| Abstract | This dissertation emerges from interviews with parents who care for children living with a gastrointestinal ostomy. This project contributes to theological anthropology with the use of pastoral theological and narrative qualitative methods and methodologies. This dissertation develops upon the theological construct of the imago Dei as irreducible, embodied, and relational. The central argument suggests that the imago Dei is a corrective to normalcy discourses. A normalcy discourse is a subjective, context-specific way of constituting what or who is ¿normal.¿ Normalcy discourses have the potential to marginalize some and include others. Normalcy discourses also have the potential to render as abject (disgusting, other, or fear-inducing) the bodies of children with gastrointestinal ostomies. This project evaluates the constraints and the creative potential of anxiety in understanding finite and vulnerable bodies and their historical, social, and ideological contexts. Finally, this dissertation proposes practices of care for pastors, chaplains, and lay leaders who accompany families through chronic illness and embodied differences. |
