{"product_id":"wondrously-wounded-theology-disability-and-the-body-of-christ-9781481310130","title":"Wondrously Wounded: Theology, Disability, and the Body of Christ","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe church welcomes all--or it should.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe church has long proven itself a safe refuge despite the sad reality that it can be, and has been, unwelcoming toward those perceived as different. This is especially true of the contemporary church's response to those with disabilities--a response often at surprising variance with its historic practices of care. The church once helped shape western morality to cherish these individuals with love and acceptance. It is thus ironic when today's church neglects this care, or practices care with no awareness of the rich theological history out of which such moral sensibilities originally emerged. In \u003ci\u003eWondrously Wounded\u003c\/i\u003e, Brian Brock reclaims the church's historic theology of disability and extends it to demonstrate that people with disabilities, like all created in God's image, are servants of God's redemptive work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrock divides his volume into five parts. \u003cb\u003ePart one\u003c\/b\u003e chronicles how early Christianity valued and cared for those with disabilities, putting into practice Jesus' teachings about divine mercy in decidedly countercultural ways. \u003cb\u003ePart two\u003c\/b\u003e details how a rise in the fear of disability tempted the church away from these merciful practices as well as its confession of the infinite worth of all God has created. \u003cb\u003ePart three\u003c\/b\u003e traces how the fear of difference continues to negatively shape contemporary practices in today's schools, churches, and politics. \u003cb\u003ePart four\u003c\/b\u003e lays the foundations of a vision of Christian life that is resistant to this pervasive fear. Finally, \u003cb\u003ePart five\u003c\/b\u003e shows how the recognition of all people as part of the body of Christ not only demonstrates the love of Christ but displaces the fear of disability in a manner that invites the church beyond even the most ambitious contemporary hopes for full inclusion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrock interweaves his historical and theological analysis with the narrative of his own disabled son, Adam. These stories vividly bring into view the vulnerability, as well as the power, of the disabled in contemporary society. Ultimately, Brock argues, those with disabilities are conduits of spiritual gifts that the church desperately needs. \u003ci\u003eWondrously Wounded\u003c\/i\u003e is an appeal to the church to find itself broken and remade by the presence of Christ on offer in the lives of those society has labeled \"disabled.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrian Brock is Professor of Moral and Practical Theology, Department of Divinity and Religious Studies, University of Aberdeen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Baylor University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50557473653010,"sku":"9781481310130","price":60.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2e235745-c015-4b24-836d-b2c906411c53.jpg?v=1731783899","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/wondrously-wounded-theology-disability-and-the-body-of-christ-9781481310130","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}