Disability, Time, and the Spiritual Dimension of Health with John Swinton

Jan 17, 2018

In this conversation, John Swinton, Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen and founder of the Centre for the Study of Spirituality, Health and Disability, dives into the intersections of disability and theology. He shares insights from his book, discussing how disability challenges our notions of humanity and vocation. The talk includes the role of time in nurturing genuine friendships and discipleship. Swinton also explores the emotional connections in dementia and the importance of inclusion within church communities.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

Celebrating New Deacons and Upcoming Community Events

02:43 • 2min

Brew Theology Live Event and Exciting Updates

05:05 • 5min

Faith, Disability, and Vocation

09:43 • 16min

Affective Remembering and Dementia

26:08 • 12min

Theological Insights on Jesus' Healing Ministry

38:19 • 9min

Spirituality and Health in Contemporary Culture

46:59 • 28min

To kick off the first Homebrewed interview of the new year, Tripp is talking with John Swinton about time, disability, and all things nerdy.

John is the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen and founder of the Centre for the Study of Spirituality, Health and Disability. Learn a little bit about how John become vocationally a scholar of religion and interested in religion and disability studies, how his work as a chaplain lead to his work as a practical theologian, and how issues surrounding the lives of people with disability shaped his research interests.

John gives a very helpful and simple definition of practical theology, talks about the rituals and practices in the life of the church and their impact on the lives of people with disabilities, disability and the shift from charity to discipleship, and the way our conception of time shapes our ideas of friendships and relationship from his newest book, Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship.

what does it mean for someone with advanced dementia to have forgotten, perhaps, who Jesus is, and yet still be a disciple with a vocation in the church?
is inclusion really the solution for people with disabilities within the church?
how does disability change our perception of what it means to be human?

Plus, Tripp and John talk about a theology of time, Saint Augustine's discussion of time in Confessions, our obsession with time and how it has shaped our ideas of vocation in the modern world, memory and embodied spiritual practices, the need for honesty and lament and how all of this changes our understanding of Jesus' healing narratives, and the spiritual dimension of health and how ideas of health in the bible are different from what Western medicine considers health.

John mentions this paper in the conversation, and you can find a great syndicate discussion about John's book with his replies here.

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