Disability in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam collects eleven articles organized around
two central questions: First, how does
disability fit into the meta-narrative of God among the peoples of the book, and
second, how do sacred scriptures challenge discriminatory practices and
encourage inclusion. Editors Darla Schumm (associate professor,
Hollins University) and Michael
Stoltzfus (professor Valdosta State University) organize the articles into
two thematic sections. The first focuses
on textual interpretations of sacred writings and the final section examines
social and philosophical concerns which arise from hermeneutic tradition.
This volume is a groundbreaking attempt at
integrating disability studies with a world religions approach; the editors lament,
however, various Christian perspectives remain dominant as little research has
yet been on implications of disability in most world religions. As these eleven chapters are quite diverse,
the following analysis and review will only focus on several themes and
chapters.
The first several chapters begin with Judaism’s reinterpretation
of Levitical laws after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 C.E. Several rabbinical authorities removed the
problem of blemish from the person with a disability and relocated it to the
social community’s disabling gaze. Rabbi’s
were able to participate in ritual blessing, even with an impairing blemish, if
they were familiar to the congregation. Furthermore,
Jewish tradition stood opposed to the cultural attitudes on disability and
deafness. Despite antiquity’s practice of infanticide as response to
disability, rabbinical tradition understood persons with disabilities as
blessings from God. While the dominant
culture linked deafness to lack of intelligence, the Mishnah provided for alternative forms of communication for those
with hearing loss and speech impediments.
Islamic tradition is the subject of two chapters (3, 7). The first actually examines two passages from
the Qur’an– both of which focus on Jesus as the only one with eschatological
healing power over death, blindness, and leprosy. A further review of oral
traditions (hadith) reveals Muhammed’s
extremely varied interactions with people with skin diseases (leprosy), ranging
from extreme exclusion to cautious meeting.
The second chapter looks at modern accommodations for ritual prayer (namez) in Turkish Muslim communities
among those with later onset chronic disabilities, where the demarcation
between ability and disability blurs, based on the person’s autonomous
contribution to the socioeconomic community.
The primary editor’s co-authored article “Out of the
Darkness” (chapter 5) on the use of metaphorical blindness in John asserts sweeping
claims. While metaphoric language does
matter, each metaphor also has liminality. The authors
assert John’s use of the metaphor was not only ableist language which linked
evil and disability but also proof of John’s anti-Semitism by asserting his language intrinsically viewed the Jews as intellectually disabled embodiments of cosmic evil. One warrant for this interpretation is the
occasion that John, when identifying groups of persons, only identifies the
protagonist authorities as Jewish. In
the binary, the Jewish persons are marked, while the other people present are
not (even though they were presumably Jewish as well). This negates an alternative interpretation
that sets the binary between the marked Jewish religious authorities and the
unpresent, unmarked Roman civil authorities. While several warrants are also given to
these claims, the warrants are only valid if a hermeneutic is assumed which
isolates text outside the meta-narrative of the canon and denies the inherent
Jewishness of the early Christian church.
While I disagree with her claims on John’s gospel, unfortunately, the
way in which later generations of Christians interpret scripture incorrectly can
lead to designations of people groups as sub-humans.
In “Religious Metaphors as a Justification for Eugenic
Control: A Historical Analysis” (chapter 8), the authors explore the usage of
Christian metaphors during the “eugenic alarm era” (1900-1930). Writing from Kansas, his focus was on the development of eugenics in Kansas, even though the movement was also prevalent in most of the country. Under the guise of religious charity, persons with intellectual
disability were deemed sub-human and culled from the population. Christian symbolism was used in eugenics
propaganda. As part of ushering in God’s kingdom, ministers preached sermons
advocating compassionate euthanasia. The
Kansas state fair hosted Fitter Family contests, looking for "godly"=“goodly” families
(those without any obvious impairments or disabilities), while Kansas physician
Landman performed hundreds of sterilizations on those deemed unfit. The author reminds modern readers that the
infrastructure of Hitler’s Nazi-Germany programs were given credence in our
backyard through the misuse of religious metaphors.
Finally, in a practically oriented chapter on best practices
(chapter 10) the authors review the history of missions as it relates to
disability in the deaf culture.
Recognizing response must move from compassion to liberation, the
authors suggest some modification to the disability limited three-self (self-governed,
self-supported, self-propagating) missiological model. They propose four areas central for
establishing a permanent disability inclusion ministry: consultation, capacity-building,
community mainstreaming, and commitment.
All four of these are useful for startup disability ministries in the
local church context as well.
Other chapters explore church fathers, multiple theodicies,
and possible future scenarios in disability theology, the philosophy of religion,
and social praxis.
Overall, this volume succeeds in weaving together nearly a dozen
perspectives across centuries, continents, and religions. Agree or disagree, each chapter is
challenging, provocative, and insightful. This volume is useful for those
researching disability studies, but virtually useless for most local
pastors. For that reason, it will be
relegated to the librarian’s stacks. The
exception and shining gem, however, is “Best Practices for Faith Based
Organizations: Working with Deaf Communities in Developing Communities.” This
article is a must read for all disability ministry organizations, local church
planters, and missiologists.
