Deconstructing the theology and practice of the Church, Hannah Lewis shows how the Church unconsciously oppresses Deaf people through its view of them as people who can't hear. Lewis reclaims Deaf perspectives on Church history, examines how an essentially visual Deaf culture can relate to the written text of the bible and asks 'can Jesus sign?' Th
'... an inductive piece, written from within by a member of the deaf community rather than by someone looking from without and is all the stronger for being so. Lewis breaks new theological ground and, while her work is primarily focused in an Anglican setting, the issues she addresses and the solutions and strategies which she suggests have value far beyond the Anglican context. She highlights the gap that often exists between talk of empowerment and the action that is required to actually bring about the desired change, although any specific structural changes which may be needed to bridge that gap are implicit, rather than explicit in the text. In Lewis's view, the challenge is not how d/Deaf people can have access to the hearing Church, but how the Church can become an organization that contributes to the liberation of all d/Deaf people. She has set out a strong theological foundation on which to build and has sign-posted us towards what such a Church could look like.' Practical Theology