John Swinton has indelibly shaped the discipline of practical theology not only in the United Kingdom but globally, and has been especially influential in the areas of disability theology, dementia, health care, and chaplaincy. Swinton presses one question with a special intensity: What does it mean to be human? The chapters in this volume display why this question unifies his wide-ranging corpus of work and show how Swinton has answered it in the various domains he has explored. The chapters range as widely as his work, from ’Swintonian’ practical theological methodology, to specific themes like friendship, peace, and belonging. Several chapters offer concrete testimonies of how Swinton’s work has influenced scholars and practitioners alike. Contributors identify the pivotal moves in Swinton’s work and draw together into a single volume an account of how these themes have been developed in different material discussions.
Disciples and Friends, as a survey of John’s key methodological and theological stances, will become an indispensable resource for students and scholars of practical theology, disability theology, mental health, dementia, and cognate fields. The volume brings together renowned scholars who know not only John Swinton’s work but also him as a person. This knowledge enables contributors to insightfully link Swinton’s work to the life he has lived and to suggest promising avenues for further development of his signature ideas. In compiling for the first time an accessible survey of and introduction to one of the most important voices to emerge in disability theology for many decades, Disciples and Friends represents a seminal scholarly undertaking and a fitting tribute to Swinton’s legacy.
Innehållsförteckning
Introduction: What Does It Mean to Be Human? by Armand Léon van Ommen
Part One: Practical Theology in a Swintonian Key
1 Enacting a Theology of Disability: Framing Swinton, by Topher Endress, Hannah Waite, and Julie Marie Land
2 Exploring the World through a Theological Lens: ’Swintonian’ Practical Theology, by Henk De Roest
3 Worship and Discipleship as Meta-Themes in the Theology of John Swinton, by Doug Gay
Part Two: Vulnerability Subverted
4 The Subversion of Strength and Weakness: Paul’s Grammar of Salvation and Autism, by Grant Macaskill
5 On Disability and the Dread of Vulnerability, by Marcia Webb
6 Does L’Arche Need Another Saint?, by Hans S. Reinders and Cristina Gangemi
7 Being Remembered When We Forget: Finding God in Dementia and Suffering, by Michael Mawson
Part Three: Quests for Faithful Embodiment
8 Bearing the Reality of Dementia, by Aileen Barclay
9 Navigating Mental Health: A Personal Narrative, by Elahe Hessamfar
10 ’I Could Not for the Life of Me Remember His Name!’: Dementia Care in Australia, by Stephen Judd
11 All God’s Children Got a Place in the Choir: Discipleship, Disability, and Dementia, by William C. Gaventa
Part Four: Living Gently in a Violent World
12 Belonging, by Benjamin Conner
13 The Being of Friendship: An Essay in Honor of the Tired John Swinton, by Andrew Root
14 The Practice of Health Care and the Gentleness of Jesus, by Stanley Hauerwas and Warren Kinghorn
15 Peace, by Medi Anne Volpe
Afterword: On Following Jesus into the Shadows, by Brian R. Brock
Om författaren
Armand Léon van Ommen is Senior Lecturer in Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen.
Brian R. Brock is Professor in Moral and Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen.