Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

  Disability Justice in the Church By  Amy Kenny in 2022 Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton   Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. (James 5: 14-15a, NIV)   “God told me to pray for you.” Amy begins her challenge to Christians who dehumanize her, and all people with disabilities, by telling the tale of a prayer predator. She interrupts the woman’s plan, “I don’t need prayer for healing. My body has already been sanctified and redeemed.” Amy uses a cane and a wheelchair. Throughout My Body is Not a Prayer Request , we learn what Christians and medical people have said and done, which have had a cumulative effect of dehumanizing Amy. She has encountered many Christians who do not accept her as she is. Her work is an attack on the mentality of ableism . [ Read about ableism ] Part of

A Woman of No     Importance By     Sonia Purnell Reviewed by     Geoffrey W. Sutton A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II A woman of no importance is more than just another spy story. Virginia Hall was a true hero who battled men’s prejudice against female warriors  as she simultaneously took on the Nazi occupiers of France by organizing resistance fighters and sending vital intelligence to British and Amer ican intelligence planners in London during World a War II. Her contributions were  recognized much later than were her male peers as cultures in the UK and USA gradually changed to appreciate women.  Fortunately the book not only gives Virginia a voice but it educates us about the horrors of war and the importance of small hidden  acts of courage that support the more visible efforts of armed forces.   Virginia Hall's contribution to America does not end with World War II. She joined t