What the Health Care Debate Says About Post-Christian America

This is a spiritual conversation that everyone is having without the Church.

Death panels. Town hall meetings. Grandma dying because she can't get the hip replacement. Socialized medicine. Communism. Nancy Pelosi's swastika meltdown. Chuck Grassley's whatever that was. So-called mobs protesting the whole thing and wanting to keep their privatized insurance. The public option now being removed. Obama's presidency sinking. Life, death, choice, autonomy, personal freedom, and the role of government all rolled into one big yelling match. Taxes, deficits, the slumping economy, and fear for the future. The media going nuts over all of it.

Once again, America is having a national conversation about life and death and the Church is silent. When the War in Iraq began, the Church said little. When the housing bubble was growing and rampant speculation and overspending reached the middle class, the Church said nothing - we went along with it. When the bubble burst, like the rest of America, we said, "Uh, oh," and fretted over our loss of wealth. Now, we are looking at the biggest change in the role of government since possibly the 1930's, and I am hearing almost nothing about it from our religious leaders except whatever the liberal or conservative talking points are, depending on their affiliation.

Is there not Christian wisdom on this issue that transcends politics and a "what's-best-for-me" attitude?

Let me attempt to carve out a perspective here:

End of Life Counseling and the "Woodstock Effect":  First of all, let's tone down the rhetoric on "end of life counseling" and primacy of care decisions a bit so we can think about what is really being talked about here. Insurance companies do a form of this all the time when they decide which procedures they will perform and which ones they will not. The Democrats have been disingenuous to say that this was not part of the plan because there really was not a plan and many of the architects talked about it in other settings. Americans fear this because they do not trust the government to make the right decisions for individuals, and when it comes to life and death issues, they don't want the government deciding. That is fundamentally a conservative position. It is also Biblical, in that the Bible clearly says that all of life is sacred and valuable. The talk about cutting care for the elderly might have been overblown by critics of the plan (depending on who you ask), but the fact that it was even in the conversation reminds us that we are moving toward a manifested culture of death in this country. And, should we be surprised? Does it surprise anyone that the children and grandchildren of Baby Boomers are fretting about how they are going to pay for the 80 million people that are nearing retirement age when there are only 46 million Gen Xers and 78 million Millenials? Of course, there would be over 40 million more people to help provide for the Baby Boomers if they had not been aborted since Roe Vs. Wade was decided in 1973.  When Baby Boomers decided to start aborting their children for reasons of convenience, opportunity, and economics, they really should have thought about their own old age. A generation that taught us, "If it feels good, do it" and that celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock this week, is about to be at the mercy of their children who were taught the same things.  The Cat in the Cradle was more than a song. For how many will it be an inconvenience to take care of their aging parents? For how many will it be more economically viable to limit care? Combine the massive amount of Baby Boomers hitting retirement age with the devastation of their investment portfolio during the lastest economic crisis and a ballooning national debt, and you have a coming crisis of epic proportions. I think that Obama and the Democrats see this and are trying to do something about it. Letting the people die so that the rest of us have cheaper health care and more money in our pockets is not the answer, unfortunately.

Doing What's Best for Me and My Family: When are we going to see the spiritual and moral bankruptcy of that statement? While the sentiment is good on the surface (we should take care of ourselves and our family), if we are talking about long term survival, it doesn't work in the long run for all of us to be self-focused. Choice, personal preference, and a "take care of me" mentality is what is fueling the crowds at the town hall meetings. I personally like to see the protestors because I don't want socialized medicine. At the same time, the system that we have is broken on so many levels. Capitalism is supposed to increase competition and drive down costs. But, health care costs continue to skyrocket. Many say that it is because of malpractice suits against doctors, so we need tort reform. I agree with that, but that is not the whole story - it is one small piece. And, if Republicans wanted tort reform, why didn't they push for it when they had the power to do so?  There are other issues like people's unhealthy lifestyles, people wanting constant care for every little thing, insurance companies making a killing, etc. I won't pretend to know enough to get into all of this. But, I do know that not addressing real problems because individuals like their current health insurance is incredibly short-sighted. Health insurance for a family can cost around $1000 per month. Companies cannot continue to afford that and middle and working class families are not able to afford it either. So, companies downsize, fail to offer benefits, or move their work overseas where they can pay pennies to workers in developing nations. We have a broken system and just thinking about yourself and your own situation as it stands right now is not helpful because eventually this system that might currenly work for you is unsustainable in the long run. We have to learn to think beyond ourselves if we really do care about our children and the world that they will grow up in.

We need forward thinking that protects the sanctity of human life, supports personal freedom, cares for those in need, and reforms an out of control industry that is vital to our nation's future. All four of these factors should be considered and weighed. All four of these factors can be addressed from a Christian perspective that also balances cost and out of control deficits. Of course, a heart change is needed. Our selfishness is catching up with us on so many levels. It is time for the bills to be paid and we have nothing in our accounts because we have spent it all on ourselves. A nationalized health care system will only make many things worse, but things cannot go on like they have. Medicare and Social Security will be completely bankrupt soon, remember? How can we possibly pay for nationalized health care? But, I do believe that the Christian Church in America can begin to provide alternative ways of living that looks at all of these issues in a holistic way. If we modeled care and charity toward others, freedom and responsibility to the community, generosity, personal responsibility, frugality, and ethical behavior, while also seeking to reform a system embedded with selfishness and abuse, then perhaps on this issue, we can demonstrate the Kingdom of God instead of the grasping of man for his best life now.

Dionysius, the bishop on Alexandria, said this about the Christian response to a deadly plague that killed around 5000 people a day in the Roman Empire in AD 260:

Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departeed this life serenly happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead . . . The best of brothers lost their lives this way.

Jesus produces that kind of care within us for others (see Philippians 2:1-11). We live in a world without hope or answers. Yet, God is bigger than all of this and He has positioned us to make a difference and represent Him. He has wisdom for us. But, He also wants us to change. Through self-sacrifice, valuing life, laying down our rights, caring for others, seeking justice, and taking personal responsibility for ourselves and our families, we can reverse this decline. The Church is still positioned to make a difference if we would be who Jesus called us to be. Maybe that seems too big and maybe some think I am being naive and I just need to talk about how to get to heaven and all that. But, I do think that Jesus changes everything and that He has answers for us if we would just follow Him.

If just 10% of the population (30 million people) would live like what Dionysius described, how different would America be? When will we start thinking this way and calling people to a higher life?  America is having a spiritual conversation right now about life and death and how we are to live. When will the Church join in?

Comments

[Steve Walker]

I think the reason the Christians in the 3rd century behaved as Dionysius describes is because the gospel then was not presented as "how to go to heaven." I think the gospel was presented as how to experience the kingdom life -- under the Lordship of the King -- here and now. One of our main problems in America is that we present eternal life as something we are still waiting for, rather than a life that is lived right now (see John 3:36, 4:14, 5:24, 6:47; 1 John 3:15, 5:13).

Moreover, I would say that any church that is gospel-driven and gospel-centered is not being silent about these issues. The gospel really does address all these things, and creates salty and brightly lit Christians. (Isn't this the point here? http://www.downshoredrift.com/downshoredrift/2009/08/new-mid-week-study-and-being-gospel-centered-by-joe-thorn.html)

[Alan Cross]

Absolutely, Steve. Absolutely.

[Bryan Riley]

Excellent post, Alan. Excellent. Seriously one of your best in a consistent string of great posts.

[Dan]

I very much liked this post. You proposed some great ideas here, and I think I understand what you are talking about. Dionysius spoke of Christians going to the sick, helping them personally, even taking the sick persons death as their own. This is not what Americans are wanting to do. Political action is not what Dionysius was proposing.

It has nothing to do with being silent or vocal about an issue. The issue is not the concern, but our heart and helping someone who is desperate is the issue. I liked this post, and I apologize if I have misunderstood anything written here.

[Alan Cross]

Dan,

You read me correctly. Our voice comes from who we are, what we do, and the solutions we propose that we are ready to sacrifice to enact. I am not talking about political lobbying. I am not opposed to being involved in the political process, but if we do so we should do so in a prophettic way, and not to gain power or benefit for ourselves.

[Doug]

Alan, I have been waiting for you to weigh in on this thorny and complex issue because I value your balance, wisdom, and especially, Gospel-centred thinking. You are right that Christians need to speak up in a positive and constructive way. I was on a nation wide conference call this afternoon (sponsored by Sojourners) with about 30,000 other Christians and people of various other faiths in which this issue was dealt with in a balanced and morally honest way. Many conservative Christians are having a problem, because so many of us have confused conservative ideology (read:Republican talking points learned on Fox News)with "Christian values" or "biblical mandates". How can we call ourselves "Christ-followers" and stand by while millions of our fellow Americans suffer needlessly? I am emabarrased that so many of those we see screaming inanely at Town Hall meetings are wearing "Jesus" t-shirts. I can't in my wildest dreams imagine Jesus acting this way while His beloved creatures suffer.
Thank you once again. You are a prophetic voice in Christ's church.

[Clifford Hilbert]

Folks, I hate to be the party-pooper here but it doesn't matter one iota what happens in the near future on healthcare. If you'll read my prophetic message "The Destruction of the USA" on my blog: www.watchman2009.blogspot.com you will understand how very, very near that we are to the end of the USA. Within four years this country will cease to exist as it does today. God's judgment is about to be unleashed upon America and there is nothing that will stop it. Healthcare will not exist in this country at that time. The economy in this country is about to experience a complete and total collapse and nothing will be as it is today. There will be no money for healthcare, the government will be bankrupt, as will most people.

Now is the time for prayer, fasting and reading the bible from cover-to-cover. Turn off the idiot boxes and seek the Lord while He may be found.