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Alex

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Bible Passages about Access, Disability, Inclusion, and Diversity

I am asking for people who know the Old and New Testaments to help me.

 

I have a web site www.accessiblechurch.ca that is about helping your Church become accessible, by bringing down barriers to church and inside churches.

 

The number one key words that  bring people to my site from search engines are bible verses, diversity, disability and inclusion.

 

I have a web page on the site devoted to Bible passages.  http://sites.google.com/site/accessiblechurch/bible. It is the most popular section of my web site.  I would like to add some more passages from the Bible.

 

Can you tell me what verses come to mind when you think of diversity, disability, healing and inclusion?

 

 

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 Examples are

 

Galatians 2:28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 

 

"For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one entity and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, by destroying in his own person the hostility, that is, the Law of commandments with its decrees. His purpose in this was, by restoring peace, to create a single New Man out of the two of them, and through the cross, to reconcile them both to God in one Body; in his own person he killed the hostility.He came to bring the good news of peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. Through him, then, we both in the one Spirit have free access to the Father. So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors; you are fellow-citizens with the holy people of God and part of God's household. You are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Every structure knit together in him grows into a holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built up into a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit."

Gen.1:31 (NJB) God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good.

(Col. 1:15-16) We believe that God became incarnate in the person Jesus. “He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible....”

(Luke 17:21)  nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within[a] you"         Jesus walked the earth in human form — teaching, feeding, touching, healing all kinds of hungry, and hurting people — Jesus showed us that bodies matter. There is nothing about us that is foreign to him. He invites us to join him in this solidarity with all who are oppressed. He said that God’s reign is like a banquet for all people, that “the kingdom of God is among you.”

From the New Jerusalem Bible the full text of I Cor.12:12-27       12 For as with the human body which is a unity although it has many parts -- all the parts of the body, though many, still making up one single body -- so it is with Christ.13 We were baptised into one body in a single Spirit, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink.14 And indeed the body consists not of one member but of many.15 If the foot were to say, 'I am not a hand and so I do not belong to the body,' it does not belong to the body any the less for that.16 Or if the ear were to say, 'I am not an eye, and so I do not belong to the body,' that would not stop its belonging to the body.17 If the whole body were just an eye, how would there be any hearing? If the whole body were hearing, how would there be any smelling?18 As it is, God has put all the separate parts into the body as he chose.19 If they were all the same part, how could it be a body?20 As it is, the parts are many but the body is one.21 The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' and nor can the head say to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'22 What is more, it is precisely the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest which are the indispensable ones.23 It is the parts of the body which we consider least dignified that we surround with the greatest dignity; and our less presentable parts are given greater presentability 24 which our presentable parts do not need. God has composed the body so that greater dignity is given to the parts which were without it,25 and so that there may not be disagreements inside the body but each part may be equally concerned for all the others.26 If one part is hurt, all the parts share its pain. And if one part is honoured, all the parts share its joy.27 Now Christ's body is yourselves, each of you with a part to play in the whole. 

James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17
2:1 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?  2:2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in,  2:3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet,"  2:4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?   2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?   2:6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court?   2:7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?  2:8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  2:9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.  2:11 For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.   2:12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.   2:13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.   2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?   2:15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,   2:16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?   2:17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

 

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Matthew 25:31-46

31 ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” 37Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” 40And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,* you did it to me.” 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” 44Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” 45Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

 

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Love it Alex... The bible is full of characters with disability. I could even list characters if you gave me some time to think on it.

You can look these verses up using whatever version suits you and your audience best.

I Samuel 16:7

Psalm 139:13-16

beginning verses of  Isaiah 43

Isaiah 56:7

Isaiah 58

Zechariah 7:9

Matthew 15:32

Mark 1:41

Mark 8

Luke 14:13-14

Luke 14:21

Galatians 5:22

Galatians 6:2

Ephesians 4:32

Phillipians 2:3-4

Colossians 3:25

I Timothy 5:21

You got most of James.... but how about James 5:17

I Peter 2:17

2 Peter 1:5-8

1 John 3:18

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 Thanks Northwind and StevieG

So far I have looked up Stevies NT passages. Some of Stevies suggested verses are not clear to me, so I have added or removed verses. However I am not a Biblical scholar

 

Matthew 15:32

And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.  Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."  And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?"  And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."  And commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground,  he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

 

Mark 1:41

I though I should add 40, 42-45 ????  Agree or 

 

Mark 1:40-45


And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter

  Mark 8-- All of it or just

 

Mark 8:1-26
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him, and said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way."  And his disciples answered him, "How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?"  And he asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven."  And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd.  And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he commanded that these also should be set before them.  And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.  And there were about four thousand people.  And he sent them away; and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanu'tha. The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, to test him.  And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And he left them, and getting into the boat again he departed to the other side.  Now they had forgotten to bring bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."   And they discussed it with one another, saying, "We have no bread."   And being aware of it, Jesus said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?   Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?   When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve."  "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven."   And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"   And they came to Beth-sa'ida. And some people brought to him a blind man, and begged him to touch him.  And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the village; and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands upon him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" And he looked up and said, "I see men; but they look like trees, walking." Then again he laid his hands upon his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and saw everything clearly.  And he sent him away to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."

 

 

 

    Luke 14:13-14

 

But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

Luke 14:21

 

So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, `Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.'

 

  Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

 

Galatians 6:2

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.  

Ephesians 4:32

 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

 

Phillipians 2:3-4

Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 

Colossians 3:25

 

 

For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

 

 

I Timothy 5:21

 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without favor, doing nothing from partiality.

 

You got most of James.... but how about James 5:17

James 5:14-15

Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

 

 

I Peter 2:17

 Honor all men. Love the brotherhood.

How would I say this to be less sexist? Jeeze I wish the Inclusive Bible was online.

 

 

 

2 Peter 1:5-8

For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

1 John 3:18

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
 

 

OT to come later.

 

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Alex

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 More suggestions are invited and welcome.

 

The working draft  for the new Bible Verses page is at http://sites.google.com/site/accessiblechurch/AccessibleChurch/disabilty/bible-verses

 

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Sorry Alex, a few are not clear because I oops. I will look at whether I transposed stuff or was just off. As far as the verse from 1 Peter I too wonder what the Inclusive Bible used. Could one say humankind? Brotherhood and sisterhood? I have to buy an Inclusive Bible.

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