The Christian View of the Disabled

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What does disability mean? We witness individuals that live their lives with specific challenges on a day-to-day basis, but we do not consider it part of life, until it becomes part of reality. People with disabilities have challenges because they either have an invisible, visible, sensory, mobility, or intellectual disability, which causes them to be distinguished as ‘different’ in the public eye. I will not be discussing disabilities, but discussing people with disabilities; it is the person we should focus on and not the disability itself. The Golden Rule is a key concept in multiple religions. Christians, like many others who follow other religions, have been doctrine at a young age by parents, teachers and authority figures to follow it. The Golden Rule is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights, which summarizes that we should treat others how we wish to be treated. A key element of the Golden Rule is that a person treats all people with respect, not just members of his or her in-group. The Golden Rule is endorsed by most world religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, but I will be discussing the Christian views specifically. In order to apply the Golden Rule we must acknowledge one’s existence. In today’s society, not a lot of people take the time of day to reach out to those with disabilities instead they place barriers between themselves and those with disabilities. Christians believe that everyone is made in the image of God. Looking into the mirror, we should be able to see the parts that make God. Knowing that, a person who has a disability was also created in the image of God.
The greatest barrier that people who are labeled as disabled is not the physical inability; i...

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... and E. Persico Tony. "The Christian Ethics of Socio-Economic Development Promoted by the Catholic Social Teaching." The Journal of Philosophical Economics 5.1 (2011): 90-119. ProQuest. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

"Catholic Social Teachings." Catholic Charities of Dubuque RSS2. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .

Van Tongeren, Paul. "Natural Law, Human Dignity And Catholic Social Teaching." Religion, State & Society 41.2 (2013): 152-163. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
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