COMMENT ............................................................................................................................... .................................................................................. .
GOD LOVES DISABLED PEOPLE,TOO
Rev Wale Hudson-Roberts calls on society to show greater understanding towards disabled people, and for the Church to produce a theology about disability that highlights spiritual care and compassion
REV WALE HUDSON-
ROBERTS is the Racial Justice Co-ordinator for the Baptist Union of Great Britain
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e is among the most able and talented persons I know. He received the highest marks of any Masters
degree student from his university, and is currently a respected journalist.
Around 15 years ago, I was introduced to this near genius. There was a knock on the church door. I opened it. He introduced himself as Tunde. He wanted to know the cost of renting a room from the church. It did not take long before we struck up a friendship. As they say, the rest was history. From time to time, Tunde and I would go out for lunch. On one such occasion, he told me he was disabled. It wasn’t that I disbelieved him; it’s just that I saw no sign of his disability. I now know the extent of his disability.
Tunde suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome. It has rendered him powerless, unemployed and severely depressed. Regularly, Tunde is overwhelmed by pain, unable to move; attacked by a physical force so strong, so unbearable, it immobilises him for days.
Having been disabled for nearly all his life, Tunde has become weary of the frequent criticisms from many Christian leaders, persuaded, as many are, that Tunde must have committed the unforgivable sin. If he had not, they argue, he would be living an ‘abundant’ life, which suggests his disability is symptomatic of a sinful life. More than most, Tunde craves for a disabled-friendly church. But like many, including many of our Black Majority churches, they just don’t get the likes of Tunde’s suffering - refusing to create a church for the immobile.
But this is not just a church problem. The Government’s focus on alleged fraud and ‘overclaiming’, to justify making cuts in disability benefits, has increased resentment and abuse directed at disabled people, as
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experienced by many disabled people is rooted, not just in ignorance but in government savings, and the desire to overhaul the welfare system. This compares with some of our Black Majority churches, where a failure of a theology of disability and hospitality is also woefully lacking.
‘I am sure few would be thankful for their disability being blamed… A more sensitive theological approach is the recognition that nothing lies outside of God’s creative direction and approbation, not even chaos.’
many find themselves being labelled as scroungers and parasites.
Some charities say that this sort of rhetoric could easily spill over into violence or other hate crimes. The charities speaking out - Scope, Mencap, the National Autistic Society, Royal National Institute for the Blind - say that inflammatory media coverage has played a huge role, and blame ministers and civil servants for repeatedly highlighting the apparent large scale abuse of the disability benefits system, much of which is unfounded.
Polling of people with disability shows that in September, two thirds said they had experienced recent hostility or taunts, up from 41% four months before. In the last poll, almost 50% said attitudes towards them had deteriorated in the past year.
Many Black and ethnic minority disabled people say that the climate is so hostile that they avoid going out, or avoid using facilities such as designated parking bays if ‘they do not look disabled.’
The Government is now committed to making significant cuts to disability benefits, including a 25% reduction in the Disability Living Allowance bill by 2015/16. Much of its public focus has been on alleged fraudulent claims, or cutting benefits to those whose conditions have improved.
Black Majority churches and the Government claim to understand the issues that disabled people frequently face, but clearly they do not. The Government’s misunderstanding and miscommunication of the suffering and disadvantages
If poverty is ‘absence of choice,’ imagine the experiences of a Black, female disabled person. This is treble jeopardy, the treble absence of choice. And there are many in our churches. The idea that a disabled person must be demon-possessed, and that exorcism will free them from their physical bondage, is an unhelpful pastoral approach, and can often lead to more harm than good.
Disability is growing at a rapid rate, with over 650 million in people in the world, and approximately 10% of the world’s population suffering from it - the majority are Black women from the southern hemisphere. I am sure few - if any - would be thankful for their disability being blamed upon the demons that apparently lurk within their soul. A more sensitive theological approach is the recognition that nothing lies outside God’s creative direction and approbation - not even chaos.
As the Psalmist expresses, “It is God that has made us and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3). If the God of beginnings is the God of hope, then He is the One in whom we place trust for our salvation, and He is faithful in love and commitment. We are who we are because of our need and dependence on others. Therefore, caring communities of love that exclude no one and include everyone is the ideal that God calls us to action.
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