Who I’m Reading: an Introduction to Ellen Painter Dollar

Readers who are familiar with this blog will recognize my friend and colleague Ellen Painter Dollar. She and I met through an online debate about whether or not disability should be cured (see my piece for Christianity Today and Ellen’s response), and we’ve continued the dialogue for a few years now, covering topics such as adoption, abortion, and disability. Ellen and I are also now friends in the flesh. We live close enough to get together once a month to discuss writing and books and ideas, and I am grateful for her insights and her friendship. In case you haven’t spent time on her blog before, or even if you have and need a reminder of her clear and thoughtful prose:

I blog for the Patheos Progressive Christian Channel on parenting, disability, ethics, and faith. Here are a few of my most popular posts so far this year:

I Have a Kid Hangover (But Manage to Write Anyway)  – Thoughts on writing amid the chaos of raising kids

Message to the Nones: Don’t Reject God Because of Human Suffering or Christian BS – A response to a viral blog post by a Texas mom explaining why she is raising her children without religion (Language alert: In the actual post, I use the unabbreviated version of *that* word in the title)

Progressive Christians Do Care About Abortion: A Response to Rachel Held Evans – A discussion of the complexities of dwelling in the “muddled middle” on abortion

No, the Crucifixion is Not About Bloody Child Sacrifice Being Necessary for Forgiveness – A Good Friday discussion of new ways of interpreting the cross and atonement

Taboo Stories About Disability: What We’re Not Allowed to Say – An examination of how certain types of stories (those that admit to ambivalence, struggle, complexity) are often unwelcome in conversations around disability