Human Difference: Reflections on a Life in Proximity to Disability

Living in proximity to human disability, with a son who has Down Syndrome, Andrew Barron has come to understand that not only do we live in a world of human difference, but that God wants us to live in this kind of world, for our own flourishing. Human Difference is an extended meditation on that experience and a reflection on the nature of human care and hospitality. Barron seeks to understand and embrace the uncertainty that comes with living in proximity to difference and disability and reflects on how we might better cope with and ultimately be enriched by its ambiguity. He undertakes a new approach to difference: we must be ready to venture into uncomfortable territory, to “put out into the deep water” and to actively seek out an intimate and open closeness with difference and disability.

Andrew Barron was an adjunct faculty at The Centre for Spirituality, Disability, and Care at Martin Luther University College, federated with Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada. He has previously taught disability and theology at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto where he graduated with his doctor of ministry degree in 2016. Barron lives in Toronto. He is married to Laura and is the father of Rafael, Ketzia, and Simona. Andrew can be contacted at drandrewbarron.com.

Ephraim Radner is Professor of Historical Theology at Wycliffe College, Toronto. He is the author of several volumes on ecclesiology and hermeneutics including The End of the Church (1998).