Accessible Atonement

By using disability as a lens through which to explore the ramifications of traditional understandings of atonement, McLachlan made me realize that I have often struggled with the ways that sin is so awkwardly and unfairly used as a reason for disability. Seeing atonement as God’s deepest participation in the contingencies of creation indeed gives me new and solid ground on which to stand, as I believe it will for many others.

~Bill Gaventa, author of Disability and Spirituality: Recovering Wholeness and Founder and Director Emeritus, Institute on Theology and Disability

While much has been written on disability theology and theories of atonement, little work has yet been done on how the two fields interconnect. In this important and timely work, David McLachlan shows how rich and mutually enlightening a conversation can be had when both topics are considered together. This groundbreaking book investigates this conversation with care and precision, showing how ideas from each field should challenge and refine our thinking in the other. This is invaluable reading for all concerned about reflecting on and practicing real inclusion in the Church.

~Eleanor McLaughlin, Lecturer in Theology and Ethics, Regent's Park College, University of Oxford

This lucid and compelling study is the fruit of many years' reflection. McLachlan considers disability theology and the cross of Christ in such a way that both are illuminated. This is a pathbreaking work. Those who have already thought deeply about the issues raised in these pages will benefit greatly from engaging with the author's arguments. Those who are new to the field of disability theology will struggle to find a more insightful or satisfying introduction. Highly commended.

~Peter Morden, Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Spurgeon’s College, London, and Honorary Research Fellow, Bristol Baptist College

…theologically sophisticated and pastorally sensitive.

~Aaron Klink, Christian Century

Accessible Atonement is a welcome contribution to the field of disability theology, attempting to engage one of the most important Christian doctrines from a disability perspective. The claims that McLachlan makes herein are preliminary, providing ample possibility for further engagement. Yet, if we take these preliminary claims seriously, we will be forced not only to wrestle with our understandings of disabled experiences, but also our understanding of the atonement and all that it encompasses.

~Daniel Rempel, Scottish Journal of Theology

McLachlan breathes new life into both dogmatic theological discourse on the atonement and disability theology by providing a praiseworthy portrait of what can happen when disability is central to the formulation of Christian theology.

~Cody Bivins-Starr, Reading Religion

…I heartily recommend Accessible Atonement both to those who want to read theology with disabled people in mind and those seeking a more rounded atonement theology in general. McLachlan succeeds in showing how atonement theology gets impoverished when it focuses on moral sin alone, but needs to focus on all that Christ achieved on the cross. He also succeeds in demonstrating that the lens of disability can sharpen our understanding even in the most well examined areas of theology.

~Immanuel Koks, Stimulus

…this offering is a very well-written, accessible, clearly organized and cogently argued book.

~Benjamin T. Conner, Studies in Christian Ethics