Beauty from brokenness: Witness and wonder as God works through all bodies

This article draws on personal narrative and art along with disability and the Bible to challenge who is able to witness. Disability creates barriers in how people imagine witness to God taking place. Personal narrative paints a picture of this reality. Yet the gospel flips expectations with ultimate beauty as Jesus on the cross. Accordingly, a damaged body points to God working through brokenness to bring blessing. In light of frailty, brokenness, and troubles in this world, this article intersects art, disability and Christian mission to demonstrate how art subverts norms of human strength, and highlights how beauty flows through brokenness. With Paul’s weakness language in 2 Corinthians, disability becomes the showplace for God’s glory.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Missiology An International Review
Published
2024-09-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/00918296241269636
Primary Topic
Disability Rights and Representation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Beauty from brokenness: Witness and wonder as God works through all bodies

Andrew K. Opie
Missiology An International Review
Disability Rights and Representation
article

Beauty from brokenness: Witness and wonder as God works through all bodies

Andrew K. Opie
article en

Abstract

This article draws on personal narrative and art along with disability and the Bible to challenge who is able to witness. Disability creates barriers in how people imagine witness to God taking place. Personal narrative paints a picture of this reality. Yet the gospel flips expectations with ultimate beauty as Jesus on the cross. Accordingly, a damaged body points to God working through brokenness to bring blessing. In light of frailty, brokenness, and troubles in this world, this article intersects art, disability and Christian mission to demonstrate how art subverts norms of human strength, and highlights how beauty flows through brokenness. With Paul’s weakness language in 2 Corinthians, disability becomes the showplace for God’s glory.

Missiology An International ReviewVol. 52(4)
Trinity International University (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 82%
Disability Rights and Representation
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.