SEDIBENG.- The church has historically perpetuated ableism, often unintentionally, through exclusionary theology, inaccessible spaces and a lack of disability advocacy. Yet within its scriptures and missionary legacy lie seeds of liberation, especially for disabled people reclaiming spiritual agency.

Apostle Paul stands as a paradox in Christian history – a disabled healer, preacher and writer whose influence shaped the early church. His “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7) is widely interpreted as a physical or neurological condition. Yet Paul’s disability was not framed as a site of advocacy, it was spiritualised, seen as a divine humbling. This reflects the theological ableism of his time, disability was either punishment, metaphor or divine mystery, rarely a social justice concern.

Paul’s ministry was revolutionary in many ways, but it lacked a framework for disability rights. His letters never challenged the exclusion of disabled people from temple worship, nor did he critique the architectural or ritual barriers that kept them out. This silence is not personal failure, it is historical context.

Disability advocacy as we know it did not exist.

But the absence still matters.

King Solomon’s temple, though majestic, was structurally and spiritually inaccessible to disabled people. Levitical laws barred those with physical impairments from priestly service (Leviticus 21:17–23), reinforcing purity codes that equated disability with defilement. This was institutionalized ableism, disabled bodies were excluded from sacred participation.

In contrast, the New Jerusalem in Revelation (chapters 21–22) offers a radically inclusive vision. There is no temple, “for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22). The gates are always open. The city is accessible, luminous and healing. The river of life flows freely and the tree of life bears fruit for all nations. This eschatological vision dismantles architectural and spiritual barriers. It is a metaphor for religious freedom, where disabled people are not only welcome but empowered to use their gifts; prophetic, artistic, intellectual and communal.

Missionary churches in South Africa played a complex role in disability history. While many perpetuated colonial and paternalistic models, some laid foundations for inclusive education. In the 19th and 20th centuries, missionaries established special schools for disabled children, particularly those who were blind or deaf. These schools often emerged from Christian compassion, but they also reflected segregationist thinking, disabled learners were separated from mainstream education.

Special schools such as St Vincent School for the Deaf in Johannesburg, founded by Catholic missionaries, Bartimea School for the Blind and Deaf in Free State, established by Dutch Reformed missionaries and many other mssion schools in Bushbuckridge, which offered limited but pioneering education for disabled learners.

While these institutions lacked a rights-based approach, they were among the first to recognize disabled children as educable and worthy of spiritual formation. They laid groundwork for later disability movements, even if unintentionally.

The church must confront its ableist legacy, not with guilt, but with transformation. From Paul’s embodied theology to Revelation’s inclusive city, scripture offers tools for reimagining ecclesial life. The New Jerusalem is not just a future hope, it is a present challenge, to build churches where disabled people lead, preach, create, and belong.

In South Africa, this means honouring the missionary legacy while dismantling its exclusions. It means integrating disabled learners into mainstream schools, training clergy in disability theology and ensuring that every church door, literal and symbolic, is wide open.

(Lucky Tumahole  is a Disability Advocate and this is his opinion)