In this episode, which is the penultimate episode in our series on Disability & Theology, we’re talking about Becoming the Baptized Body with Dr. Sarah Jean Barton, who is Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy and Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School, and the author of Becoming the Baptized Body: Disability and the Practice of Christian Community (published by Baylor University Press). In our conversation, we talk about how baptism is often denied in Christian churches to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and Dr. Barton explains that baptismal denial is not strictly a Credobaptist issue, since Paedobaptists might also deny someone’s baptism, not by withholding an ordinance, but by failing to continue to uphold these individuals in their discipleship and participation in the community. The Christian ritual of baptism makes one an indispensable member of the Body of Christ, so neglecting to co-labor coalitionally alongside people with disabilities in our churches is an abdication of baptismal responsibility to the fullness of Christ’s Body. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, and Rev. Daniel Parham.            Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we’re talking about Autism and the Church with Professor Grant Macaskill, who is Kirby Laing Chair of New Testament Exegesis and co-director of the Centre for Autism and Theology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and he is the author of several books, including: Autism and the Church: Bible, Theology, and Community (published by Baylor University Press). In this episode Prof. Macaskill talks about his own experience with Autism and how the book is to provide an approach to Autism that avoids deficiency accounts that assume Autism is a negative thing. Towards that end he aims to explore how the Bible can constructively resource theologies of Autism, and he challenges inappropriate uses of the Bible in relation to Autism. In particular, Prof. Macaskill stresses how neurodiversity challenges the notion of a “neutral” way of reading the Bible, which is really an ableist form of reading. In addition to hermeneutical issues, we also address practical ecclesial matters regarding the environment of the church gathered as it pertains to people with Autism.Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stanley Ng, Dr. Madison Pierce, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Sydney Tooth. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we discuss Virtue, Agency, and Christian Caregiving with Dr. Keith Dow, who is the Manager of Organizational and Spiritual Life with Christian Horizons, a nonprofit charitable organization working with people with intellectual disabilities in Canada and around the world. Dr. Dow is also the author of Formed Together: Mystery, Narrative, and Virtue in Christian Caregiving (published by Baylor University Press). In our conversation, Dr. Dow tells us about his background and how he got interested in caregiving for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Given his theological interests in ethics and virtues, he explains what his understanding of a distinctive ethic of Christian care might look like in terms of the agency of those who receive care and the humility of those who provide it. Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Stephanie Kate Judd. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we talk about mutuality in ministry with friends and nature with Melissa and Ben Conner. Melissa Conner is executive director and certified advanced therapeutic riding instructor at Renew Therapeutic Riding Center in Holland, Michigan. Dr. Benjamin Conner is Professor of Practical Theology and Director of the Graduate Certificate in Disability and Ministry at Western Theological Seminary (Holland, Michigan), and the author of Amplifying Our Witness (published by Eerdmans) and Disabling Mission, Enabling Witness (published by IVP Academic). As they share with us in this episode, both Melissa and Ben are committed to a holistic vision of ministry inclusive of people with disabilities and the broader world of nature. In particular, Ben tells us about how his thinkingshifted away from ministering to people with disabilities towards ministering alongside and with them. Along those lines, he helps to organize a center at the Seminary where he teaches, called Friendship House, where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can live and be integrated into the life of the Seminary. Melissa similarly tells us about how, within her work as therapeutic riding instructor who offers equine-assisted services (EAS) for people with disabilities, she views the horses at her center as having a vocation and calling to serve alongside her and her colleagues as partners in ministry. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Madison Pierce. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Brian Brock to reflect on disability from within the Christian theological tradition. Prof. Brock holds the personal chair in moral and practical theology at the University of Aberdeen (in Scotland), and he’s the author of Wondrously Wounded: Theology, Disability, and the Body of Christ (published by Baylor University Press) and Disability: Living into the Diversity of Christ’s Body (published by Baker Academic). Prof. Brock explains how he became interested in Disability Studies by setting out in an education in the field of medical ethics, and as he came to rethink the framework of the field, his first son was born, Adam (featured below), who has Down Syndrome and Autism. Prof. Brock’s chief interest in the space of Disability Studies became the desire to set it into conversation with mainstream Christian theology, since theological work within Disability Studies was almost entirely reserved to liberation theology. One of the key questions that we discuss with Prof. Brock throughout this episode is, given his life lived with his son Adam, who is non-verbal, how do we speak about people who can’t speak for themselves? Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Stephanie Kate Judd and Dr. Madison Pierce. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode in our Disability & Theology series, we are joined by Dr. Shane Clifton to talk about virtue ethics and what it means to live a good life with a disability. Dr. Clifton is a disability ethicist and theologian, Principal Policy Officer and Director of Respect & Inclusion at the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation against People with Disability, and an Honorary Associate for the Centre of Disability Research and Policy, the University of Sydney. He’s also the author Crippled Grace: Disability, Virtue Ethics, and the Good Life (Published by Baylor University Press). During our conversation, Dr. Clifton shares with us his experience of a spinal cord injury that left him with quadriplegia and the way that experience compelled him to re-explore happiness, or eudaimonia, within the virtue tradition as a pursuit specifically for people with disabilities. This conversation is rich with discussion on virtue ethics and full of raw and honest reflections on pain and pleasure. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Stephanie Kate Judd. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Amy Kenny, a disabled scholar and Shakespeare Lecturer, to talk about her book, My Body Is Not A Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church (published by Brazos). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Kenny shares with us her lived experience of disability and marginalization in the church, and the pain of unwanted prayers that essentially want to rid her of her disabled body. Instead of thinking in terms of healing, Dr. Kenny wants Christians to approach disability with the realization that God has always been at work in disability, since many biblical characters had a disability of some kind, and that, at the eschatological banquet in Luke 14, people with all sorts of disabilities will be present with their disabilities. Indeed, as she affirms, there's even something we can learn about disability from the broader community of God's creation, where nature resists the straight and orderly design of ableist structure. This conversation is rich with powerful testimony, witty one-liners, and incisive reflection on some of the problematic aspects of the church's approach to disabilities. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Kris Song. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carrying on in our series on Disability & Theology, we turn to think critically about the representation of disabilities in popular culture. In particular, we focus on the representation of Squibs in the Harry Potter series with Emma Brandel and Dr. Julye Bidmead. Emma Brandel is an undergraduate student at Chapman University (Orange, California) majoring in ancient cultures and languages, and Dr. Julye Bidmead is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the Director of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence at Chapman University. Over the course of our conversation Emma and Dr. Bidmead highlight the ways that Squibs—magical born people in the Harry Potter world who are not able to use a wand to produce magic—function as a metaphor for people with disabilities. What is most problematic about this connection, as we discuss, is that there is no educational accommodation for Squibs at Hogwarts, and further, that they are broadly denigrated within that magical society. This discussion stems from work that Emma did in a course taught by Dr. Bidmead in which she and a few of her fellow classmates produced a reading guide for people coming to the Harry Potter series 30 years later (or more) after readers have grown more sensitive to the unchecked biases in the series against various marginalized groups, including people with disabilities. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and, introducing for the first time on the podcast, Stanley Ng. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by Vinh Nguyen to talk about parenting children with Down syndrome. Vinh is a PhD student at McMaster Divinity College, and has served as a pastor in different capacities for over ten years. He is married with three children, one of whom is his daughter, Alli, who has Down syndrome. At the outset of our conversation, Vinh tells us about the circumstances surrounding the news from their OBGYN before Alli was born that she had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome as well as Down syndrome, and the miraculous story of how the left side of her heart formed despite what doctors told them. Vinh shares with us many things that he has learned from his daughter, including about the nature of prejudice, and he also dispels many myths that people have about Down syndrome. We also discuss the matters of ritual participation in the eucharist and baptism, and the implications of resurrection for how we think about the personhood of people with Down syndrome. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we discuss parenting children on the spectrum with Naomi and Mike Bird. Naomi Bird is Assistant Children’s and Family minister at her local church and a connect leader with MOPS Australia, and Mike Bird is an academic dean and lecturer in theology at Ridley College, Melbourne. Over the course of our conversation Naomi and Mike share their experience of parenting their son, Markus, who is on the Autism spectrum. They address the joys and challenges of parenting Markus, what’s been most helpful and unhelpful in the process of parenting him, and what they have learned about God through Markus. They stress the importance of recognizing that everyone is made in the image of God, and that within the Church we are all members of the Body of Christ with unique giftings and experiences. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Sydney Tooth. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.