Overview

Living in proximity to human disability, with a son who has Down Syndrome, Andrew Barron has come to understand that not only do we live in a world of human difference, but that God wants us to live in this kind of world, for our own flourishing. Human Difference is an extended meditation on that experience and a reflection on the nature of human care and hospitality. Barron seeks to understand and embrace the uncertainty that comes with living in proximity to difference and disability and reflects on how we might better cope with and ultimately be enriched by its ambiguity. He undertakes a new approach to difference: we must be ready to venture into uncomfortable territory, to ""put out into the deep water"" and to actively seek out an intimate and open closeness with difference and disability.

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9781666779240

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Reviews

"""Andrew Barron's intimate and insightful reflections on life with his son Rafi, who has Down Syndrome, challenges us to rethink disability and difference and what we ultimately value in life. In an age that often promotes detached speculation, sterilizes suffering, and worships efficiency, this storied approach to theological and ethical inquiry is a courageous invitation to elevate the importance of proximity and particularity and conceive of difference as normative, not abnormal."" -Paul Louis Metzger, author of More Than Things: A Personalist Ethics for a Throwaway Culture ""Speaking powerfully out of his own experience with his son Rafi who lives with Down Syndrome, Andrew Barron offers deep reflections on the sacredness of human difference and the hospitality of God. Readers won't agree with everything Barron says, but our disagreements are the beginning point for all vital transformative conversations. This book is an important contribution to the theology of disability."" -John Swinton, professor in practical theology and pastoral care, King's College, University of Aberdeen ""Thank God for Rafi Barron whose life has spurred his father to think deeply out of his combined Jewish and Christian set of commitments about the difference that proximity makes, and how being close to those who are different from us invites another posture of welcoming that much of conventional culture often otherizes. God's gift through Rafi in these pages includes probing reflections on the Bible and invitations to consider questions that we might not otherwise take up. Thanks be to God, and to Rafi!"" -Amos Yong, author of Theology and Down Syndrome: Reimagining Disability in Late Modernity ""Andrew Barron's book engages directly with some of the most challenging and nagging issues of human life from and with God-family, suffering, death, incapacity, limitation, difference, divine love. It does so with compelling concreteness, at times gripping involvement, and always accessible prose, imagery, and argument. We won't agree with all the moves he makes, but we will ever be brought face to face with unavoidable divine questions, human imperatives, and acknowledged grace."" -Ephraim Radner, professor emeritus of historical theology, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto ""This book is much, much more than I expected on the subject of disability theology. This is a must-read for anyone who cares for someone who is disabled or different, who feels like an outsider because of their own difference, or who simply wants a fresh perspective on what it means to be a human person created in the image of God."" -Lori Baron, assistant professor of New Testament, Saint Louis University ""Andrew Barron's book addresses the personal and spiritual challenges he and his family have encountered while journeying through life and faith with Rafi, who has Down Syndrome. With a combination of honesty, integrity, and faith, Barron delves into profound and heart-searching questions using insights from Jewish and Christian thought, theology, and contemporary studies on difference and disability."" -Richard Harvey, associate lecturer, All Nations Christian College"

Author Information

Andrew Barron was an adjunct faculty at The Centre for Spirituality, Disability, and Care at Martin Luther University College, federated with Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada. He has previously taught disability and theology at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto where he graduated with his doctor of ministry degree in 2016. Barron lives in Toronto. He is married to Laura and is the father of Rafael, Ketzia, and Simona. Andrew can be contacted at drandrewbarron.com.

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