For the last three days I’ve been at the Summer Institute
for Theology and Disability in Toronto. The dialogue has been rich,
provocative, and deeply edifying. If you have any interest in the intersection
of theology and disability, I strongly encourage you to attend this event next
year (time and place TBA).
Part of the dialogue here has been with Roman Catholic and
Byzantine Rite Catholic Christians, some of whom have been involved in the
L’Arch community. Their contributions to this dialogue have been absolutely
indispensable, in part because their tradition has done so much thinking about
the idea of theological anthropology—a concept of the human being rooted in the
Christian understanding of God and God’s relationship to creation.
Many Protestant groups are sadly lacking in sophisticated
and rigorous engagement with the notion of theological anthropology. This is
certainly the case in the United Methodist tradition. We are perfectly happy to
make very bold claims about issues such as abortion, end-of-life care, people
with disabilities, human sexuality, and other issues, without really having a
clear idea of what a human being actually is. This is not to say that UM
theologians and ethicists have not ventured into this territory, but their
insights have yet to make a notable imprint on the discussions within the
structures of the church.
One aspect of this issue on which we have to be absolutely
clear is this: human beings are not to be valued because of what they do, but because of what they are. A pithy way of putting this is to
say we are human beings, not human doings. From a Christian perspective, a
human being has value because he or she is God’s human creation, regardless of
what he or she may be able to “contribute” by worldly standards. (In fact, many
monumental doings of human beings can hardly be considered contributions.) The
life of a person with severe intellectual disabilities, then, is every bit as
valuable as the life of any other person, no matter how “accomplished” that
person may be.
Once we have established this claim, we can move one step
further: the inherent value of a person is located in his or her created-ness
as a person, and humanity reaches its full potential in loving relationship
with others. The Church, therefore, should be intentional about welcoming
people of all abilities into its community. Our relationships are not to be
predicated upon how much a person can give, how well he or she can teach Sunday
school or lead a meeting, or his or her volunteer service within the community.
Rather, our relationships are predicated on ontology—the basic understanding of
what a human being is in relation to God, and our realization that humanity
reaches its fullest potential in loving relationships based upon the communion
of Persons in the Holy Trinity.
Secularization is dangerous. Regardless of whatever harm
people may do in the name of God, Christianity bears within it the potential to
redeem our understanding of human beings. First, however, we must engage the
relevant issues with fervent prayer and intellectual virtue. We have to get
clear about what human beings are and why we have inherent value, or the way ahead will
be treacherous indeed.
Secularism is dangerous?!
ReplyDeleteYes, secularism is dangerous. Consider the situation in the UK. There is a push in to implement a policy whereby, when pre-natal testing discloses that a child will be born disabled, parents who choose to go through with the pregnancy will have to assume full financial responsibility for the child's medical care--and this in a country with socialized medicine. This is a form of eugenics.
ReplyDeleteTwo comments.
ReplyDeleteFirst, wow, I had not heard this story out of the UK. What a horrific thought.
Second, can you recommend a book or two that engages seriously with theological anthropology in a constructive way?
Thank you, David, for your blog.
John, I might suggest the book Theological Anthropology: A Guide for the Perplexed. As someone who is often perplexed, I think this is a pretty good series.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteIs there a reference you can cite for what is going on in the UK? I would love to read more about it. Sounds pretty scary, but I like to go to primary sources. Thanks
ReplyDeleteOh, and, I agree wholeheartedly with your post!
This issue came up at a recent conference I attended. I will try to track down the primary source.
ReplyDelete