I spent a good part of 2021-22 attending to the subject of disability theology while processing my life-long experience with my older developmentally-delayed sister who has lived with cerebral palsy from birth. Together we sorted through past memories to compile a short book for her to share with others. Many of those stories are available on my blog.
The project took a toll on my heart and spirit. I thought I was stronger, but I’m weaker than I realized. This disappointed me.
I needed a breather and turned my attention to other subjects – Incarnation, Eucharist, Judas’s betrayal of Jesus – while continuing to read books on gender, Mary, and men and women’s work in the church – all of which are waiting impatiently for a place of their own on my blog.
Working part-time at a local Christian bookstore gives me ample time to get out of my head while allowing for the occasional opportunity to advocate for others. Unfortunately, it also keeps me from writing and sharing as much as I’d like.
Last spring I researched several subjects for a women’s event – gaining surprising insights into the parable of the good sower that I hope to share in the future. Precious time is spent pondering my faith and discussing these thoughts with my husband, my favorite theological partner.
Books, studies, journal articles related to disability, and disability theological works continue to roll off the presses. I’m glad for the attention highly trained and gifted scholars give to this subject. I’m particularly drawn to the theological works coming from those with a lived-experience with disabilities and impairment of all sorts, but especially those with physical impairments from birth such as my sister’s.
I find they are often better equipped to critique their own lived realities and experiences and agree with Eiesland that “people with disabilities are most aware of their bodies.” 1 I am uncertain whether this indicates all disabled persons are “best suited to reflect theologically on issues of embodiment,” even if the disabled “have an epistemological advantage [and can] see things that are invisible to others.” 2
My sister has a heightened awareness of her surrounding community and all who provide care for her, yet I must be prepared to intervene with gentle guidance along the way when necessary. Still, listening to the experiences of the disabled gives insight into a world in which those of us abled (or temporarily-disabled) persons can only imagine. As an abled-bodied person my imagination often misses the mark. I doubt it is ever possible to know a person well without being informed by their own view of themselves.
I value the depth of attention scholars continue to give to the question close to my heart: What does Scripture teach about those who live in bodies incapable of providing a livelihood for themselves (the weak?) and for those who serve them (the strong?)?
In my experience each scholarly viewpoint – progressive, conservative, traditional, biblical and secular – can be helpful. It matters not whether the views are negative or positive since each contribute in some way to the ongoing conversation – even if only by revealing the heart of humanity towards the weak.
I’m keenly aware that it’s inadequate to label the disabled as weak in contrast to those we call abled and strong, constructing two camps – a privileging of one while discriminating against another. It is challenging to write or speak about this subject because language is limited. Labels are dangerous.
Labels reduce people to objects, and that is certainly not my intention. Even the labels in my first sentence above about the various viewpoints of others is troubling because each category fails to encompass the vast diversity of viewpoints and the personal experiences of each author.
Undoubtedly, there will be times when it’s necessary to discard some or even most of what was proposed in a particular work. Yet, I find that reading with a critical and teachable mind is important. There is much to learn from each another.
Flourishing in the New Creation
I recently became aware of a newly published book: Perfection in Weakness: Disability and Human Flourishing in the New Creation by Maja Whitaker. 3 The title caught my attention. I scanned it online. Then I immediately became angry, recognizing I’m prone to a depth of defensiveness whenever it comes to persons with disabilities. How could the author, I thought, with little personal experience with disabled persons think she had anything legitimate to contribute to this growing body of research.
Ironically, I discovered a hidden prejudice on my part against scholars who had no first-hand experience with disabled persons!
Nevertheless, I ordered the book and waited impatiently for it to arrive. When it slipped through the mail slot to the floor I tossed it onto the kitchen table, walking past it for several days. Meanwhile a fight with the author festered in my mind before I even cracked open the book.
I left it there – unseen, alone – like the lame invisible to many on their way to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. I wanted to teach it a lesson, that it had no hold on me. I owed it nothing. Like Cain I cried I out, must I be a guardian of the weak, of anyone?
Who was I kidding? I wanted to tear into the book the minute I learned of its existence regardless of the pain and wounds I knew it would open in my heart.
I’ve experienced the ebb and flow of disability since the day of my birth. Another’s disability formed a good part of who I am – that much is true, but throughout the years I’ve learned it’s not the last word about who I am.
Every morning when gazing in the mirror I am reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthians. I see myself graying, aging – the features and reality of my own physical weaknesses mocking me. And I fight it. Who am I, how have I become this? Even though my own body’s telos is incomplete and I am still imperfect in the present, I rejoice that God knows me completely for who I presently am, and who I will eventually be, even if I’m unable to come to terms with it now.
Disabled after Death?
Maja and her “supportive husband” are parents of four daughters. Because Maja has no “epistemological privilege” 4 of disability herself, nor has she experienced caring for a disabled family member she must “[r]eflect … on the lives of persons with disabilities.” 5 How in heaven’s name, I wondered, could this author give advice to those who live with all levels of disability! Her book “emerged out of [a] doctoral thesis” which resulted in a “journey of ruthless self-discovery” for the author. This bothered me and I wonder – do those with disabilities tire of being the implement by which their experience is the means to self-discovery, of hope and inspirations for others?
Of particular interest in the book is the matter of life-after-death, the belief in resurrection, and who might we be in the future – disembodied souls or fully functioning bodies. Whitaker explores how bodies/persons might exist and flourish in the new creation (hence the title).
This isn’t an oft-spoken topic. Yet it is an important one for all Christians – disabled or not – who believe in the resurrection and life after death in the new creation. I’ve been quick to hold to the traditional view that infirmities experienced upon earth will be no more. Broken and deformed physical bodies will be perfect and whole in the place we call heaven. But is that so?
There appears to be little consensus among Bible scholars and Christian theologians whether the physical state of a person’s disability on earth will continue or be discontinued (healed) in the future heavenly (new creation) existence for the disabled person after the resurrection.
The question of who we will be after the resurrection is a speculative one, leading us, it seems, nowhere. The questions below require us to acknowledge our inability to know.
Even though we can’t be absolutely certain about what lies ahead after death we long to know. You may argue it is a futile project since we can’t know for certain, and I might agree.
Yet I believe it is an important subject for all who adhere to the Christian belief in bodily resurrection to consider. In my experience it is a great concern for those with disabilities and it raises several questions.
- Will the person who endured a debilitating disability in the present age be presented with a new and whole body (discontinuity/rejection view) in the new eternal age? We don’t know!
- Will the disabled person we love in the here-and-now retain their disability (continuity/retention view) in the hereafter? We don’t know!
The discussions and opinions about eternal existence in life after death are deep matters and can strengthen or shatter someone’s faith. It is especially challenging when it pertains to those who provide for and give counsel to those with disabilities. For parents of children with varying degrees of disabilities the concerns are highly increased.
I’ve thought long and hard about this, wondering if it is wise to broach the subject with my own sister. Would it be profitable or disruptive to her faith? I have no idea. I’m confident she understands the mysteriousness of God and God’s relationship with her more than I do of my own. I’ll leave it for the two of them to work out.
So why should we bother?
Why pursue a subject about which we’re unable to achieve an acceptable conclusion? That’s a valid question. And here we discover our predicament: how we think and believe about heaven and disability reveals more about our own heart in the present than it does of any future existence for ourselves or any disabled one.
While we cannot say with absolute certainty what our future existence will be after death – we are at least obliged to examine how we live in the present. 6
This is precisely when I discovered my own predicament! As I explore this predicament further in part two of this series, I’ve no doubt I’ll discover clues to my own weakness!
- Eiesland, The Disabled God, p 31
- Disability and Christian Theology, p 86.
- Whitaker, Maja, Perfect in Weakness: Disability and Human Flourishing in the New Creation. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2023.
- Maja Whitaker, Perfect in Weakness: Disability and Human Flourishing in the New Creation, (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2023), 4.
- Whitaker, Perfect in Weakness, ix-x, 2.
- https://disabilityandfaith.org/will-there-be-disabilities-in-heaven/