Psychology Cross-training for Theologians Fellowship
CROSS-TRAINING SITE, 2024.
A fellowship programme through the University of Birmingham and Martin Luther University College, with the support of the John Templeton Foundation. My project is an ambitious one-year small grant to explore the God and Self Representation of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
You can also read my blog post “Frienemies or Dysfunctional Family?” about the relationship between psychology and theology!
“Against Living Saints” in The Betrayal of Witness: Reflections on the Downfall of Jean Vanier
VIEW BOOK, FIND ON AMAZON, 2024. Wipf and Stock.
This chapter is a contribution to a book edited by Stanley Hauerwas and Hans Reinders: Theologians reckoning with the downfall of L’Arche founder Jean Vanier in the wake of his serial sexual abuse of non-disabled women. “Against Living Saints” takes an unflinching look at several of the factors that set Vanier up to perpetuate the harm that he did, and considers what kinds of steps must be taken to prevent or mitigate the possibility of similar religious abuses taking place in and around communities of people with disabilities and their families and care providers.
Book Review: Disciples and Friends
READ ARTICLE, August 2024.
My review of Disciples and Friends: Investigations in Disability, Dementia, and Mental Health: Essays in Honor of John Swinton by Brian R. Brock and Armond Leon van Ommen (eds.) for Studies in Christian Ethics.
Disability and the Canadian Church
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Spring 2023.
Welcome to Disability and the Canadian Church, a podcast where we talk about the intersections of disability and the Christian faith in Canada and beyond. Join hosts Keith Dow and Jasmine Duckworth as we welcome a couple of guests each week to share their insights and expertise on aspects of disability and faith.
Thousands of Glittering Shards: Spirituality as Resonance in the Lives of People with Intellectual Disabilities
READ ARTICLE (Open Access). July 2023. Religions.
In the Kabbalah creation myth, God creates the universe by “stepping back”, releasing ten holy vessels with his light—only to have those vessels shatter with shards of divine light, or “shards” scattered throughout the earth. In a parallel approach, this paper suggests that the sacred must be sought in diverse encounters within everyday life and professional practice. In counseling or other therapeutic support, the definition of and search for spiritual dimensions must be broadened to thoughtfully incorporate the diverse experiences and expressions of people with intellectual disabilities. Similarly, those who seek to understand people’s relationship with the divine and support meaning in their lives must welcome a wide range of “artistic” engagements, an approach exemplified in grief and loss intervention. This article concludes by pointing towards resonance as a helpful concept to reconceptualize accessible spirituality in future work.
The Two Cities Podcast. April, 2023
Virtue, Agency, & Christian Caregiving with Dr. Keith Dow (Podcast)
“Marked” Bodies, Medical Intervention, and Courageous Humility: Spiritual Identity Formation in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birthmark
READ ARTICLE (Limited Access). November 2022. Journal on Medicine & Philosophy.
The Birthmark, a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, provides a fascinating fictional account of one man’s obsession with “fixing” a perceived flaw in his partner. This paper explores stigma, identity, and spirituality from the perspective of attempting to change or “fix” others. It is shown that it is only as professional fields adopt a posture marked by courageous humility that healing practices promote the flourishing of all people, including those with disabilities.
Faith Today Podcast with Karen Stiller
LISTEN TO PODCAST March 2, 2022.
Keith Dow is our guest and manager of organizational and spiritual life at Christian Horizons, an organization that works together with people who experience disabilities to accomplish their goals and nurture communities where everybody belongs.
Letting Go & Learning Anew
WATCH ON YOUTUBE. From Presence to Participation Webinar. March, 2022.
Mutual Book Interview: Brian Brock and Keith Dow
WATCH ON YOUTUBE. September 2021
Dr. Brian Brock and Dr. Keith Dow discuss intersecting points of their most recent books, the ethics of caregiving, and disability theology. This virtual event was hosted by the Institute on Theology and Disability, with support from Baylor University Press, on 15 September 2021.
Toward Accessible Faith & Flourishing: Reconsidering Greek Intellectualism in Western Christian Theology
READ ARTICLE (Open Access). 2021. Journal of Disability and Religion.
Much of what we believe about the “good life” can be traced to Ancient Greek philosophy. In Western Christian theology, who is seen as living a life of human flourishing is significantly shaped by Greek intellectualism. In our churches and communities, we must resist the forces that undermine the lives of witness and contribution of people with disabilities.
Convivium Magazine
- READ How MAiD Aids Ableism (2021)
- READ COVID in a Lifeboat (2020)
- READ Curing our Moral Virus of Loneliness (2020)
- READ The Crash of Sacred Disruption (2018)
- READ Baby Steps for Gerber (2018)
- READ Putting Christ in Perspective (2017)
- READ Stories Yet to Tell (2017)
Simplicity, Purity of Heart, and the Gift of Limits
READ ARTICLE (Open Access). 2020. Conrad Grebel Review.
Drawing on Anabaptist history and core values and “Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing” by Søren Kierkegaard, this paper highlights the unique virtue and contribution of people with intellectual disabilities in our communities and encourages churches to learn from the witness of people it has tended to marginalize.
Christian Wholeness with Dr. Keith Dow
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST. 2020. The Healthy Spirituality Podcast with Mike Friesen.
Renew Course (Audio): Caring for you as you care for others
WATCH INTRO VIDEO (YouTube).
Join us as we explore what it looks like to practice resilient care in difficult times. A three-hour course broken into nine podcast sessions, unpacking practices of self-care to combat compassion fatigue in caregiving.
LISTEN: SOUNDCLOUD – APPLE – SPOTIFY
Tamarack Institute
- READ GUIDE| 2019 | Asset-Based Community Development at a Glance
At the Intersection of Theology and Disability
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST 2018. A Podcast of Discipleship with Stephen J. Bedard.
Overview of PhD work, “TED Talk”
WATCH VIDEO (YouTube). 2019 Institute on Theology and Disability.
Every Church Can be Incarnational
WATCH VIDEO (Vimeo). 2018. Inclusion Fusion Conference.
Call, Encounter, and Response: Loving my neighbour with intellectual disabilities
VIEW DISSERTATION 2019. PhD Dissertation, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.
Theological ethics of care dissertation under the supervision of Hans Reinders and Thomas E. Reynolds.
Suspending the Ethical: Autonomy, Disability, and Shalom
READ ARTICLE (Open Access). 2013. Peace Studies Journal Vol 6: Issue 4.
Keith Dow argues that “modern Western culture teleologically suspends the ethical in its death-making treatment of persons with disabilities”. He employs the term death-making coined by Wolf Wolfensberger and asks what response peacemaking has to give to a society blind to its own death-making practices.
Kierkegaard’s Ethic: The Other by Faith
READ THESIS (2009). Thesis completed toward the fulfillment of MA Phil, Dominican University College Ottawa.
This thesis examines the authorship of Søren Kierkegaard and the role of faith in establishing ethical responsibility to the human other. Focusing on the concepts of self, despair, sin, faith, neighbour love and preferential love, this thesis demonstrates that Kierkegaard’s authorship posits a love- and faith-based ethics missed by his critics, Martin Buber in particular.