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have internalized society’s negative views about PWDs. ne. This question might correct the attitudes of apparently able-bodied people toward PWDs. The question also expects testimonies from the participants to strengthen the reflection on this question.
The eighth question, “How can we create opportunities for people with disabilities to exercise their gifts and leadership?” returns participants to their context, which is
“community consciousness” in the sense that it moves people forward to plan action in regard to what has been studied in the CBS. In this Bible study, the action plan is for PWDs to stand against all sorts of discrimination. The intention behind this question was to see how PWDs and apparently able-bodied people would express and plan action for the consideration of PWDs. The theory of liberation theology of disability, which deals with liberation and acceptance of the body’s limits, supports the question.
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The sub-groups were given the same names and kept the same leaders, apart from the women pastors who preferred a change of leadership and replaced a man with visual impairment with a woman with physical impairment. In this study I indicate the group with “MW”, and the sub-groups will be called “MW” with a number.
The recorder’s process was the same as the previous Bible study. The first two questions and the last were discussed in the plenary. The other questions were discussed in sub-groups and after they report back to the plenary.
In the plenary I asked one of the women pastors to open the session with prayer. Three persons volunteered to read the Bible in French, Lingala and Braille. I asked two persons to summarize the story according to their understanding. As the participants had become used to the process of CBS, they were fully prepared to answer questions that required them to link their resources to the text.
Question 1: Re-tell the story to each other
The first question invited participants to re-tell the text as a story to each other. The dialogue was lively, participants were talking and laughing. It was a sign that they were familiar with the CBS process. Thereafter I asked three persons (different ones from the previous Bible study, one woman with physical disability, one woman pastor, and one man with visual impairment) to summarize the text according to their understanding. These are their summaries.
Odette Matondo’s version (Matondo has physical disability):
“The text is about Paul who shows that through his weakness God’s signs are manifested in his life, like the fact of lift-up to heaven”.
Astride Ntumba’s version (Astride is the woman pastor);
-The story of this text tells us about the situation of suffering of Paul. He was one of Jesus' apostles, he even was the last but God had been working with him much more than with other apostles. Paul had a ‘thorn” which was an obstacle for him to serve God well according to
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the Jews’ conception of suffering. Thus, he prayed thrice so that God remove his ‘thorn’, but God said to him that”my grace is sufficient to your suffering”.
Badain Katuku’s version (Katuku is visually impaired):
“The text talks about the experience of Paul who was lifted up to the third level of heaven. In spite of his disability, his ‘thorn’, God used him as His servant. And he went to heaven not with his physical body which had a disability, but with his spiritual body; which means that one day in heaven we will not be having this ‘thorn’ or our disabilities …”
Question 2: What is this text about?
In the responses to question 2, participants gave their initial reaction to the text according to their experience and resources. These are their reactions:
“The grace of God is sufficient; Paul and vision; The revelation of God; Paul’s unsuccessful prayer, The failed healing prayer, The physical body; Lowliness; Being satisfied in your situation; Insufficient in Sufficient; To boast or not to boast (pride); The man’s appearance is not God’s concern; God is standing in the weaknesses; Dealing with weakness; God’s power rested on weaknesses; God works with people without taking account of their physical condition, and Suffering in God’s purpose”.
The two first questions linked the text to the real situation of the participants in the sense that they used their own language and terminology to express their reactions based on their own understanding.
Step 2
The sub-groups were given the following questions 3 to 6 to work on.
Question 3: How many parts do you divide this text into according to the logic of the text? Give each sub-division a theme.
In the report-back on question 3 sub-group MW1 divided the text into two parts:
“Paul’s vision and the grace of God; and Paul’s thorn”
120 Sub-group MW2 divided the text in three parts:
“God’s vision to Paul; Paul’s thorn; and God’s grace”.
Sub-group MW3 recognized four different parts in the text:
“Paul’s vision; Paul’s status; God’s grace toward Paul; Paul’s prayers and God’s willingness”
Sub-group MW4 divided the text into three parts:
“Paul’s vision; self -projection; and God’s response to Paul”
In this question, the responses of the first two sub-groups show the link between Paul’s vision, Paul’s thorn and God’s grace. However, the last two sub-groups’ responses raised different and additional themes.
Question 4: What does Paul say about his body in this text?
The responses of sub-group MW1 were:
“The text shows that Paul was strong inside himself (spiritually) but weak physically; Paul speaks about physical pain; and Paul asks God to take away the thorn which was in his body”.
In their sub-group discussions MW1 found that, even though Paul was weak in body, he was spiritually strong because of the amazing things that he had heard and seen and that he could not reveal. The participants argued that the fact of spending time in prayer and of asking God what was going on in his body, affirmed his spiritual strength.
Sub-group MW2 responses to question 4 were:
“Paul’s body’s pains bothered him (that is why he prayed three times asking God to remove the pain); the weakness of his body (Paul understands that God allows his weakness to prevent him from boasting or from pride); and Paul asks God to take away the thorn which was in his body”.
Sub-group MW3 responded as follows.
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“Paul says his body is a burden (that is why he prayed for God to remove the pain); Paul shows that something is missing in his body; and His body’s pain comes from witchcraft”.
This sub-group understood v. 7 in their own context: some African, including Congolese beliefs maintains that disability is caused by witchcraft (“bondoki” in Lingala).
Sub-group MW4 responded to question 4 by stating:
Paul says that his body’s weakness prevents him from boasting about his life (in order to live according to God’s will); and the cause of his pain is the devil.
Question 5: How does Paul understand his disability?
Sub-group MW1 replied:
Paul understands that his disability came from Satan and that this was permitted by God to afflict him so that he could not boast; Paul thinks his disability forces him to commit himself to God; and His disability is a counter-balance to God’s power.
Sub-group MW2 gave the following responses.
Paul understands that his disability becomes part of him; Paul’s disability is for God’s purpose; and his disability keeps him from boasting.
Sub-group MW3 replied that:
Paul understands his disability as a counter-balance to God’s power; In his weakness the grace of God is sufficient; Paul understands that his disability allows him to be humble; and his disability was given by a devil to prevent him from boasting.
Sub-group MW3 concluded in the course of its discussion that God sometimes allows the devil to torment people so that they may prove their faith (they referred to the case: of Job 1, 6-22). However in this text, they said, God might allow the devil to torment his people in order to keep them away from bad things.
The responses of sub-group MW4 were:
Paul understands his disability as a constant reminder of his weakness; and Paul understands that his pain is permitted by God for his glory.
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Question 6: What does God say to Paul about his disability?
Sub-group MW1 responded as follows.
His grace is sufficient in Paul’s weakness; God chose Paul as he is to shame the strong (I Corinthians 1, 27); and God is glorified through weaknesses.
Sub-group MW2’s responded:
My grace is all over your weaknesses; God says in other words to Paul: - ‘do not worry I love you as you are’, ‘your weakness is not a problem for me to show my power’ and ‘when you feel weak then I will give you strength..
Sub-group MW3 reported:
God would say to Paul ‘I accept you as you are’, ‘I give you power in exchange for your weaknesses’ and ‘I will be glorified through your weaknesses.
The replies of sub-group MW4 were:
My power is greatest when you are weak; I work through your weaknesses to shame the strong; and I love you as you are.
In response to this question, most sub-groups interpreted v. 9 in relation to their own context of disability, using the metaphors of their own language.296
Step 3
I asked participants to return to their groups and discuss question 7, on the basis of their own experiences, then after they came in the plenary for report back
Question 7: How does society understand disability and how do people with disabilities understand their disability? Share your experience if possible.
Sub-group MW1 responded:
Society has neglected people with disabilities; They think that people with disabilities are cases of bad luck sent by God.
296 The metaphor in this context is kind of a “figure of speech”; participants used language in the way they would like God to speak to them.
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They chose one of their members to express her personal experience.
Lucie said:
I did not accept myself as God’s creation; I thought that God did not love me, because I am the only one in my family who is physically disabled. Yet, I have opened my heart to Jesus Christ and then I have understood that God loves me as I am. However, I still have a problem, because of my disability; my family-in-law does not accept me as a person like others.
Sub-group MW2 presented its view as follows.
Society, like family, rejects its children with disabilities and believes that disability comes from the devil.
One member of the group gave a personal testimony.
Manix said
I am rejected by my family because of my visual impairment. My family thinks that I am a source of trouble and a bad luck. I am not treated equally to my brothers and sisters who are able to see: they are in school and some are at university, but I was not given a chance by my family to rehabilitate in school or church after my accident. Yet, I feel more blessed than my brothers and sisters at home in the sense that I am not sick as they are often and when I need something there is always a way to get help from people outside. So, I thank God for this opportunity he has given me to talk with others and share our difficulties.
Sub-group MW3 reported as follows.
Society, just like family, thinks that sending a child with a disability to school is a misuse of money.
They chose one of their members, Aisha, to share her experience Aisha said:
I was not encouraged by my family to study nor to learn something for my future life. This attitude affected me and I was thinking also myself that I am “bon a rien” (good for nothing) in society. But, through IMAN’ENDA’s teaching I was encouraged to accept myself as God’s
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creation and I received support to continue my studies. Today I am a qualified nurse in Democratic Republic Congo.
Sub-group MW4 response was:
Society as a family hides its children with disabilities in the house, but God surprises them with his grace.
Mymy Baroza presented personal experiences.
My family locked me up. They were ashamed of me because of my physical disability; I was not able to go to school or even to learn to do something, but by the grace of God, at a later age a nun took me from my family home and enrolled me in a sewing centre. Therefore, today I am a famous tailor and important person in our suburb.
In regard to this question each sub-group decided to present a personal testimony. The testimonies demonstrated the different experiences of disability by PWD’s as well as different perceptions of disability in society.
Step 4
In the final part of the Bible study I asked participants to respond to the last question by putting themselves in the position of people who advocate improvement of the situation of disabled people in the church, at school, and in public places. The exercise was done in the sub-groups.
Question 8: How can we create opportunities for people with disabilities to exercise their gifts and leadership?
With regard to the discussions about this question, I chose to record the voices of particular participants in the three categories of Bible students: PWDs (people with disabilities), WPs (women pastors), and ABPs (able-bodied persons). I recorded one voice from each sub-group in order to evaluate the different opinions emanating from the three categories. I will later subject these data to the underpinning theories of my study, so as to assist me in forming an answer to my main research question, “How can CBS methodology contribute to a holistic education of PWDs?
125 Sub-group MW1 responded in this way:
Church needs to recognize and accept that people with disabilities are human like others : (PWD, WP);
Discovering the gifts and talents of people with disabilities in church (WP);
The church needs to find ways to involve people with disabilities in the communities and create space, for example for Bible study together with non-disabled and organize disability awareness sessions in church (WP);
Provide accessibility of church, schools, public places (PWD, WP, ABP).
In this sub-group the voices of church leaders (the women pastors) were dominant because they had been deeply impacted by sharing the Bible study.
The replies of the MW2 sub-group went as follows.
People with disabilities need to be accepted as they are (and should not be used for advertising the evangelist’s power for the purpose of attracting people into their congregations) (PWD);
The need for education and training in diverse fields, like tailoring, computer literacy and others” (PWD, ABP);
Church and school need to facilitate access for people with disabilities (PWD, ABP);
The Church needs to motivate people with disabilities to be involved in different church activities” (PWD).
In this sub-group, the attitude of church leaders towards people with disabilities was discussed. The participants tried to point out how the leaders cause feelings of fear, anger, humiliation, and disbelief in people with disabilities, to such an extent that some no longer wish to attend church services because of the attitude of church leaders.
Sub-group MW3 reported:
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People with disabilities need to be loved as they are (not by praying for them every Sunday for their healing or for a miracle) (PWD);
People with disabilities need to be considered as human beings, like others (sometimes they are classified as less than human) (PWD, ABP);
By approaching and learning from people with disabilities they can be helped to express themselves and to exercise their gifts in church (ABP, PWD);
To facilitate access by building a ramp, by having a sign language interpreter, by creating awareness of the Braille Bible in church and school (PWD, ABP).
Participants with disabilities in this sub-group emphasized their doubts about “healing and miracle prayers”. They argued that such prayers are based on the assumption in some churches that prayer is the best way to love and care for people with disabilities. They stated that such an attitude leads people with disabilities to feel they are set apart and treated differently from other church members. They insisted that most people with disabilities accept their impairment as simply a part of the way they are. They appealed to churches and schools to accept them in the same spirit. The non-disabled participants of this sub-group shared their experience of getting to know and becoming closer to people with disabilities and of discovering that people with disabilities are different personalities with their own gifts and talents.
The responses of sub-group MW4 were formulated as follows.
Church needs to include people with disabilities in different activities (not only in the
“Diakonia” department) (PWD);
Churches or schools should create training courses (sewing, reading and writing, computer literacy) (PWD, ABP);
The church does not need to decide or assume what people with disabilities need; rather they need to consult them (PWD);
Access facilitation for people with disabilities in church (ABP, PWD);
People with disabilities must also be involved in community activities so that others get an opportunity to be with them (ABP).
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Some participants with disabilities of sub-group MW4 shared their experiences of the church, explaining that the only church department in which they are welcome is Diakonia which deals with the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the elderly, and the disabled (the category is collectively known as “babola” which means “people who have nothing”). Participants argued that the inclusion of people with disabilities in this category creates the perception that they are useless or, at least, “helpless” and have nothing to contribute to the church.297
Step 5
I asked the participants to close the session with a prayer.