A blessing, not a curse

On Thursday morning, I was reflecting how religion can bring out the best or the worst in people. And, then, as if to prove me right, Times of Malta ran a story about the claims of Phyllisienne Brincat on a TV programme that original sin has cursed humanity and that illness and disability are part of this curse.

The first thing that incensed me is that the TV host who asked Brincat the question appeared to be well aware that she had disturbingly odd and hurtful ideas on the topic. The second is the despicable dissonance that is implied between perfection and disability.

Contacted by Times of Malta Brincat said: “God made us perfect. He created us in His own image. But when sin came in, He no longer did that.” I would like to ask Brincat: according to her garbled theory, does it then follow that humanity’s regression from perfection is manifest in illness and disability? Brincat actually mentions her own sister, who had Down Syndrome because of Adam’s sin.

Quite apart from Brincat’s theological aberrations about the fallout of original sin, the implication that people with disabilities are less than perfect – and perhaps less perfect than the rest of us – is utterly wrong and unacceptable.

Sadly, the idea is far from new. It is an archaic fallacy that has caused untold harm to people with disabilities over the centuries, rooted in insidious, mistaken and stigmatising beliefs that defy efforts to eradicate them.

What’s more, Brincat’s assertions betray a lack of understanding of the biblical sense of the word ‘perfection’. Being made in the image and likeness of God has nothing to do with the classical idea of physical perfection. Neither has it anything to do with intellectual perfection, nor dare I say even moral perfection, which is out of the reach of every single one of us anyhow.

Jesus simply says: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).

By this yardstick, perfection in His eyes has everything to do with the extent of unconditional love and mercy we give to others, the same that God freely gives to us.

Jesus said something else that bears quoting here. When asked about who had sinned for a certain man to be born blind, he replied unequivocally: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him” (Jn 9:3). Another translation says: “so the power of God could be seen in him.”

So, quite the opposite of being cursed by anyone’s sin, God intends people with disabilities to be a sign of His works and power. For this to happen, I believe that God requires our help, that is, that we do our best to support people with disabilities with all the love, compassion and justice that they need to live life to the full.

False beliefs cloaked in ill-conceived religious devotion need to be challenged- Danielle Vella

Brincat talked about having a sister with Down Syndrome as if this somehow gave her the right to pronounce her misguided views about people with disabilities. It doesn’t.

That said, I have a (nearly) one-year-old nephew who has Down Syndrome and I will say this: Luca is a huge blessing to our family and he reminds me of something else I read about the biblical meaning of perfection: God creates us to be perfect for something or for someone. Luca is absolutely perfect for his family and shall be for many others; he has already brought out so much of the best in his parents and so much love in us all.

When I said I was going to write this piece, someone told me not to bother. But I am bothered and I did bother because discriminatory, false beliefs cloaked in ill-conceived religious devotion can be dangerous and need to be challenged.

If I might end with another quote from the Gospels, albeit spoken by Jesus in reply to another trick question put to Him, here is what I would ask Brincat: Could it be that you are wrong because you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? (cfr Mt 22:29).

Danielle Vella is the director of JRS International Reconciliation Programme.