

Living in Paradox: Female Identity in Early and Medieval Christianity

[1] Gender and sexuality present two of the most basic and intimate forms of difference, differences that inescapably pervade familial and social relationships. For this reason, how people conceive of differences between male and female affects their fundamental perception of the world and their place in it. In the history of Christianity, women generally have […]

Wrestle A Blessing

[1] A biblical image that comes to mind when I think of raising a child with special needs, is that of Jacob wrestling a blessing from God in Genesis 32:22-32. In the story Jacob was returning to his homeland after being gone for many years. He had left home because he had tricked his brother […]

What it Means to Be “Disabled”: Theological and Ethical Reflections

[1] As someone who teaches and writes about disability and theology, I have been increasingly intrigued by the assumptions that people make about my own disability status. On the one hand, people who have not met me but yet are familiar with my work often assume that I have a disability-or, perhaps, am closely related […]