Description
Book SynopsisExplores why we should, and why we do, care for one another. Keith Dow considers what it means for us to be interdependent, created in the image of a loving God. He recounts personal experiences of supporting people with intellectual disabilities while drawing on theological sources to discover the ethical underpinnings of Christian care.
Trade ReviewAs a theologian, pastor, and a professional caregiver for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, I was delighted to find a framework for faith-based caregiving in this book. Words such as 'calling,' 'virtue,' 'neighbor,' 'love,' 'friendship,' 'mutuality,' 'divinity,' 'mercy,' 'grace,' 'humility,' and 'forgiveness' are abundantly used in theology but seldom used in professional caregiving. Keith Dow has combined the work of direct support professionals with the language of imago Dei, the image of God. The concepts in this book are applicable beyond the world of ID/DD and have a place in the wider conversation of, 'Who is my neighbor?' and how Christians should develop relationships with their neighbors. I recommend this book for human service agency recruiters, trainers, and frontline workers.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: Giving a Careful Account
- Part 1. The Call to Care
- 1 Vocation and Transcendence
- Called to One Another
- 2 Vocation and Immanence
- Called by Each Other
- 3 A Theological Story
- The Limits of Professional Ethics
- Part 2. Encountering My Neighbor
- 4 Traces of the Divine
- The imago Dei and Human Ability
- 5 Seeing You Through Me
- The Myth of the Transparent Other
- 6 The Stories I Tell
- The Myth of the Transparent Self
- 7 A Mysterious Revelation
- The Myth of a Transparent God
- Part 3. Responding to the Call
- 8 Formed Together in Love
- Towards an Ethic of Christian Care
- 9 The Virtues of Care
- Discovering Who We Are
- Conclusion: Responding to God's Call
