Journal index

We are always seeking for the sense of the life, for ourselves and for the place in our family and community. Religion shows a new way to us, according to Jesus Christ’s principles. The son of God not only created a religion, but gave us an example how to live, and sacrifice himself for us. Sándor Karácsony reckons religion as a spiritual behavior, the base of our social contacts. We have to see into our lives and character according to the message of Jesus Christ. The right and appropriate personality can be evolved by individual training.

The views of Sándor Karácsony about religious education can be clearly discerned from his writings. The main task of reformed pedagogy is to activate continuously the divine notions in this continuously changing world. Protestant teachers must accomplish their daily work according to the Gospel of Christ. The Hungarian Reformed Church was a so-called “church of schools” for hundreds of years. This means that even between WWI and WWII it owned more schools than churches. The number of Reformed schools is significant even today. Sándor Karácsony claims that only Reformed people and communities are able to maintain Reformed schools by people who “are ready to serve and sacrifice themselves” for this cause (Karácsony, Sándor: A magyarok Istene. Széphalom Könyvműhely, Budapest 2004, 172).

The integration of people with disabilities is one of the often emerging issues on various forums of the modern democratic society. Governments, local authorities, churches and civil society try to do their best in order to integrate people with disabilities within the educational system, cultural and social life, as well as employment. In the public opinion these efforts are linked with the modern concept of democratic values, equal opportunities and human dignity. It is interesting to see how important the role of disability was in the relationship with the Lord in the narratives about the patriarchs and the elected people of Israel. In the present study we follow the trace the stories of the patriarchs and prophets to find out how disability influenced their life and election.

In the current study we present the conclusions of a research conducted in 2012 investigating the attitude of Reformed communities in Sf. Gheorghe towards people with disabilities. It is obvious that Reformed congregations are insufficiently informed about the situation and the possibilities of people living with disabilities. Disabled people are absent from the congregations and their integration into the community is still a problem to be solved. By presenting the current regrettable situation, we would like to sensitise the Reformed congregations and en-courage them to take initiatives for the amelioration of the situation.