Royal chaplain: Parts of the Bible are ‘a litany of discrimination’
‘Licence to prejudice’ against disabled
PARTS of the Bible are a ‘litany of discrimination’, according to one of the Queen’s chaplains.
The Very Reverend Dr John Chalmers said he wishes a chapter detailing how priests should not have physical deformities was not in the holy book.
The former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland – whose son JJ Chalmers was severely injured in Afghanistan while serving with the Royal Marines and later became a TV star – hit out at the ‘ancient, unevolved ideas’ in Leviticus chapter 21.
The Old Testament passage states that priests should not be lame, nor be born without legs, be blind or be a dwarf.
Writing in the Kirk magazine Life and Work, Dr Chalmers said: ‘The reality is that as long as human beings have been on the earth, they have found ways of sticking to their own kind and excluding those who are different.
‘Evidence of this is even found in the scriptures which underpin our Christian faith.
‘I wish that Leviticus chapter 21 was not in the Bible. It is a litany of discrimination which gives licence to prejudice and bars those described as “defective and disfigured” (two of the less derogatory terms used) from making an offering to God or joining the ranks of the priesthood. So, it is a fact that the kind of thinking that leads to exclusion is present in the story of our faith.’
Dr Chalmers added: ‘I had an older sister, her name was June and she had that rare (becoming even rarer) additional cell division associated with chromosome 21. In other words, she had that extra genetic material which describes a person as having Down’s Syndrome.
‘June was born into a Scotland that thought she would have a short life and that it would be best spent behind the closed doors of an institution. My parents would have none of that and June lived till she was 56 years of age and for almost all of that time she stayed within the family circle.
‘She was born into a Scotland where she was described as “mentally handicapped” and where she had very little opportunity for development.
‘When she died some 20 years ago she left behind a Scotland that had begun to realise that people like her had tremendous potential.’
Dr Chalmers said the Church of Scotland has formed an equality, diversity and inclusion working group to address areas where prejudice, discrimination and bias exist.
He recently switched from being a Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen – a member of the Ecclesiastical Household in Scotland – to an Extra Chaplain to Her Majesty north of the Border. His 35-year-old son
‘Excluding those who are different’
John-James – known as JJ – is a BBC presenter.
As a Royal Marine, JJ served in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, with 42 Commando. In May 2011, he sustained severe injuries in a Taliban bomb blast, suffering facial injuries, the loss of two fingers and devastating injuries to his right elbow. The blast claimed the lives of two colleagues.
He remained in the Royal Marines during his rehabilitation until 2016.
In September 2014, JJ was a multimedal winner for Britain at the Invictus Games and in 2020 he took part in the 18th series of Strictly Come Dancing.