Justice, The Gospel, and People with Disabilities

Abstract

The focus of this essay is on biblical justice in relation to persons with disabilities. The World Health Organization (2012) estimates that 15% of the world’s population includes people with disabilities. This staggering percentage means that there are over 47 million Americans with disabilities today and over one billion worldwide. As an outgrowth of the Civil Rights movement in the United States, the situation for some people with disabilities in the United States has continued to improve since the 1970s. However, in much of the world, individuals and families affected by disability continue to face injustice in the from of segregation, overt discrimination, exploitation, lack of education, and limited access to services, the combined result of which is “forced” poverty (Anderson, 2004)