Should churches show more concern for people with disabilities?

January 25, 2013

On Disability and Sola Scriptura
Julie Clawson, on her One Hand Clapping blog, says that people with disabilities are the “most otherized group in the church” and that even churches concerned with social justice often fail to recognize the concerns, needs, and experiences of differently-abled persons in the way they recognize the concerns of other groups  She writes: “Whether it is dealt with well or not, most Christians would agree that racism is wrong and that we should love people of all colors of skin. Many churches would also say that sexism is evil and quite a few even allow women to serve as pastors. It’s trendy to engage in interreligious dialogue and LGBT advocacy is the undisputed cause of the moment. Not so much when it comes to welcoming and showing support for the differently abled. Basically, we are not and never will be cool” (emphasis hers). Read about why she feels as she does and why the issue is so easily dismissed in some circles. Her essay and the comments following her post provide much to think about. Julie explains the name of her blog, along with describing her own disability, in the “about” section of her blog.

Letha Dawson Scanzoni is an independent scholar, writer, and editor, and is the author or coauthor of nine books. In 1978, she and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott wrote Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?, one of the earliest books urging evangelical Christians to rethink their views on homosexuality (updated edition, 1994, HarperOne). More recently, Letha coauthored (with social psychologist David G. Myers) What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage (HarperOne, 2005 and 2006). Another of Letha’s most well-known books is All We’re Meant to Be: Biblical Feminism for Today, coauthored with Nancy A. Hardesty (Word Books, 1974; revised edition, Abingdon, 1986; updated and expanded edition, Eerdmans, 1992). Letha served as editor of Christian Feminism Today in both its former print edition (EEWC Update) and its website for 19 years until her retirement in December 2013.

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