Episode #169 - Autism and the Church with Professor Grant Macaskill

In this episode we’re talking about Autism and the Church with Professor Grant Macaskill, who is Kirby Laing Chair of New Testament Exegesis and co-director of the Centre for Autism and Theology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and he is the author of several books, including: Autism and the Church: Bible, Theology, and Community (published by Baylor University Press). In this episode Prof. Macaskill talks about his own experience with Autism and how the book is to provide an approach to Autism that avoids deficiency accounts that assume Autism is a negative thing. Towards that end he aims to explore how the Bible can constructively resource theologies of Autism, and he challenges inappropriate uses of the Bible in relation to Autism. In particular, Prof. Macaskill stresses how neurodiversity challenges the notion of a “neutral” way of reading the Bible, which is really an ableist form of reading. In addition to hermeneutical issues, we also address practical ecclesial matters regarding the envir