Community Service is a buzzword where I live, on the campus of a boarding school filled with students aspiring to Ivy League schools. They’re required to do it. It looks good on their college “brag” sheet. And, for the most part, they enjoy it. But I always wonder who they are serving. The students from the urban public school down the road? The elderly people at the nursing home? Or themselves and their college ambitions? Or both? I’m working on... Read more

Last week, I wrote about the differences between brokenness and limitation, a distinction that is common to us all. Two readers wrote back with their own experiences as friends with adults with Down syndrome. Both accounts demonstrate the complexities of these issues, and the need for humility before God when asking what it means–for ourselves and for others–to live a full life: A few years ago, I became friends with a young woman (now 30) who has Down’s, which has... Read more

I have a new post on The Park Forum: Wine, Beer, Shots, and the Spirit. Read more

As you may have noticed, there is now a logo on this page for the “CC blogs” network. CC stands for Christian Century, which has a site of recommended blogs about theology. Recently, they posted a roundup of posts about Ash Wednesday. If you’re interested in more reading about Lent, go to “Ash Wednesday Around the Network.” Read more

I was recently asked to reflect upon the question, “Who/what is God?” in 100 words or less. It took me longer to write those 100 words than it would if I’d been given 1000! They’ve been published on a new religion and spirituality website, patheos.com. I’ll give you my response below, but to read the six other bloggers who responded, and to post your own attempt, go to “God in 100 Words or Less.“ My thoughts: “He is the image... Read more

It’s one of Jesus’ more enigmatic sayings. The disciples ask him to explain why he speaks in parables, and he replies: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (see Matthew 13 for the whole context). It’s a theme that runs throughout the Gospels, and one that Jesus picks up from writers of the Old Testament. God is at work in this world, but most of us are blind to it most of the... Read more

I’ve written one final (at least for now) response in this conversation about disability and medical intervention. If you’re just joining the conversation, this post is in response to Ellen Painter Dollar’s piece, “I Want to Be Accepted As I Am, But I’ll Take a Cure Too,” which was written in response to my article, “Considering ‘Curing’ Down Syndrome With Caution.” As Ellen Painter Dollar argues, brokenness in our bodies is a result of the Fall, a result of the... Read more

Christianity Today has published a response to my recent article (“Considering Curing Down Syndrome with Caution“) by my friend Ellen Painter Dollar. An excerpt from Ellen’s response: As someone who embraces the fallen-world narrative in explaining my own genetic disorder, I was caught up short by Becker’s dismissal of that narrative as explanation for illness and disability. When she used the term “broken,” of course, she was referring to spiritual brokenness. But as someone with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known... Read more

I have a post with some thoughts on Christian arguments for and against gay marriage on The Park Forum: “Same Sex Marriage and Love.” Also, a number of people have asked me about receiving these blog posts via email. To do so, simply scroll down until the column to the right of this post says “Subscribe by email.” Enter your email address and hit submit. You should receive a message where you have to type in the text that you... Read more

As some regular readers of this blog already know, I have been following the blogosphere’s treatment of recent research that indicates a possible way to increase the cognitive ability of individuals with Down syndrome. In response, I have a new article on the website of Christianity Today, titled “Considering ‘Curing’ Down Syndrome with Caution.” An excerpt: This language demonstrates more than ignorance of biology. It reduces Down syndrome to a medical condition rather than understanding people with Down syndrome as... Read more