By Ted Harrison
Lion. 159 pages. £6.99
ISBN 0 7459 3138 3
Among the numerous books produced by Christian publishers some seem doomed almost before they begin life.
It is not because they are badly written - some awful books sell well! It is not necessarily that their authors are not up to the issues they try to address - some facile books seem to acquire a good following. It is just that some subjects are avoided by most Christians. They don't seem relevant to their world. Sadly, such could be the fate of this book, and for the same reason.
Disability is a non-issue for the majority of Christians. They have few contacts with the people or the issues affected by disability. They know little about the topic. And it is quite likely that they have few if any members of the church who are significantly disabled. Which demonstrates how needful Ted Harrison's book is, and how urgent it is that Christians begin to face up to the facts. This book is a good place to start as it assumes that the reader knows little or nothing about disability as it affects people in Britain today. It will soon put you right.
Ted Harrison is in a position to write on the subject having been presenter of the disability programme 'Does He Take Sugar' on BBC Radio, and presenter of the 'Sunday' programme. He is aware of the fact that over 10% of the population has a disability - over six million of them - and of the apparent lack of interest of Christians in the disability rights movement.
Harrison gives a good overview of the campaign for civil rights for people with disabilities. He explains the way they have been goaded into their campaign by the negative attitudes of government towards the issues. The fact that government is probably reflecting the indifference of society at large may make this uncomfortable reading.
You will discover through this book that the most disabling factor facing people with disabilities is not the physical or intellectual impairments they have. It is the attitudes of 'able-bodied' people. Harrison uncovers roots of these attitudes in pagan and medieval views on what is - or is not - normal in human beings. He chronicles the origins and characteristics of false assumptions growing from those roots.
The author is not strong on theological issues. He attempts to develop a Christian perspective which few EN readers will find satisfying. But let them face the challenge to develop a more biblical response. For many, the first step could be to buy and read Ted Harrison's book so that they begin to see that there are issues to be addressed. And when they have thought through the relevance of the Bible to those issues, let them consider what practical action they should take. To be sure, if the present level of indifference is maintained there will be few people with disabilities being won for Christ in the future, and thus the future will mirror the past!
