The Lord is my Shepherd, Amen.

Disabled Definition
Medical impairment of any kind make a person handicap to avail the societal opportunities and
participate in the society in an equal footing.
1

According to the 2001 estimates around 600 million people or 10% worlds population suffer
with various disabilities.
2

Disabled persons are the largest minority in the world.
3

Term Handicap
The term handicap is replaced with disability in mid 1980s. Both the words handicap and
disability are used till today. But internationally persons with disabilities are used. This word
disability is used to explain people who experience different barriers to certain activities and not
to refer a certain group.
4
More acceptable term for disability is impairment. But the term
impairment is a socially and culturally conditioned it depends on people how they percieve.
5

Models to deal with Disability
Few models in the past have discussed on persons with disability
Onw model during the time of enlightenment is medical or individual model, this model see
disability as disease or bodily disorder. Person is disabled because of illness or he or she suffered
a trauma- model developed by World Health Organization in 1980s. many activists criticised
this model and developed a later model that is social model. This model defines disability as
exclusively a political and social problem. According to this model it is not medical
problem/issue but the transformation of society is needed. Due to these two opposed model one

1
Bipul Malakar and Sujoy Kanti Ghosal, Physically Challenged Persons, Marching Forward Beyond Human
Rights, Edited by Anil Bhuimali, Rights of Disabled Women and Children in India, (New Delhi: Serier
Publications, 2009), 7.
2
Bipul Malakar and Sujoy Kanti Ghosal, Physically Challenged Persons, Marching Forward Beyond Human
Rights, Edited by Anil Bhuimali, Rights of Disabled Women and Children in India,1.
3
Bipul Malakar and Sujoy Kanti Ghosal, Physically Challenged Persons, Marching Forward Beyond Human
Rights, Edited by Anil Bhuimali, Rights of Disabled Women and Children in India,vii.
4
Disability & Society Reader, 47.
5
Disability & Society Reader, 3.
intermedietary model has emerged that is quebe approach. It defines as disability is viewd or
updated as an interaction between individual factors and environmental factors that lead to
restrictions on daily routine and behaviors.
6

W.H.O. in 2001 came with a definition that disability is no longer a disease but about health,
functioning and disability. This defined as health condition and contextual factors integratng
both medical and social model is bio-psychosocial model. It is a synthesis of different dimension
of health, biological, individual and social.
7

Dhyan Cassie says that people with disabilitis want to be treated like everyone else, not specail
or different. They want same opportunities for employment, recreation, socializing and family
life.
8

Cassie calls people with disabilities as people who have visible differences. She also says from
her experience of interviewing PWD that most of them does not want to be segregated or
separated by being in handicapped.
9

They dont want to be called as blind, deaf, lame or anything, blind susan etc. they dont want
exclusive or over inclusive treatment but theyshould be given an opportunity to be a human
being.
10

Cassie also says that society have not been enough sensitive towards visibly different they have
no group, no spokesperson, they are often feeling embarassed, ashamed and inferior.
11

People in their adulthood who became physically disabled due to accidents, sickness or age.
They have to adjust with two things one is daily chores and the other is attitude towards people
around them.
12
Society has to accept PWD as they are and not to nickname them.
13
Dhyan also
says society had to be aware of the PWD [ep[;es expectations, limitations and correct

6
Disability & Society Reader, 4.
7
Disability & Society Reader, 4.
8
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect: People with Visible differences tell their own stories, (United States of America:
Herald Press, 1984), 11.
9
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 18.
10
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 20.
11
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 20.
12
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 21.
13
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 22.

terminology of their condition. This will resolve the barriers of accomodating PWD with us in all
walks aof alife.
14

PWD in Movement
Amputee, celebral palsy, lame, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, polio and sioliosis are the
common seen among the PWD with movement barriers. They find difficult waliking, doing daily
chores like cooking, eating, working with limbs, struggles to stand, sit. They also find difficult in
speech and listening.
15

(include Deaf also p.no: 124, blind, 156.)
Speech problem arises sometines from birth, Aplasia is a result ofbrian damage, usually from
stroke. Peoplel affected with it will face problem of defective articualtion, inability to produce
voice, sound and broken fluency.
16
Stuttering, flow of speech is interrupted and finds difficulty
in communication. Several causes 1. Learning theory, 2. Neurotic theory, and 3. Theory of
constitutional diffrence.
17


Cosmetic difficulties
Cosmetic problems like birthmark, different skin pigmation, scars, moles, hairlessness(not bald
head) are not covered unet the disability category. This group of people experience stigma,
discrimination in society at various places including job opportunites.
18
Albinism, alopenia,
birthmarks, keloids these are some things that came into human body naturlly and not any
disease.
19

Dhyan also says that persons who are very tall, short or overweight makes us socially
handicapped and disassociating.
20


14
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 24.
15
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 25-26.
16
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 203.
17
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 203.
18
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 88.
19
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 89.
20
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 224.
Hindu belief of karma or Gods wrath makes the life of disabled much more traumatized. They
are considered as punished by God for their previous birth or for their parents sin, a kind of
penance or retribution for past misdeeds. The response of society is mostly charity or
philanthropic work giving food, old clothes and money not as a sign of commitment. It is only a
dharmic (religious) duty as almsgiving to beggar. Disable group are an oppressed group in
society.
21

In India daughter is considered as burden by many people and if that daughter is disabled person
it is beyond the burden. Parents worry about their daughters marriage. In India women are given
and taken in marriages. How to send the girl away is the problem for parents. In Telugu girl is
treated as parai means outsider in her own house. Due to disability women are twice oppressed
once by the patriarchal society and later with the stigma of society.
22

Theology of Disabled God
23

Theology of disabilityis to provide two way accesability between persons with disabilities with
Church and society for full participation and church and society accommodating PWD with
dignity and respect.
24

She see a vision of Disabled God in a wheel chair, not as omnipotent or self sufficient, but as
pitiable, and suffering servant. She calls this image of God as hidden image of God.
25
Nancy
says, Empowering images are vital for the liberation of any marginalized groups, the abled body
images of God sometimes becomes obstacle for the PWD and hence we need the emancipatory
and inclusive images which affirm the dignity of PWD for the transformation of society.
26
Nancy
also cites Iris Marion Young and says that stigmatization against people with disabilities is
deliberate institutional and individual discrimination, group oppressions are not much visible in
official laws or policies but in the informal ways. Our bodily reactions, responses, everyday

21
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 414.
22
Dhyan Cassie, So Whos Perfect, 416-418.
23
Title of Nancy L. Eislands Book
24
Nancy L. Eisland, Disabled God, Towards Liberation Theology of Disability, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994),
20.
25
Nancy L. Eisland, Disabled God, 89.
26
Nancy L. Eisland, Disabled God, 91.
interactions, aesthetic judgements, jokes, images and stereotypes.
27
These are some things that
hurt the PWDs dignity and respect. These are some actions done by us knowingly or
unknowingly which hurt their self respect. She says that disabilities are seen as unholy and these
oppressive images and understanding leads PWD to self pity, self rejection and shame, charity
instead of empowerment.
28
She says they symbol of Jesus Christ as disabled God is a
contextualized Christology. This disabled God emerges in the context of PWD and for the others
who are mindful of transformation of society to live in faith and to fulfill their calling to live
ordinary lives of worth and dignity.
29
Disciples have not witnessed the suffrering servant after
the resurrection but a disabled God with impaired hands, legs and pierced side of the image of
God. This resurrected God showed the marks of impairments for the frightened disciples to
connect with God in their own salvation. She says this disabled God is a revealer of New
Humanity, revelation of true personhood by saying that full personhood is fully compatible with
experience of disability.
30
Jesus revealing as disabled God is to avoid the taboo of physical
avoiding of disability and to portray the equality. Nancy says disabled God will enable the
reconciliation with their own bodies and Christs body the Church.
31
She says disabled God is
God who shows that interdependence is a necessary condition for life, survival and it is also
Justice. This interdependence should not be interrelated from the point of power but from the
need. She further says that disabled God renews the hope for the people with disabilities.
32

K. C. Abraham says that disability transcends the human made boundaries of caste, colour,
creed, race and PWD can share with the community of faith the human stories of liberation.
33

K.C. Abraham says that theology is a discourse of abled people for the abled people and
disability is not a theological category. And our theologies and images of God are not inclusive
our God is god amlmighty and power, why not God of the weak? Even our Church buildings are
not disabled friendly with no ramps and wheel chairs in most of the churches for our disabled

27
Iris Marion Young, Justice and the Politics of Difference, (Princeton: Princeton University press, 1990), 148.
Cited by Nancy L. Eisland, Disabled God, 92.
28
Nancy L. Eisland, Disabled God, 93.
29
Nancy L. Eisland, Disabled God, 98.
30
Nancy L. Eisland, Disabled God, 100.
31
Nancy L. Eisland, Disabled God, 101.
32
Nancy L. Eisland, Disabled God, 103.
33
K. C. Abraham, Theological Education and Disability, Edited by Wati Longchar, Disability Discourse For
Theological Instituion, (Assam: ETE-WCC/CCA, 2006), 22.
friends.
34
He also says that metaphors we use for God sometimes have emerged from political
and military context such as Lord, master, and warrior. Though metaphors are not the literal truth
but it is often portrayed as eternal truths. Patriarchy and hierarchy are controlling metaphors. We
need the metaphor of disabled God to articulate the experience of God from the perspective of
the disabled. He further says that God-language and metaphorical theology are important in
constructing any theology.
35
He further says the words of Arvind P. Nirmal that God who suffer
with us empowers us to fight against all experiences of marginalization, suffering and
disability.
36
He says Jesus compares King Solomons glory as inferior with that of lilies of grass.
And he says how God continues to sustains them and fills the weak things with glory. People
carve for power and possesions where as God is mindful of the small and weak things.
37

Gordon Cowans says that human beings created by God with boundary of limits. He further says
all the humanity is limited in time and space. Then how the disabled are only seen as persons
with limitations and others treated as perfect. He also says that Doctrine of creation is wrongly
interpreted as perfect. Understanding the creation of God as perfection, and any deviation or
impairment is seen as imperfection, often disabled persons suffer due to this interpretation. In
creation God said it is good, good does not mean perfect, it means that suits my purpose. He
opines that Perfection is a human construct.
38



34
K. C. Abraham, Theological Education and Disability, 7-8.
35
K. C. Abraham, Theological Education and Disability, 9-10.
36
K. C. Abraham, Theological Education and Disability, 11.
37
K. C. Abraham, Theological Education and Disability, 18.
38
Gordon Cowans, Towards A Liberative Theology of Disability: Humanity in Creation, Disability And the Image
of God, Edited by Wati Longchar and Gordon Cowans, Disabled God Amidst Broken People, Doing Theology from
Disability Perspective, A Theological Resource Book on Disability Volume II, (Philippines: ATESEA,2007), 42-45.