The Bible and Disability

Listen (28 min.)

Graphic from campusbiblechurch.com

In the Christian Bible, people with disabilities are compared to scarecrows and forbidden to approach the altar.  Yet, Moses, the great Biblical liberator had speech limitations.   Centuries later, Jesus said, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” to the feast.  And, one of our guests, Amos Yong, proposes a radically different approach to reading the Bible which is based on weakness and blemishes as potential divine manifestations.

 

What is true?  What does the Bible have to say to people with disabilities?  We ask two Christians this question.

Theologian Amos Yong is the author of “The Bible, Disability, and the Church; A New Vision of the People of God,” He is currently the J. Rodman Williams Professor of Theology and Dean at Regent University School of Divinity.

 

Lillibeth Navarro

Lillibeth Navarro, whose spirituality found a home in the Focolare Movement, considers herself a person with severe disabilities from the onset of polio as a baby.  She is the founder & executive director of CALIF, the independent living center which serves the 50 zip codes of Los Angeles. 

Eddie Ytuarte and Adrienne Lauby co-host.

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