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Example research essay topic: Body Of Christ Mentally Handicapped - 1,578 words

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This project is a response to the necessity of our churches taking a more active role in the integration of handicapped persons into the life of the church. Ecumenism has its focus on unifying all Christian belief systems. However, if there are existing divisions over the issues surrounding the handicapped in our churches, unifying our churches will be a moot effort. Ecumenism, if it is truly a movement for the wholeness of the body of Christ, must take into consideration the issue of the handicapped in the church. Additionally, the movement must actively incorporate the handicapped into as central a role as those without handicaps have enjoyed. If these goals are not worked for, or more optimistically, accomplished, then the ecumenical movement will have a major flaw in its purpose for existence.

This is an important issue for the ecumenical movement. The search for Christian Unity must include all persons if we are to stay true to the example set forth by Christ. Websters dictionary defines handicap as follows: 1) a disadvantage possessed by one person as compared with others, especially a physical disability which limits the capacity to earn. This definition fails to include mental handicaps. For the purpose of this paper, however, I will be including this aspect into the definition. Both physical and mental handicaps need to be included when taking this issue into consideration, if it is to be looked at as a serious issue for the ecumenical movement.

There are many scriptures that speak to this issue, and encourage the incorporation of all into the body of Christ. Galatians 3: 26 - 29 says that we are all Gods children through Christ, and through our baptism we are one with Christ. There is no longer Jew nor Greek, there is no longer slave nor free, there is no longer male nor female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3: 28) Chapter seven in 1 Corinthians speaks of various gifts from the same spirit. Some have the gift of healing, some teaching, and some have wisdom. The handicapped are an example to others. They have the gift to teach how the resources of divine power can gain entry into peoples lives through the recognition of weakness.

Luke 24: 13 - 16 speaks to this issue by showing how often times we do not recognize the presence of Christ within those with disabilities. A parable that speaks to this issue in a powerful way is found in Luke 14: 15 - 24. In the parable of the great dinner, the most unlikely, unworthy, un expecting people have filled the seats of the great banquet table. By turning to these rejected citizens when the other guests turned down the invitation, God transforms then from social outcasts to wanted, honored, welcomed, though to many, unexpected guests in Gods kingdom. Hebrews 13: 2 is yet another scripture that speaks to the way we treat the handicapped in our churches.

Many times the trend is to marginalize them, or leave them in the background. However, the scripture from Hebrews tells us: Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Psalm 18 tells us most plainly that God is a shield for all who take refuge in [him]. Aside form these scriptures we have the example that Jesus set before us. He surrounded himself with those who were seen as lowly. He even tells us in the beatitudes, blessed are the meek for they are poor in spirit.

Jesus calls us to look beyond one another's abilities or disabilities. He calls us to love God with our whole being and to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt. 22: 39) Churches, on the local and denominational level, have thus far done a mediocre job of incorporating the handicapped into the life of the church for the simple reason that most people do not know how to deal with the handicapped. There is a fear of saying the wrong thing and offending someone, or offering help not needed. Additionally, Ernest Becker tells us, For many, the very person with a disabling condition is a provocative, painful sign of our own mortal condition and something that we would rather deny than accept. This is a societal view as well. There is a perception in most congregations that they must take on the roll of care taker and do for the handicapped and not let them do for themselves (within their limitations of course).

There is a stigma that being handicapped means being less than fully human and this spawns a focus on the disability rather than on the gifts of the handicapped person. As the COCU resolution from the Nairobi assembly in 1975 points out, we subject the handicapped to paternalistic structures that turn the handicapped into objects of pity, thus making it more difficult for people to see past the handicap. There is a gross misperception that the mentally handicapped cannot perceive God. However, a recent study on perceptions of God among those with mental retardation indicates that persons with different levels of mental retardation seem to have meaningful perceptions of God.

The study used various levels of retardation and a medium of pictures. Each group was shown the pictures and asked to choose the ones that most reminded them of God. The study showed that as the level of retardation became more severe, the concept of God shifted from a mixture of concrete religious symbols and personification to pure personification. This study can help to improve the perception of how the mentally handicapped view God and can help others learn how to teach these people.

When discussing the issue of the physically handicapped and their role in the church, the main area of concern is access into the churches. Many churches do maintain a handicap accessible status, however there are still many churches that do not. This is no fault of the church's. When Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, religious organizations were exempt from complying with the provisions of the act. The provisions for ramps, bathrooms, water fountains, sinks, and adequate space need to be discussed among congregations that do not yet have them.

The ecumenical movement could make a push for all churches to be handicap accessible. One method would be to send representatives to churches to discuss the theological and moral issues involved. Literature on the subject could also be sent to churches. Language is another area needing improvement.

In a resolution from the 1976 plenary session of COCU in Bergamo it is stated: Aware that since per-biblical times person who deviate physically or mentally from societal norms have been disparaged, demeaned, marginalized and ostracized. Deviate is underlined because it is a very troublesome term. Deviate gives the impression of a choice. The way this sentence reads, it sounds as though those with disabilities have chosen to be in that condition.

This belief could not be farther from the truth. Therefore this view, as a common belief needs to be remedied. Handicapped persons do not choose their circumstances. A mentally handicapped person does not decide to be so; a physically handicapped person does not decide to put themselves in a wheelchair.

When working with and referring to the handicapped, people insist on using words such as: dependent, pity, special people. The fact of the matter is that those without handicaps have a set definition of the good life. This definition includes perfection, power, and the concept that the handicapped cannot be happy. We need to stop feeling sorry for the handicapped and recognizing the abilities that they do posses and use them in our churches! On the denominational level the Disciples of Christ, with which I am affiliated, has made some ground in remedying this situation. Since the first General Assembly of the Disciples of Christ in 1969 there have been five resolutions on various aspects of this issue.

Topics addressed have included the following: 9126 ministry to children with special needs, 8951 rights of infants, 8558 accessibility, 7927 hymnals. The ecumenical movement has spoken on this issue in a way that addresses it aggressively. The Reverend Gerald F. More feels as though the church has not often sought out the presence and contributions of persons whose limitations are particularly obvious. During the 1971 conference of the Faith and Order Commission in Louvain a wide variety of issues surrounding those with disabilities was discussed. After this conference it became increasingly apparent that churches and the movement had suffered because of the absence of handicapped persons in their midst.

They realized that in the community given to us in Christ, we learn that the strong and the weak mutually support one another. The 1975 Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Nairobi recognized that disabled persons are fully committed, integral members of the body of Christ and the human family. This assembly also came to the realization that the church cannot represent the full humanity revealed in Christ, bear witness to the interdependence of humankind, or achieve unity in diversity if it continued to exclude the handicapped from its life. The recommendation was also made that churches do everything in their power to bring the handicapped into full participation in the Church's life. The came from the Plenary session of COCU from Bergamo in 1976. At this plenary COCU agreed to appoint a Task Force of Persons with Disabilities.

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Research essay sample on Body Of Christ Mentally Handicapped

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