Breaking Not Broken​

Author Timothy Goode
Publisher SCM Press £30
Format pbk
ISBN 9780334063162

As Christians we can carry a distorted picture of our own goodness and may not be sufficiently aware of our failings to see the effect we have on those who encounter us. This book challenges us to examine our acceptance of ableism. The author has been disabled since the age of six and experienced ableism not just in Christian attitudes but in architecture, liturgy, ecclesiology and heritage. What if our cathedrals had been designed for bodies that limp or flinch or tremble? What if our liturgies had been written in rhythms of pain or protest? The author argues that the church should abandon its distorted picture of ableism and embrace the risen wounded body of Christ so that disabled people are recognised not as guests in God’s church but as co-builders of the kingdom. This book is a reminder that God does not see anything lacking in us but accepts that each in their own way reflects the image of the Creator.

Reviewed by DAVID GILLIES

Inclusivity