In the image of God: Perfection and disability
What is perfection? In this article, we consider views of disability, perfection, and where this fits with our view of the image of God. We argue that our view of the image of God has been affected by our own perceptions. We propose that these perceptions can come from our own personal thoughts, and things such as advertising, and social media. This suggests that perfection has become key to understanding the physical attributes that people associate with the image of God. Considering disability theology, we argue that by our image of God we are able to understand what it means for everyone to be counted as exhibiting God’s image. This leads to my conclusion that the best and most appropriate view of the image of God is to do with behavioural characteristics.
What is perceived perfection in the world of advertising?
A view of perfection could be likened to a visual image. This image may have come to us from advertising. An advert is trying to convince us that we have a need for the item which is being sold. To do this, it makes sense to show the most appealing and aesthetically pleasing version of the product. The view of perfection in an advert is precisely what the advertisers want you to see. They commonly present a picture of calmness where nothing is wrong. In this, if there is a problem shown it is remedied by their product. Everything functions correctly. As this is maintained, there is no space for anything which doesn’t fully function.
Examples could include scenes of families sitting down for a roast dinner using a ready-prepared gravy. Or, perhaps, a scene where someone is about to go to an important interview. All is fine until they realize they have a stain on their clothes which needs immediate action from a stain remover. This is the role of advertising. Working on the theory that you wouldn’t want to enjoy a family roast without gravy or go to an interview with stained clothes, you are enticed into the solution on offer.
In advertising, if something seems wrong it can be quickly remedied. This of course doesn’t account for the more obvious difficulties of someone going to an interview who needs wheelchair access. Advertising will generally work within an accepted norm.
However, we are not all united in our individual needs. These needs can include accessibility, not being able to eat in the same way as everyone else, and not being able to hear a dinner-time conversation. Perfection assumes a certain standard of behaviour and visually pleasing body forms and features; a world where nothing ever goes wrong without a quick remedy.
What is perceived perfection in the world of social media?
From a view of perfection in the advertising world, it is helpful to consider another place where we build our perceptions of perfection. This is the world of social media. The perfect image of themselves that people present on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media can hide the reality
In her book, I thought there would be cake Katharine Welby-Roberts reflected on her battle of comparisons with others on social media and how these are sometimes false.
The people I compare myself to …. seem to have it all together: they look constantly cool, or they cook wonderfully, they go on adventures all over the world, have great talents and gifts, and honestly seem to live a perfect life.
Katherine Welby-Roberts, I Thought There Would Be Cake (SPCK 2017), 17.
This is all an extra pressure on how we should look, behave and be as individuals. If you are unable to cook due to problems with your limbs, or you have a disfigured face, or you cannot verbalize things, or you are just perceived as different then you may need to revise your perfection or suffer some measure of distress. This causes a huge question when placed against the perfect image or our perceived views of perfection. On this basis, anything outside a perceived norm would betray a bad image. If an image of perfection involves athletic bodies and aesthetically pleasing faces, what are we missing? To answer this question, it is necessary to consider some of the questions that are raised by disability Theology.
What is disability theology?
Part of the work of theology is to view ourselves in relation to God. This can have the effect of comparing our personhood with God’s divinity, and the way in which He relates to us and we to Him. This will naturally direct us to consider all aspects of our personhood. In the case of people living with disabilities, the idea of personhood can be very different from the views of a non-disabled person. This of course comes from the different sets of experiences that people have. This is reflected well by John Swinton[1] in his description of disability theology as a way in which to interpret doctrinal statements and Biblical accounts from the point of view of lived experience. This is, of course, the work of practical theology and in this case, that is theology approached with both an awareness of and experience of living with disability.
What is the image of God?
The strong sense of being made in the image of God comes from the book of Genesis which describes God as creating Adam and Eve in his image: ‘So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them’ (Gen. 1:27).
This all sounds simple enough, however we project onto Adam and Eve our own perception of what a perfect image should be. We tend to think in terms of how humans should be, the best looking, perfect at everything, the dream of the best we could imagine. This may be a good and pleasing image. We turn from being made in God’s image to us all being part of the perceived perfection that we have addressed.
Such a distorted view can be very deceptive as we can often imagine that the “perfect” representation is that of an athlete, model, or a perfect glossy smiling human being. To us, these people could seem to have a perfect life. In essence, judging people as perfect is done from our personal views of what perfection is. We may project such views onto the perfect image of God. To be made in God’s image means that we are to be like him. However, the question then comes as to what image of God we have.
If we hold to the view of an all-triumphant winning God, then we see God as unable to be hurt. This of course runs against the idea of a crucified God. An example of this can be seen in the prophecy of Isaiah:
He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity, and as one from whom others would hide their faces he was despised and we held him of no account.
Isaiah 53:3.
Accepting that God can suffer, that He can seem prepared to be weakened by suffering on a cross shows a perceived weakness. This in turn changes His image from one of an untouchable, unreachable perfection to something much more attainable. Imago Dei, the image of God, must include everything about God and his love. So, the perfect image of God cannot be viewed from our own point of view as to what perceived perfection is.
After all when Jesus washed the disciples feet (John 13:5) He would have been removing some potentially disgusting materials such as excrement from the feet of those who would have walked barefoot.
Living in God’s image
It would seem on this basis that the image of God in our minds needs to move past our curated interpretations of perfection, as this can be false due to their being taken on by us as part of an interpretation of perfection. This argument moves to the conclusion that a beautiful person made in the image of God is surely someone who is made beautiful by them trying to be more like God. This will not change the societal view, it will not stop people from feeling awkward if they look different from everyone else, but it may change the way in which we consider what it means to be in God’s image.
In Embraced and Included, Frances Mackenny-Jeffs, makes the point that ‘Crucially we must see that one of the things that is normal about human beings is that we are different and do not come in one standard form’[2]. She further reflects that to be in the image of God must include the fact that we are made in the image of a relational God. Basically, we can all be part of those created in God’s image, no matter how we look, but rather more how we relate to God and to others.
In the letter to the Galatians, an example of what it means to live like God, to show His image is seen in an understanding of the fruit of the spirit, the characteristics that form people into the image of God: ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control’ (Gal. 5:22a).
Surely the most appropriate response to disability theology is to see ourselves as those who are made in God’s image, without our own (mis?)perception of what perfect is but rather how God sees us. This is as us seeking to be more like him day by day.
References
[1] John Swinton, “Who is the God We Worship? Theologies of Disability; Challenges and New Possibilities,” IJPT 14 (2011), pp. 273-307.
[2] Frances Mackenny-Jeffs, Embraced and Included: A Disability-sensitive Perspective on Christian Healing (Grovebooks, 2020), 12.
© Helen Rees and Julian Raffay, 2023.
This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Cover Image: “Bad body image much?” by Buttontree Lane is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Rev. Helen Rees is a Tutor in Theological Education at St. Padarn’s Institute. Her special areas of interest are in the New Testament, Anglican worship and most recently disability theology. She serves as a tutor on St. Padarn's learning support team, a role which has led her to reflect theologically about learning differences and acceptance.
Rev. Dr. Julian Raffay is the Director of Chaplaincy Studies at St. Padarn’s Institute. His life has been split between serving as a mental health chaplain and parish ministry. As Research Chaplain, he uses grounded theory to explore mental service user and carer perceptions of treatment and care contending that the ethics of co-production creates a compelling case for redesigning services around peoples’ life goals and combatting stigma.
