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A Review of “Disability, Providence, and Ethics: Bridging Gaps, Transforming Lives”

Reinders’ volume serves as the first in the new series from Baylor University Press, “Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability,” edited by Sarah Melcher and Amos Yong. In this opening text, Reinders confronts the fundamental question expressed by people with disabilities and their families: “Why?” Yet, as theologically laden as the question is, Reinders reminds his readers that the question is first uttered not as a desire for systematic explanation, but as a cry of lament. It is a question demanding to know where God is when a life is bifurcated between a “before” and an “after.” The answer, then, is not found in elaborate theodicies—whence evil and suffering—but instead is discovered in wrestling with divine providence. Providence is sought in the painful chasm that divides the before from the after when the comfortable familiarity of life is shattered. The first half of the book explores the underlying beliefs about the universe that lead to the Why? question. There is a sense for most that the universe functions with a certain order, and when events happen—the birth of a child with a disability or a traumatic event leading to disability—that overturn this view of the world, then people must make sense of their new reality. “Did God do this? Is this part of God’s will? If this is God’s will, why did it happen to me?” Such questions come unbidden, and too often the answers that are given by people of faith cause deep wounds to those already suffering the grief of a way of life that will no longer be. In this book, Reinders avoids easy platitudes and popular theodicies that too often frustrate people struggling to make sense of the events that cause them to question their understanding of God’s goodness and creation’s order. Story is central to Reinders’ account. He reveals the challenge of bridging the before and after by narrating the stories of some who have confronted it: individuals, parents, and spouses. Bridging the first and second halves of the book is the story of Job—the faithful man who endured all measure of trauma and challenged God to justify what has happened. Reinders argues that for all else that it is, Job is primarily a story about God’s providence.