Disabilities and Sin in Christianity and Hinduism (As Conceptualized in Old Testament)

There is a growing interest in research among Indian Christians in the study of disabilities for three significant reasons. First, the Bible records the disabilities of man and as people of Scripture we cannot ignore them. In the Bible, there are various kinds of disabled persons which includes physical, intellectual, congenital. We also find many issues related to disabilities which cannot be underestimated. Second, God is concerned for persons with disabilities. The evidences of God’s grace, love and compassion for the disabled in the Bible demands our close attention. Third, more significantly, we must know how to deal with disabilities in present day India. This book is a voice from the people with disabilities. It focuses on the issue of disability and sin and brings unique insights from the Old Testament, Church History and Hinduism. It provides an eye-opening awareness and perception about how faith communities and society should respond to people with disabilities. It reflects upon people with disabilities and finds a new approach to value them.

Kartik Pal is a graduate of SAIACS, Bangalore (M.Th.) and Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Dehradun (M.Div.). He has been in teaching ministry since 2004. Currently he is an adjunct faculty in Life Theological Seminary, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He has also taught in Grace Bible College, Amravati. He is also the founder of Reformed Gospel Fellowship in Odisha. His life experience includes growing up in an orthodox Hindu family and alongside a son with down syndrome. He is an ordained minister and lives in Bhubaneswar with his wife, Ahalya and their three children, Caleb and Joshua and Abigail.

I first met Kartik Pal in 2016 and I soon discovered that he is a gifted Christian leader. He grew up in a Hindu family in a village in the very conservative Hindu district in Odisha, India. Odisha is an eastern Indian state on the Bay of Bengal and is known for its tribal cultures and its many ancient Hindu temples. The capital of Odisha, where Kartik lives today with his wife Ahalya, and two sons Caleb and Joshua, is Bhubaneswar, home to hundreds of temples.

Coming from a Hindu cultural background, having been marvellously converted, graduating from Presbyterian Theological Seminary (M.Div.), from SAIACS (M.Th.) teaching the Bible and Theology, founding and directing the Reformed Gospel Fellowship of pastors and evangelists, and being father to a son with severe disabilities, Kartik is uniquely qualified to write on this subject.

There is a growing interest in research among Indian Christians in the study of disabilities for three significant reasons. First, the Bible records the disabilities of man and as people of Scripture we cannot ignore them. In the Bible, there are various kinds of disabled persons which includes physical, intellectual, congenital. We also find many issues related to disabilities which cannot be underestimated. Second, God is concerned for persons with disabilities. The evidences of God's grace, love and compassion for the disabled in the Bible demands our close attention. Third, more significantly, we must know how to deal with disabilities in present day India.

**Contents and Sample Pages**