Healing, disability and the social model.

This post is about how my christian faith interacts with the christian religion (or doesn't). Its not bible bashing, but wanted to make people aware of the content... This blogpost is dedicated to D who without realising it, helped me immensely with this concept last night. This blog is basically about that conversation and my thoughts around healing in a christian context.

So, the bible, written 2000 years ago says a lot about healing. But, fortunately for us society has moved on a bit since then. For a start, in the UK having an impairment is generally not seen as being sinful or somehow a punishment like it was back then. The concept of healing in the bible is very much centred on the illness or impairment being a problem and healing as a solution. For those with a bit of disability knowledge would immediately label that sort of thinking as 'medical model'. It is placed very much within the person, and the solution lies very much within the person.

In the 70's, 80's and 90's the rise of the social model transformed the concept of impairment and disability. No longer was impairment the problem, but it was society that was the problem for not adapting to the needs of a persons impairment and creating a disability. Unfortunately, it would appear, that churches haven't moved on like the rest of society, and still focus on a persons physical and mental state when it comes to healing.

I hate this idea. I don't need healing,  thank you very much. But before last night it was always for different reasons. It was because my impairment was a difference not a deficit, or that it was my impairment had a positive impact on my life etc etc etc. I had effectively fallen into the church model of disability, and responded to it in a medical self centred way.

However, if you put the social model and healing together, like my friend did last night (without realising it) you end up with this idea. It is no longer you that needs the healing, but it is society that needs it. It is society that is broken, has a problem with the way you are etc. and not you. It was as revolutionary as when i first heard about the social model. If the church thinks like this, then it would be a very interesting outcome indeed. Instead of the inevitable line of 'ill pray for you' that you get when you say your 'not well' to a christian, would they then say I'l pray that they'l provide you a 'ramp' instead?

Now I know this has the same problems as the social model, and that sometimes christian healing does have its place. However, the social model of disability applied to healing would surely transform what is an outdated concept of  illness, impairment and disability in the church?

I then went on to suggest that if we wanted a church that thought about healing in this way, then surely we would still need some form of healing ourselves? Basically, what this new way of healing is getting society to accept us as we are, but, then, how can we ask for this if we don't accept ourselves as we are?

I have come along way over the last year, accepting who I am, and having the confidence to say, this is who I am, this is what I need to make my life better and demanding better accessibility. But I fully accept that this has been a hard process to go through, but has resulted in a feeling of restoration and healing.

This is both in a christian and non christian context. Within social model ideology, the hidden and assumend pre requisite is that a person is happy with their impairment, and able to know what their own access needs are. You can not consider yourself disabled in a social model context without first defining what it means for you personally. You would stay at simply being impaired. There is a transition process that you go through of thinking that actually, this isnt my fault, but its society that could improve and not me.

I hope this has helped as much as it helped me to think about healing in a different way..