Why do people say that God denounces the handicapped in the Bible?

Disclaimer: I wholly reject this view, but I can offer citations as to the reason.

One way in which people have claimed that, as you say, God denounces the handicapped in the Bible, is to say that the portions of the bible should be set aside because they provide an "anti-disability bias". It all revolves around the numerous stories of Jesus healing people in the Gospels. Here is evidence of one such writer making the claim. In this interview, the writer sees two problems: 1) the idea that Jesus healed anyone shows God loves people less in their disability. If he loved disabled, he could have loved them in their disability; and 2) the idea that Jesus must have passed by 250 sick persons for every one he healed shows he doesn't care about everyone.

Look for the January 13, 2008 — Jim Autry – Rethinking Miracle Stories episode of this program, once billed "the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Jim Autry is a former Fortune 500 business executive, a leadership consultant, poet and author. But he is something else too. He is the loving father of an autistic son. Raising this son has caused Autry to read the healing miracles of Jesus in a way that might surprise many conventional or orthodox Christians. If you are wondering whether or not to believe in miracles, and whether they might be pointing to something larger, this program is for you.

2 Samuel 5: 8 - 'the lame and the blind who are hated by David's soul'. This refers to the practice of using the lame and blind as human shields as warriors refused to kill them as it brought 'dishonor' and it was believed, bad luck. All soldiers hate willing human shields - civilians that place themselves on the battlefield and that then complain. The Levites were not allowed to be handicapped so they did not look like all the other beggars at the Temple.

You may be referring to the fact that descendants of Aaron were disqualified from being priests if they had any defect.

No man among the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God. Leviticus 21:21 NASB

However, this was not the only thing that would disqualify someone. In fact, 11 out of the 12 tribes were disqualified from the start.

Thus, the fact that some were disqualified for physical defects did not mean that God denounced them or did not love them--they were still a part of His covenant. It merely indicated that they were not qualified for a particular office.

So, I don't know if that was that basis for what you heard or not. If you find the references, please let us know.

That will depend on who you ask. Probably the most commonly cited passage in scripture is in Leviticus 21:

¹⁶ The L_^ORD said to Moses:
¹⁷ Say to Aaron: None of your descendants, throughout their generations, who has any blemish shall come forward to offer the food of his God.
¹⁸ Anyone who has any of the following blemishes may not come forward: he who is blind, or lame, or who has a split lip, or a limb too long,
¹⁹ or a broken leg or arm,
²⁰ or who is a hunchback or dwarf or has a growth in the eye, or who is afflicted with sores, scabs, or crushed testicles.
²¹ No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any such blemish may draw near to offer the oblations of the L_^ORD; on account of his blemish he may not draw near to offer the food of his God.
²² He may, however, eat the food of his God: of the most sacred as well as sacred offerings.
²³ Only, he may not enter through the veil nor draw near to the altar on account of his blemish; he shall not profane my sacred precincts, for it is I, the L_^ORD, who make them holy.
²⁴ Moses, therefore, told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
(Leviticus 21, NAB)

This passage forbids Aaron and his descendants (who were given priestly responsibilities) from approaching God if their bodies were blemished in certain ways. Some of these blemishes would permanently deny this aspect of the priesthood to those people who had them:

• permanent blindness
• permanent lameness
• dwarfism
• uneven limbs
• crushed testicles

The passage does not specifically identify the reason that God considers these blemishes to profane the altar of the temple. As far as this passage goes, “God doesn’t like the handicapped” is only an interpretation.