John Swinton is a Scottish theologian recognized as a significant figure in the development of disability theology. His work delves into the intricate connections between spirituality, health, and disability, seeking to understand profound theological questions that arise from the human experience. Rooted in his background as an ordained minister and academic, Swinton's approach effectively bridges theoretical insights with their practical implications for life.
The author draws on his experiences with individuals facing intellectual disabilities, mental health challenges, and dementia to explore profound questions about faithfulness, discipleship, and community. This unique perspective enriches his theological insights, inviting readers to consider how diverse ways of seeing the world can deepen their understanding of spirituality and human connection.
The exploration of evil delves into its true nature, challenging the perception that it is solely associated with monstrous figures or horrific acts. Instead, it suggests that everyone may unknowingly participate in acts of evil, contributing to harm, particularly to the vulnerable. The book emphasizes the importance of recognizing and understanding these hidden aspects of evil to effectively resist and combat it. By bringing awareness to our own potential complicity, it advocates for a proactive stance against the insidious influences of evil in our lives.
Learn the skills necessary to successfully create an accurate model boat from scratch, including structural elements, paper model renderings, hull features, and mechanical drawings. This book takes the reader through all the steps necessary to create one model boat based on the "Annie Buck," an actual Chesapeake Bay "Deadrise" workboat. Based on all readers learn here, they will be able to apply the design techniques and theories to successfully create models of other boats that appeal to them. In fact, the detailed text also explains how to read marine drawings for reference and describes the tools and techniques needed to successfully execute bulkhead and lift building theory. For inspiration, a gallery of finished models includes Coronados, cruisers, and trawlers. This book will prove its worth to modelers everywhere.
Friendship and the Care of People with Mental Health Problems
Exploring the intersection of mental illness and societal attitudes, John Swinton highlights that the challenges faced by individuals often stem from societal reactions rather than purely biological factors. He argues for a shift in the church's approach to pastoral care, advocating for a model that emphasizes rehumanization through friendship and supportive relationships. This perspective suggests that effective care extends beyond traditional psychiatric methods to include the importance of community and understanding in the healing process.
Lenten readings and reflections consider how to love in truth, love the vulnerable and the suffering, embrace difference, care for our world, love ourselves, and love to the very end.
Recognized for its cultural significance, this work contributes to the foundational knowledge of civilization. It has been chosen by scholars for its importance in understanding historical and societal contexts, offering insights that are essential to the study of our collective heritage.
In Becoming Friends of Time, John Swinton crafts a theology of time that draws us toward a perspective wherein time is a gift and a calling. Time is not a commodity nor is time to be mastered. Time is a gift of God to humans, but is also a gift given back to God by humans. Swinton wrestles with critical questions that emerge from theological reflection on time and disability: rethinking doctrine for those who can never grasp Jesus with their intellects; reimagining discipleship and vocation for those who have forgotten who Jesus is; reconsidering salvation for those who, due to neurological damage, can be one person at one time and then be someone else in an instant. In the end, Swinton invites the reader to spend time with the experiences of people with profound neurological disability, people who can change our perceptions of time, enable us to grasp the fruitful rhythms of God’s time, and help us learn to live in ways that are unimaginable within the boundaries of the time of the clock.
John Swinton describes his place of formation walking alongside people living with intellectual disabilities, mental health challenges and dementia, and how it has gifted him with the opportunity to ask different theological questions of the Christian tradition; questions that emerge from the lives of people who see the world differently.