God made us neither whole nor holy
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2024 5:21 pm
I'm just reading the new edition of Anabaptist World which concentrates on "ableism". And I beg to differ. I am not at least convinced that this fighting "ableism" is a Christian tradition, rather it serves "the spirit of our times".
In those matters I make an exception and rely on Karl Marx who reasonably said: Everyone (should work) according to his (different) abilities, everyone (should be given) according to his (different) needs.
I start with the completely over-the-edge headline "God made me whole and holy". No, by birth we are neither whole nor holy.
But with the help of God we can develop a sense of soberness. Which allows us to see where we are incomplete and in what way we are less able than some other more gifted people we know. But for to develop this sense we must speak about those facts and not hide them. (Of course this is mostly a problem for handicaps which are not visible in the first five seconds.)
Also with the help of God we can learn to diminish our claims on others, not to inflate them, and to set them in relation to the claims that other people have on us.
There's the woman in a weelchair who feels that she is "not welcome" as a "leader" (but only as a worshipper!), because there are stairs before the culprit. (Now I must admit that I am here at odds wirh American Mennonites who constantly speak about "leadership". What exactly should it be and what purpose does it serve?) If she sees that indeed people feel the need for a leader she should start with developing her "leaderly" gifts, and probably if people see her as the leader they need they will dismantle the stairs. Starting with the stairs means putting the cart before the horse.
The spirit of our times is, firstly, to pretend that all people are equally gifted, and, secondly, that people should first consider what society can do for them (and, at best, look the other way round afterwards). And my gut feeling is that I would not want to live that way.
In those matters I make an exception and rely on Karl Marx who reasonably said: Everyone (should work) according to his (different) abilities, everyone (should be given) according to his (different) needs.
I start with the completely over-the-edge headline "God made me whole and holy". No, by birth we are neither whole nor holy.
But with the help of God we can develop a sense of soberness. Which allows us to see where we are incomplete and in what way we are less able than some other more gifted people we know. But for to develop this sense we must speak about those facts and not hide them. (Of course this is mostly a problem for handicaps which are not visible in the first five seconds.)
Also with the help of God we can learn to diminish our claims on others, not to inflate them, and to set them in relation to the claims that other people have on us.
There's the woman in a weelchair who feels that she is "not welcome" as a "leader" (but only as a worshipper!), because there are stairs before the culprit. (Now I must admit that I am here at odds wirh American Mennonites who constantly speak about "leadership". What exactly should it be and what purpose does it serve?) If she sees that indeed people feel the need for a leader she should start with developing her "leaderly" gifts, and probably if people see her as the leader they need they will dismantle the stairs. Starting with the stairs means putting the cart before the horse.
The spirit of our times is, firstly, to pretend that all people are equally gifted, and, secondly, that people should first consider what society can do for them (and, at best, look the other way round afterwards). And my gut feeling is that I would not want to live that way.