The Disabled God/dess:

Reflections Upon Paganism, Christianity, and The Disabled Experience

Lucas Walker, MDiv.

May 2014

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Introduction

Paganism is a welcoming space for those who identify themselves across a variety of

constellations; it is built into the ethic of Paganism to do so. Consistently, we have operated from

the margins of the social and religious Western world. As a result, we continue to interrogate our

role in sexism, racism, and homophobia, with specific initiatives which confront these issues.

Paganism has been at the forefront of confronting injustice and violence.

As a result, it is a community norm that spaces be accessible; that difference be respected

and cherished; that coveners have equal opportunity to participate; that statements and actions

which support social and environmental justice be integral to the worshipping body/individual. I

do not intend to imply that we cohabit in peace. Contentious arguments, and great failures to

respond appropriately to people and their experience, occur frequently. But in various forms, 1

even as an ideal for which to strive, Paganism has always espoused an ethic of freedom,

responsibility, humility, equality, mutuality and respect. 2

Paganism has always been a community-driven spiritual movement, resulting in a great 3

plurality of voices who contribute and teach and challenge, particularly since the advent of

Witness, in the Bay Area, the ongoing work and argument around events which occurred at PantheaCon. 1

Thompson, Sarah et al. Gender and Transgender in Modern Paganism (Cupertino CA: Circle of Cerridwen Press, 2012), PDF/ebook available online. Schulz, Cara. “Overview of The PantheaCon Gender Debate,” Blog Post, February 22, 2012. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/2012/02/overview-of-the-pantheacon-gender-debate/ Accessed May 28, 2014.

See the Charge of The Goddess by Doreen Valiente, widely available in books and online, including at 2

www.reclaiming.org/about/witchfaq/charge.html. Accessed May 29, 2014.

Throughout this paper, ‘Paganism’ is broadly understood as an umbrella term for all earth-based, theistic and non-3

theistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, henotheistic, etc practices and traditions, including Wicca. Instead of listing the incredible variety of official and unofficial traditions and systems, I am using ‘Paganism’ as shorthand for the complexity and diversity around core principles of nature-based worship, spellcraft, trancing, reincarnation, and more.

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online connection. Blogs, websites, and fora are all utilized to share opinions, suggest rituals or

spells, and publicize events, in the mostly democratic manner which the internet allows.

Pagan theology is seen as arising out of practice and individualized adaptation of

resurrected/reinterpreted (and appropriated) belief systems. These are community-driven

movements, and will remain so, legitimate in their lived experience and value to faith

practitioners. But Paganism has begun to achieve ‘legitimacy’ in the eyes of the religious,

academic, and social realms as a source of practice, belief, meaning—and thus serious inquiry.

This ranges from inclusion of ‘paganism’ as a descriptor in census statistics, to its place in the

American Academy of Religion.

As Paganism itself is ‘legitimized’ in our Western context, it not only establishes its own

rules of appropriate conduct and inquiry, but responds to the wider academic/religious

community of which it is a part. Furthermore, it must and will address those gaps in its voiced

position and shared knowledge that are necessary for its diverse practices to thrive into the

future. Such academic inquiries, including clearly delineated thealogies, are yet small in the field

of religious studies, but gaining in scope. Pagan research and thealogy are necessary for the

flourishing of Paganism as a whole, and for its role as the voice of believers in the academic and

social worlds.

The Christian belief system, especially within Protestantism, has established a massive

academic-theological presence in religious studies. Cutting edge, developing fields of theological

and social inquiry in Christianity are attempting to respond more fully, sensitively, and

adequately to the particular problems of the world we inhabit now.

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For instance, in the realm of environmental justice, Christian theology has pulled much

from its previous movements lost to history; its own theology which may have warped over time;

and from Paganism and other indigenous belief systems, which can teach them more mindful

practices (again the issue of appropriation arises, as it always must). Christianity has started to

listen to the margins and seek to be socially inclusive, environmentally responsible, and even

experimental.

At issue for this paper is the field of disability theology, itself an offshoot of disability

studies, a social sciences field developed specifically by and for the disabled community. 4

Disability theology in a Christian context has attempted first to challenge and then to inclusively

rebuild historical-theological notions of the body, salvation, healing, and more. Beginning with

early voices in the field like Kathy Black, culminating in perhaps the most influential disability

theologian to date, Nancy Eiesland, disability theology has become a thriving academic and lay

resource to challenge accepted notions of what disability means—and specifically what it means

in a Christian theological context. Nancy Eiesland persuasively argued that God’s Self is

disabled, and thus disability and its reality lies at the heart of Christian faith.

Speaking broadly, Paganism has not voiced a clearly delineated thea/ology of disability in

like manner to Protestant theologians; this paper will attempt to interrogate and lay the first steps

toward such a statement. Given our wide focus on inclusion and acceptance, it is essential that

Pagan leaders work to define and enact a clearly delineated Pagan Theology of Disability. In the

following paper, I shall explore the following thesis: Paganism has a responsibility to enunciate a

thea/ology of disability, arising from our belief system and histories, which seeks to offer

Viz., the Society for Disability Studies, an academic, online and journalistic endeavor for the field: http://4

www.disstudies.org. Accessed May 10, 2014.

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practical guidance to those we serve and with whom we worship. And perhaps the tables have

turned. Perhaps this time, we can look to see what Christianity has done in this arena, then seek

to compare, contrast, challenge, incorporate, and ritually enact beliefs on disability theology for

our own communities.

I will begin with some basic factual information on disability and how it is experienced in

our Western context, including some practical advice for creating truly welcoming Pagan

communities, before moving to a review of the main Christian theological positions of Nancy

Eiesland and others. I will then consider how elements of such theology could be adapted, and

where Paganism can outline its own native statements of belief on this issue. We will close with

questions on liturgical and ritual enactions of meaning, since religion constantly brings its

theology into meaning in the ritual space.

What Do We Mean By ‘Disability’?

To better respond to the diverse needs of people living with disabilities, in 1990 the

United States government passed the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), with subsequent

expansions in legislation in 2008 and 2010. The law was carefully crafted to protect the rights of 5

American citizens—especially in employment, housing, and medical care—to increase

accessibility, lessen discrimination, and provide resources and legal protection for such persons.

The law offers a detailed description of ‘disability,’ which requires medical diagnosis. It

reads in part, disability is “…a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or

The full text of the Americans With Disabilities Act and all its accompanying regulations are available in PDF and 5

hypertext on the official ADA website. http://www.ada.gov/2010_regs.htm Accessed May 8, 10, and 21, 2014.

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more major life activities.” Major life activities are understood to be all physical and mental 6

systems meant for survival, mobility, communication, thinking, etc. Commonly understood 7

disabling conditions include cancer, heart disease, deafness, major depression, blindness, hemi/

quadriplegia, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, schizophrenia and more.

The law is also careful to protect the rights of individuals against whom discrimination

occurs “…because of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment whether or not the

impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity.” (emphasis added) This is an 8

important distinction: a disabled person may have difficulty walking, but does not themselves

view it as a limitation of full health and function, although they may experience discrimination

based on the perception of being limited. Such a distinction clarifies that, although medical

diagnosis is part of the experience of disabled people, the primary model for understanding

disabilities is the minority model.

The diagnosis of disability comes from professionals in the medical and psychological/

psychiatric fields. Government organizations all have various definitions for their own purposes

[e.g., the Social Security Administration (SSA) has their own], including international medical 9

organizations. With variation in the purpose of the definition (i.e., assignation of benefits for the

SSA), all recognize that disability covers a range of both physical and mental issues. The World

Health Organization (WHO) states:

ADA.gov, full text of the ADA: Sec. 12102 (1)(A).6

Ibid., ADA Sec. 12102 (2)(A) & (B).7

Ibid., ADA Sec. 12102 (3)(A).8

Available on the official website: http://www.ssa.gov/disability/#sb=1. Accessed May 8 and 21, 2014.9

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“The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) defines

disability as an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation

restrictions. Disability is the interaction between individuals with a health condition (e.g.

cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and depression) and personal and environmental factors

(e.g. negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation and public buildings, and limited

social supports).” 10

As one can see from these definitions in both legal and medical categories, the general

scope and definition of disability is clear within our context, as are the many arenas of life which

it impacts: home, work, faith practice, community, and care. Disabled persons function as a

marginalized minority in the world, and in our culture.

Disability and Statistics

The United States’ Census Bureau published their most recent findings on disabilities in 2012.

“Approximately 56.7 million people (18.7 percent) of the 303.9 million in the civilian non-

institutionalized population had a disability in 2010. About 38.3 million people (12.6 percent)

had a severe disability.” 11

In other words, nearly 20% of the US population has a disability in one arena or more;

this figure is likely higher since certain disabilities (mental ones, especially) tend to be hidden,

World Health Organization, “Fact Sheet #352,” revised September 2013. PDF available at http://www.who.int/10

mediacentre/factsheets/fs352/en/ Accessed May 8 and 21, 2014. The WHO helpfully includes that ‘handicap’ is understood not to describe the person, but their experience of limitation in social settings due to accessibility barriers, etc.

United States Census Bureau, “Americans With Disabilities: 2010,” PDF available at http://www.census.gov/11

people/disability/. Accessed May 8, 10, and 21, 2014. NB: Page 2 of this report has a helpful and comprehensive definition of disability which incorporates features of the World Health Organization’s internationally recognized ICF charting method.

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invisible, and/or underreported. This figure increases dramatically when viewed globally; the

WHO estimates that roughly 15% of the world, over a billion people, have some form of

disability. Again, such disabilities cover an incredibly broad range of genetic, organic, 12

traumatic, acquired and progressive illnesses and conditions, which can effect the physical body,

the physical mind, and the psychological mind. In the ensuing discussion, this must always be

remembered, as living with any disability, or disabilities, is a singular experience.

Language And Etiquette

To sensitively and adequately respond to disabled persons and communities, our language

must reflect our care for all people. As with all multicultural minorities, it is important to take

our cues from what the individual/community feels is most appropriate. Certain terms will be

useful for communities as a whole, but individuals may have different terminology which they

prefer. And in all cases, my research and lived experience in this field has further reinforced that

listening to how an individual describes themselves, and their community, must always be our

guide. 13

World Health Organization, “Fact Sheet #352.”12

In regard to ‘disability’ and ‘disabled:’ these have acquired prominence in self-defined communities, and the terms 13

have been reclaimed. ‘People-first’ language encourages that we say people with disabilities, or person living with ____, etc. By putting the person before the issue they are facing, we remind ourselves that the individual is what matters, not the issue they face. Discussing any community or individual as ‘the disabled,’ ‘the paralyzed,’ etc is strongly avoided. Some communities do embrace their difference and would not find it offensive; for instance, the deaf and blind communities describe themselves that way. The Institute for Community Inclusion has devoted itself to the work which its name implies, and has many helpful resources for language and etiquette. Their freely disseminated resource manual reminds us: “The words we use to describe one another can have an enormous impact on the perceptions we and others have, how we treat one another, mutual expectations, and how welcome we make people feel.” Institute for Community Inclusion, “One-Stop Disability Resource Manual,” http://www.communityinclusion.org/page.php?page=pubs. Accessed May 8, 10, and 21, 2014.

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If we have not experienced personal disability or the disability of a close friend or family

member, our lack of knowledge and etiquette can result in feelings of imbalance, confusion,

discomfort, even embarrassment. In such cases, we may mistake the individual for the issues

they face or the tools they use—or even assume disabilities which are not present.

This is part of abled privilege, which receives much attention in disability studies and in

work on multicultural sensitivity. People with normative brains and bodies (the ‘abled’): have 14

access to public spaces without impediment; are usually seen as individuals first, not only as

their reliance upon assistive devices; are not seen as either victims or noble heroes for simply

living their lives; are not presumed to be stupid or childlike; and much more. Abled privilege is

as deep-set as Christian, white, straight, and male privileges in Western culture. As thealogian

Starhawk said, “The removal of content from human beings allows the formation of power

relationships in which human belongs are exploited. Inherent value, humanness, is reserved for

certain classes.” It is the work of all persons, and certainly faith community leaders, to 15

remember:

“…the kinds of privilege and access to resources that come from simply being members

of one particular group within a category (for example, race, gender, educational level,

socioeconomic class, ordained or lay status, and so on). Conversely, belonging to other

Sue, Derald Wing and Sue, David. Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice (Wiley: Kindle 14

Edition, 2012), Locations 13221-ff.

Starhawk, Dreaming The Dark: Magic, Sex & Politics (Boston: Beacon press, 1982), 6.15

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groups within that category…may mean that we are targeted to receive fewer goods,

privileges, and access to resources.” 16

Remembering abled privilege will help us to rebalance, as we work sensitively and

honorably with people with disabilities. As many resources remark, asking courteous questions

and not presuming limitation or the need for assistance, are the key. People with disabilities 17

regularly must explain their selves to the abled — are indeed nearly unavoidably forced to do so.

Letting us do so on our own terms, not in response to prying questions, honors our individuality,

value, and right to privacy. Doing so, we specifically acknowledge the depth of experience, story,

and content which all persons contain. Furthermore, we emphasize that stories and experiences

which have gone silenced or ignored must now be prioritized in our hearing. 18

Kondrath, William M. God’s Tapestry: Understanding and Celebrating Differences (Herndon VA: The Alban 16

Institute, 2008), 35.

E.g., United Spinal Association, “Disability Etiquette: Tips On Interacting With People With Disabilities,” PDF 17

available at http://www.unitedspinal.org/disability-publications-resources/. Accessed May 9 & 21, 2014. NB: This freely available guide is illustrated for, and excellent for instructing, younger people, but is appropriate for all ages.

By saying ‘our,’ implying I/we stand outside the disabled community and must ‘work to include them’ is not my 18

intent here. Given my liminal position, and to contribute to the disruption of normative categories, I am intentionally shifting my language back and forth between we/them, thealogy/theology, Christian/Pagan, etc. “Labeling, which is rampant in the medicalization of disability, is another form of ‘otherizing’ that inhibits affirmation.” McCollum, Adele. “Tradition, Folklore, and Disability,” in Eiesland, Nancy & Saliers, Don. Human Disability and The Service of God: Reassessing Religious Practice (Nashville TN: Abingdon Press, 1998), 183. NB: This essay offers firm support for reviewing and reinterpreting how both mental and physical disabilities are present in folklore of all cultures. Since folklore informs a massive portion of Pagan belief and wisdom, it should be required reading for a fully comprehensive understanding of disability in Pagan thealogy.

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Christian Disability Theology

Researcher-psychologists Sue and Sue note the study showing that people with

disabilities have a positive correlation between happiness and spiritual practice. “Individuals

with traumatic brain injuries who feel a connection to a higher power show greater life

satisfaction and functional ability.” Disability, whether acquired or born, raises more ‘obvious’ 19

theological questions, so this is no surprise. Connecting to a higher power, or sense of purpose

and meaning, is correlated to a better understanding of how the individual experiences their own

story.

Persons with disabilities, and the fields which inquire deeply into disabled experience,

offer much to the construction of meaningful, applicable theology. As Dr. Creamer has written:

“I find the lens of disability to be a promising way to challenge both the ideal body and

the normal body. Clearly, this is significant for people who already wear the label of

disability, as we are often identified as those whose bodies are least normal—and, from

this position on the margins, we can first make apparent and then challenge the

assumptions of the center.” 20

Far from being marginal work, minority voices in theology are essential to spiritual

wellness and progress. Dr. Creamer has lamented that disability theology and other minority

Sue, Derald Wing and Sue, David. Counseling the Culturally Diverse, Kindle Locations 13383-13384.19

! Creamer, Deborah. “Embracing Limits, Queering Embodiment: Creating/Creative Possibilities for Disability 20Theology,” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Fall 2010), 123-127. Published by: Indiana University Press on behalf of FSR, Inc. Article DOI: 10.2979/FSR.2010.26.2.123 Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/FSR.2010.26.2.123.

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voices are mistakenly seen as ‘special interests,’ rather than the main interest of theology. 21

Those who are socially positioned at the edges should take pride of place at the center of

theologies which respond to our diverse communities. To expand upon this concept and provide

a base from which to interrogate the possibility of pagan disability theology, I will describe core

aspects of the work of Nancy Eiesland, then offer connections between the aspect and its pagan

referent.

At the time of her death in 2009, Nancy Eiesland was an Associate Professor at Candler

School of Theology at Emory University. Her influential book, The Disabled God: Toward A 22

Liberatory Theology of Disability, shares space with Kathy Black’s theology of the

‘Interdependent God,’ and with Jennie Weiss Block’s work on the ‘Accessible God.’ Each 23

theory has been influential in establishing the field of disability theology, though Eiesland

remains the most influential and well-known proponent. At the time her groundbreaking book

was released, Ms. Eiesland was pursuing her Ph.D. at the school in which she would later

teach. 24

Disabled Embodiment

For Prof. Eiesland, the task of liberating disabled persons from destructive society and

theology was a four part process: “…a de-ideologization of scriptures, a pragmatic interpretation

Creamer, “Embracing Limits,” 123-ff.21

22 Martin, Douglas. “Nancy Eiesland Is Dead At 44; Wrote of A Disabled God,” New York Times, March 21, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/us/22eiesland.html?_r=0 Accessed May 9 and 27, 2014.

Creamer, “Embracing Limits.”23

Eiesland, Nancy. The Disabled God: Toward A Liberatory Theology of Disability, (Nashville TN: Abingdon Press, 24

1994), back cover biographical information.

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of experience, a critical theory of emancipation and enlightenment, and a social theory to

transform praxis.” All steps of the process are set in a liberatory frame, which seeks to break 25

the norm that disabled persons are marginalized and stigmatized, whether disability was born or

acquired. The norm is that embodiment is ‘whole-body’ embodiment. Anything non-normative is

seen as disabled — and thus not truly embodied. Not really human.

The disabled experience disrupts notions of wholeness and normality. For example, a

person requiring assistive support for their physical disability is often seen as less human,

because metal or plastic is present. Not only do disabled people challenge the cruelty and

ignorance of this unquestioned majority assumption, but challenge the entire notion of body-

stability and impermeability by including their limits and their assistive devices as part of their

body. 26

“…Embodiment is a social accomplishment, achieved through attention to the needs,

limits, and bounty of the body in relation to others. It recognizes that limits are real

human facts and that heroism cannot eliminate some limits. It encompasses the

recognition that disability does not mean incomplete and that difference is not

dangerous. Embodying disability is not an extraordinary feat; rather it too is a process of

symbolically and corporeally constructing wholeness and ordinary physicality.” 27

Ibid, 22.25

Eiesland, Disabled God, Chapter Two, “Bodies of Knowledge,” 31-46.26

Ibid, 47-48. 27

NB: This definition of embodiment seeks to offset the categories into which disabled persons are often forced: noble sufferer; hero; disappeared object of Divine punishment; recipient of (religious) charity. These categories: limit the full human expression of the disabled person; see them only as a tool to accomplish some mental/spiritual end for abled people; or impose a complex social and religious ideology, again for the benefit of abled people. There are similarities here to other marginalized persons’ experience with the majority - in what oppression ‘looks like’ for minority groups.

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Pagan Disabled Embodiment

“A liberatory theology of disability shares with feminist theology a valuation of the body

as a theological resource.” (emphasis added) 28

Eiesland never shies from the reality of the lived human experience, with its challenges,

failures, complexity—its ‘corporeal physicality.’ Christianity has historically elevated the

immaterial soul over, and often at the cost of, the physical body. Persons with a huge variety of

disabilities have for ages been seen, not just by the Abrahamic traditions, as “un(w)holy.” 29

Christianity is now correcting itself by several movements emphasizing embodiment, including

disability studies.

Differently, Pagans have long honored the body as more than a vessel, a discardable

object. A belief system which honors the Earth as our mother, and we Her children; which often

espouses reincarnation; which considers interconnectedness and mutuality as primary operants of

the Universe; which believes specifically that the God/dess indwells, and can be channeled by,

humans—such systems of necessity will treasure the body. Literally, “Each of us embodies the

divine.” 30

Given Pagan beliefs in the impermanence, but nonetheless high value, of the body (a

belief it shares with many other faiths), and our long history of commitment to social and

environmental justice, our community is well-positioned to enthusiastically inquire into how

disabled understandings of the body can educate, liberate, castigate, and beautify our thealogy

Eiesland, Disabled God, 97.28

Ibid, 93.29

NightMare, Macha M. “Reclaiming Tradition Witchcraft,” Reclaiming Principles of Unity, 1999-2000, 30

Reclaiming Collective website. http://www.reclaiming.org/about/origins/rectrad-craft.html Accessed May 28, 2014.

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and ritual. Challenging normative understandings of the body are the next logical step in Pagan

challenges to sexual, gender, religious, and environmental relational power structures.

Unexpected Bodies

Disability theology reminds Christians that “…God disorders the social-symbolic order,

and God appears in the most unexpected bodies.” Christianity (at least in many denominations) 31

does indeed believe that God erupts into conscious reality at God’s discretion. Many Gospel

stories, like the parable of the Good Samaritan, demonstrate both the disruption of social-

symbolic order and God’s presence in people believed to be Godless. For Christians, this is a 32

good reminder that all is within God’s hands, and that human-created social orders impose

arbitrary standards, or pronounce judgment which ought to be reserved for God alone. 33

From a Pagan perspective, the beautiful phrase, God appears in unexpected bodies, has a

different meaning. Pagans believe that Divinity can indeed appear in all kinds of unexpected

bodies, be they animal, organic, or human. As a result, Pagans must lend even more weight to the

idea that God appears, is present, in disabled bodies. Though we are discussing disability in

humanity for this paper, Pagans must acknowledge disability as it appears in all bodies, all

Eiesland, Disabled God, 100.31

Luke 10:25-37.32

We must be careful here. Throughout this paper, we are discussing broad theological themes of two hegemonically 33

described institutions, which are far from hegemonic in their belief (‘Paganism’ and ‘Christianity’). God’s presence within, and interaction with, humanity is a contentious issue throughout history and denominations. Not all Christians believe in original sin (and thus an ‘absence’ of God, a break in relation). Not all Christians believe that God is present in all bodies—such absence is what necessitates salvation through Jesus, and the ongoing action of the Holy Spirit. See Acts 1-2; John 3; and the Pastoral epistles.

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places. This would further enhance the deep Pagan commitment to the welfare and value of our

fellow animals and our environment. 34

What disability theology offers to the Pagan community is further support to our belief

that embodiment is indeed a ‘social accomplishment.’ Bodies matter, and body-stories happen in

community. The extent of our response to the liberation and social restructuring which people

with disabilities deserve and demand, cannot be as simple as: “We strive to make our public

rituals and events accessible and safe.” Such a response will not shift social and religious 35

structures which keep disabled persons literally and metaphorically barred from inclusion.

If Divinity is indeed diversely embodied in all Earth-creatures, then our strong belief in

the value of embodiment must continue into liberatory statements on behalf of disabled persons,

who experience embodied reality in a different manner than the social norm. A statement of

disabled embodiment “…affirms the impermanent nature of all flesh and participates in the

disruption of the construction of stable and whole bodies. It recognizes the inter-connectedness

of all persons—indeed of all beings.” (emphasis added) 36

Such interconnectedness is not optional; this is true for both a Pagan and/or disabled

constructive theology. Eiesland explains, “The disabled God is God for whom interdependence is

not a possibility to be willed from a position of power but a necessary condition for life. This

Andrews, Ted. Animal Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small (Woodbury MN: 34

Llewellyn Publications, 1993), ix-x. Starhawk, The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of The Ancient Religion of The Goddess, Special 20th Anniversary Edition (San Francisco: Harper & Sons, 1999), 22 and throughout.

NightMare, “Reclaiming,” Principles of Unity.35

! Schumm, Darla. “Reimaging Disability,” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Vol. 26, No. 2, Fall 2010 36(Indiana University Press on behalf of FSR, Inc), 132-137. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/FSR.2010.26.2.132. Accessed May 22, 2014. This beautiful statement occurs in the context of a Buddhist feminist disability ethic, thus showing how disabled embodiment is central to multiple faith practices.

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interdependence is the fact of both justice and survival.” How much more closely could this 37

mirror the Pagan position that life is a web of dependence, in which humans must co-operate, not

just with fellow humans, but with all created life? “The primary principle of magic is connection.

The universe is a fluid, ever-changing energy pattern, not a collection of fixed and separate

things. … All is interwoven into the continuous fabric of being.” 38

The Disabled Resurrected Messiah

The core of Eiesland’s liberative theology is what one might call the shadowed center: the

resurrected Jesus. When discussing Eiesland’s theological position with my Protestant seminary

colleagues, we all agreed: of course, Jesus returns to Earth in His resurrection bearing the marks

of His torture and death—holes in His hands and feet, and a spear-wound in His side. We just 39

never use the word ‘disabled’ to confront (t)His reality. Eiesland reminded us that at the center of

Christian theology stands a disabled survivor.

However, that awareness requires a shift in interpretation of the entire mythos of the life,

death, and resurrection of Jesus. For millennia, Jesus has been interpreted primarily as Lord and

Conqueror: Savior. The idea of a disabled God may seem disrespectful to some, blasphemous 40 41

to others. The Gospel reality though, is His disabled body.

Eiesland, Disabled God, 103.37

Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, 155.38

See all four Gospels for various versions of the story, but specifically John 20:24-29, wherein Jesus appears to the 39

disciples in a closed room, passing through the door, but nonetheless fully physical, bearing the marks of His death and torture.

Luke 19:10; and the perennial American favorite hymn, “Battle Hymn of The Republic.”40

As it does to some people when Jesus is (correctly) imaged as a brown-skinned man.41

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Disability theology challenges the inherent bias of the abled/otherwise-privileged

majority which seeks to cast the Divine in its own image. It recontextualizes the Christian

mythos into the lived reality of all people, “… unmasking the ways in which theological inquiry

has frequently instituted able-bodied experience as the theological norm.” The genius of 42

Eiesland’s work is to point out the blunt visibility of disability at the heart of the Christian story.

The Disabled Resurrected Goddess

I believe it is safe to say there is no one ‘heart’ of the Pagan story, as there is to the

Christian story. However, what disability theology has challenged Christianity to do—locate

disability in its center as an indivisible element of the Divine involvement in the world—can

similarly challenge the Pagan community.

As priestesses and pastoral leaders, we must offer a call that Pagan communities, in their

diversity, locate the heart of their own story, and see how disability is (already) present there. I

believe we can safely state that embodiment of all beings is a central aspect to Paganism(s), each

body bearing unique witness to the Divine. Thus, we unearth what is already present in the

Divine story which we embody, and which we enact in ritual, when we locate disabled and other

marginalized persons in the center of our faith. “Particularly and inclusively, we participate in the

re-imaging of all creation through our bodies’ ambiguities, differences, limits, and joys.” We 43

will discuss this further below.

Eiesland, Disabled God, 99.42

Patterson, Barbara. “Redeemed Bodies: Fullness of Life,” Eiesland & Saliers, Human Disability and The Service 43

of God, 140. Note, as in Eiesland and Creamer, the continuing emphasis that ‘limits’ are an integral feature of disabled experience—not something to be ignored or overcome.

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Paganism does not operate around a story of the Divine in hypostatic union with a human

(the standard Christian position on Jesus’ full humanity and full divinity). However, myths of the

death, un-bodying, and resurrection of the God/dess are pervasive: Sedna, whose fingers were

amputated to create all ocean life; Inanna, resurrected from the underworld of Ereškigal; 44 45

Osiris, dismembered and reassembled by Isis; and countless others across time and cultures. 46

The concept is inherent even in non-theistic Paganism, since the annual seasons and

evolutionary epochs are constantly recurring cycles of death, rebirth, resurrection,

reincarnation. At the heart of the myths and tales which inform our tradition, it is important to 47

remember, like Jesus for Christianity, the returned/resurrected body of the God/dess bears the

marks of differentness and of trauma, borne out of Her love for us.

Resurrection-return, including of the God/dess, is itself founded on the power of

incarnation. Individuals, human or divine, are brought into reality, perhaps endlessly: incarnated

embodiment of the human, as of the Divine. “In time, all ‘fixed’ things dissolve, only to coalesce

again into new forms, new vehicles.” And in some of those incarnations, as in some cycles of 48

the great stories of the God/dess from time immemorial, the body may quite literally be

differently abled. Disabled. The disabled body, resurrected or reincarnated, but in any wise

present in reality as we know it, drives our great myths and our lived reality.

Monaghan, Patricia. The Book of Goddesses & Heroines (St Paul MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1993), 309-310.44

Ibid, 113, 168-170.45

Ibid, 176-178.46

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. “The Wheel of The Year,” The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, Second Edition 47

(New York: Checkmark Books for Facts On File, Inc., 1999), 355-358.

Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, 42.48

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From this theological place Pagans are free, as we always emphasize, to reinterpret and

deepen those myths, as well as their attendant rituals and embedded theologies. A Pagan person

who espouses a Disabled Goddess thus sees disabled realities as essential to our understanding of

both our own religion and our selves in community.

Christian Healing and Disability

We cannot fully explore the radical reinterpretations which disability theology has

demanded of us, without at least briefly considering another longstanding aspect of the Savior

Jesus: His role as healer. The Gospels are driven by story after story of miraculous healings;

Jesus’ earthly ministry was predicated in large part upon them. “Jesus went throughout Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and curing every

disease and every sickness among the people.” 49

What disability theology has challenged, is not that there aren’t conditions in which the

removal of the impediment, the condition, is not desired. But rather, it restructures the complex

network of beliefs that keep disabled people separate from community. “As long as our primary

perception of ourselves is as persons who can see, or hear, or walk, or think rationally over

against those who cannot do these things, our sin of stereotyping and exclusion remains.” 50

First, healing stories reflect common cultural themes—that sickness/disability is Divine

punishment (“Who sinned, this man or his parents?” ) or that healing can occur when the 51

Matthew 4:23. This verse nearly sums Jesus’ ministry: teaching, ‘king’ship, and healing.49

Grant, Colleen. “Reinterpreting The Healing Narratives,” in Eiesland & Saliers, Human Disability and The 50

Service of God, 72-87.

John 9:2.51

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person’s faith is great enough. A review of any ancient culture will reveal such attitudes. Jesus

flatly denied this, but it persists strongly in modern Christian contexts because of other verses

from the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, or varying interpretations of Jesus’ own healing acts. 52

Disability theology challenges this by including limitation as part of the definition of

embodiment, as discussed above. Furthermore, to imply that healing is necessary is to forget, in a

Christian context, that all of us are fully human, and that the resurrection hope “…is not about

the negation or erasure of our disabled bodies in hopes of perfect images, untouched by physical

disability; rather…that our non-conventional and sometimes difficult bodies participate fully in

the imago Dei.” 53

A colleague recently preached on the famous passage of John 9. In this story, a man born

blind receives his sight. This story has become central to disability theology for a very important

reason: the man receives his sight, but in the original Greek text, no verbs for healing (such as

therapeuo) are used. The man is not in need of healing; he receives his sight indeed, but the word

healing is never used because healing, even miracles, are not synonymous with damage which

ought to be erased, or any sense of lesser humanity or wholeness.

As my colleague pointed out, the Greek words for healing are never used in the actual

text, and a solid theological case is thus built that removal of a disability is not equal to healing

— but the subtitles applied by the translators inject the word ‘healed.’ Our culture struggles to 54

accept that a blind person is not in need of healing.

Hebrews 12:6-9. God chastises, “scourges,” God’s children.52

Eiesland, Disabled God, 107.53

West, Ruth T. Quoted by permission, sermon text and private conversation with this author, May 20, 2014.54

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Let us be careful here. It is not that disabled persons may not desire healing, even

miraculous change. Many disabled persons may desire, act toward, and pray for the removal of

some aspects of what we face in our ‘difficult’ bodies. However, waiting for a miracle is

psychologically damaging. The position that one is somehow less human until healed (of a

physical problem or of a mental health challenge presumes that embodiment, incarnation, and

true value in the world are reserved for others. This stands contrary to the primary message

which Christ is said to have brought to His community. “It may suggest that those who are

sighted and who perceive themselves as the ‘normal’ able-bodied members of the church may be

more in need of healing than the so-called ‘disabled.’” 55

Pagan Healing and Disability

Central to Paganism is the idea of universal energy, and its eternal flow. Many spells and

rituals raise energy for a specific purpose, then channel that energy to its goal. This includes

healing work, which channels energy drawn from the Earth, from the Divine Being, toward a

sick or injured person/creature/situation. (This also necessitates sensible magical action during

illness, since one’s own energy is hard to raise or control. ) Starhawk notes that healing has been 56

part of pagan practice for millennia; however, since Pagans do not fear the end of this current

life, healing’s purpose is not simply to stave off death or make the disabled individual ‘look’

more like the able-privileged majority. It is to help establish better energy flows.

Grant, “Reinterpreting The Healing Narratives,” Human Disability And The Service of God, 85.55

Cunningham, Scott. Living Wicca: A Further Guide for The Solitary Practitioner (St Paul MN: Llewellyn 56

Publications, 2004), 27.

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Healing, as it seems to be standardly used in modern Pagan writings, refers mostly to

alleviating or removing temporary conditions like flu, moderate pain, etc. Many, many modern

spells focus upon a variety of illnesses, as do herbalism and hedgecraft (though many ancient

spells, from most faiths, promise cures for palsy, paralysis etc through charms and herbal

remedies). 57

Modern Paganism says much less about permanent disabilities of either body or mind.

This broad generalization is not meant to ignore voices in our community, or imply judgment. It

might point to what is perhaps a better attitude in Paganism toward disability itself: that

establishment of energy, balance in the world and its inhabitants, should remain our focus—not

making disabled bodies fit an imposed norm. In this respect, Paganism is more about health, not

healing.

However, Pagans still need to speak more openly about the centrality of disability to our

practice, and to how disabled bodies are honored and worthy in their current reality—

unchanged, unmiraculously ‘healed’ to a body more acceptable. Paganism has been the home for

those who did not fit majority molds, even in ages past; it has been a home for those who sought

a new way to connect to the Earth/the Divine. By emphasizing that energetic flow and communal

value is central to us, the Pagan practices which support health can retain their essential place in

our faiths. Health spells, ritual and meditation are ways to alleviate what can be alleviated,

increase function and happiness in daily life, and support energetic balance. 58

Illes, Judika. The Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells (London: HarperCollins, 2004), 495-567.57

Many herbs support physical and mental health, either organically, or through their spiritual energies and 58

correspondences. Beyerl, Paul. A Compendium of Herbal Magick. Custer WA: Phoenix Publishing, 1998).

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Conclusion

Disability studies and theology are about reframing the social-symbolic order, about

shifting the lenses with which we view and oppress minoritized and marginalized people,

including disabled people.

“Religious symbols point individuals beyond their ordinary lives. [They] not only

prescribe or reproduce social status, but they also transform it. The power of symbols and myths

is in the motive force they engender.” Starhawk here states what is primary for the field of 59

religious studies: that myths and ritual symbols have meaning as long as meaning inheres to the

present worshipping community, and that such meanings thus shift over time. Those meaning-

symbols are ritualized in liturgy. Religious symbology points beyond constructed reality

categories to the ineffable, to the Divine with whom we wish to dwell.

Given that Pagan thealogy is enacted in individual and group ritual, it is from this beating

center that we must begin the work of challenging existing metaphors in our social order, and

question that which has perhaps been overlooked in our own ritual. For example, much ritual

requires worshippers to dance in the process of energy-raising. Instead of saying, ‘dance as you

are able,’ how might we radically change the energy-raising process to be responsive to

immobility? Instead of making space for disabled people, how can disabled people define our

spaces? Such questions have the potential to radically expand our understanding of Pagan faith.

Provocative work has taken place in Christian theology, particularly around one global

epidemic: HIV/AIDS. Progressive Christianity is seeking to shed its dreadful initial response to

Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, 91.59

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the epidemic, and to challenge the continuing attitude about Divine punishment which many

fundamentalist Christians maintain. Given the importance of Eucharist (the meal in remembrance

of Christ’s death and resurrection), and what it says about bodies, progressive Christians have

begun to say, “The Body of Christ [the Church] has AIDS.” 60

This is more than mere shock value. Eucharist is a blood ritual; if you are Catholic, the

elements of the meal, bread and wine, literally miraculously become the body and blood of Jesus

through the process of transubstantiation. Therefore, great depth, danger, and beauty are

uncovered in the Eucharist if that blood is HIV positive. This is how progressive Christianity has

the potential to fundamentally alter the ‘place’ which disability occupies in their religious symbol

system, including liturgy.

What might Paganism do, to similarly embrace a radical repositioning of disability

thealogy? What would it mean if we truly believed, “There is no part of us that is not of the

Gods” —including chairs, beds, canes, pills, glasses, amputations, speechlessness? How can 61

this expanded body and mind be brought into the liturgical realm?

We could begin by literally centering around such bodies and minds. It is time that all

aspects of the disabled experience not merely be included, but become a basis for exploration of

new ritual, and revising the old. For instance, a ritual that imbues chairs with energetic support to

the sitter (a tricky and exciting work, since aluminum and plastic are often avoided in magical

Parnell, Vereene. “Risking Redemption: A Case Study In HIV/AIDS And The Healing of Christian Liturgy,” in 60

Eiesland & Saliers, Human Disability And The Service of God, 249-266. This amazing essay should be required reading for all who study liturgy, and disability theology.

Farrar, Janet; Farrar, Stewart. A Witches' Bible (The Paranormal) (F+W Media, Inc. Kindle Edition, 2012-06-01), 61

Locations 892-893.

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practice ). Or we could revise rituals that symbolize blood in the chalice, the womb, or the hunt. 62

Pagans too need to say, “The Coven has AIDS.”

There is so much left to say on these issues. The work described here is only an addition

to a growing field of research and knowledge. The Pagan community has responded, and must

continue to respond more loudly than ever, to the challenges which disability thealogy makes

clear. If we do this, we bring new force into the world. Force which can continue the work

toward social justice, environmental justice, and greater connection to the Divine which

Paganism has always treasured. As it is for Christianity, it is a small shift of approach and

awareness (such as magical practice regularly asks of us ) to see how different bodies and minds 63

are centered in our faith and its liturgical words and actions.

The Disabled Goddess must be our Goddess.

Cunningham, Scott. Magical Herbalism (Woodbury MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2007), 29.62

Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, 42. Her description of starlight vision: “Extraordinary consciousness, the other mode 63

of perception that is broad, holistic and undifferentiated, sees patterns and relationships rather than fixed objects.” Or social structures!

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