Rob Warmowski, a blogger for The Huffington Press, recently wrote a piece entitled "Christians, Please Report to the Health Insurance Reform Debate". With tongue firmly in cheek, he asked if ordinary Christians have an opinion about the reforming the health care industry. Being a "heathen flipping through the Bible", Warmowski presented a contrast between the corrupt, bloated health insurance industry and Jesus' teachings on health reform.
Despite Warmowski's historically inaccurate assessment of Jesus as a "Bronze Age guy" (Jesus lived in the Roman Empire, over a millennium after the end of the Bronze Age), Warmowski allows Jesus' words to stand on their own. It is fair to say that the Jesus of the Bible would have opposed anyone profiting on another's suffering.
Echoing Warmowski's question, where are the people who follow Jesus in this debate? Why aren't their voices being heard? Or more appropriately, why aren't they speaking up and being Jesus' voice in this debate?
Comments
I appreciate Warmowski's article because, whatever faults it may have, it points out something important: too many Christians are selective about which sins they protest. I heard a program on NPR the other day about the insurance industry and their determination to deny coverage to people who had been paying their premiums for years, people who needed surgery in order to survive. Let's be honest, as a church (i.e. all followers of Christ) we should be on the front lines opposing this kind of blatant corporate greed. Unfortunately, judging by the comments I read under Warmowski's article, many Christians are simply responding with anger towards Warmowski and getting into political disagreements. I think they are missing the point: it is not that Obama's plan is necessarily the answer, but that some kind of reform is needed. We need to remember that Jesus did not care about privatization or socialism but about people.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Health Care Debate and Tommy Douglas, Greatest Canadian of All Time
Few Americans may realize that a Baptist minister is recognized by Canadians as the "Greatest Canadian of All Time." Tommy Douglas, who died in 1986, is one of history's most influential Baptists that few outside of Canada know. And here in the summer of 2009, Douglas' legacy is extremely relevant to the biggest issue facing Americans: health care.
Tommy Douglas, you see, was the man who brought about Canada's universal public health care system, a health care system which Canadians for several generations now have chosen to pay extra taxes to operate and maintain, and a health care system which 91% of Canadians today view as superior to America's health care system. Furthermore, Douglas set Canada on the road to universal health care during the Great Depression, while here in America today
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!