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Enjoying God Blog

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N. T. Wright is much in the news of late, but not merely for the release of his magnum opus, "Paul and the Faithfulness of God." He also has weighed in on American political events, insisting that it is "unthinkable" to us "in Britain" that American evangelicals would stand opposed to Obamacare. May I simply direct you to the superb response by William Evans at www.theecclesialcalvinist.wordpress.com. Blessings!

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Well, there is much to be said in response to the linked article. In essence it says to Wright and Bird, "You have no right to comment because you don't live in the US, don't know the details of Obamacare, are foolish to assume that studies in the NT might give you tools to critique US evangelicals, and don't agree with us. On the other hand, our meritocratic and small government views are 'funded by...convictions of theological anthropology, theology proper and ecclesiology'", and are the reason Christianity has remained strong in our country.
I personally believe that Obamacare has fatal flaws (though I doubt it will die) and that opposition is warranted, but the lack of self-reflection in evangelical responses is extremely concerning.

Although it's not a "right," there a tremendous amount biblically to be said for mercy and compassion. But as Evans point out, few are disputing "whether there should be a safety net for the truly needy." The question, in my opinion, is one of wisdom, about which the Bible has much to say, too. What method is best - private, government, simple, comprehensive? At what cost - financially, medically, constitutionally? How far reaching should it be? Who is "truly needy?" With what assurances of responsibility and efficiency? From what I read and see from inside of a company having to adapt, I don't think Obamacare has brought us closer to the answer, biblically or practically.

Concerning Christians helping the poor, isn't that suppose to be voluntary? Concerning national (single-payer = communism) healthcare, isn't that involuntary? I don't see how N. T. Wright sees the two as equivalent.
Concerning motivation, Christians are to help the poor out of thankfulness for the love of God. He helped us poor sinners. We should help others. National healthcare is motivated by the desire of the radical liberals currently infecting the government to increase the government's control and power over all the people. I don't see how N. T. Wright sees these two motivations as equivalent.

Sam, thanks for the link. While I appreciate Bird- and NT Wright, their responses don't come without certain presuppositions.

From my perspective, Obamacare is destined to be an unmitigated disaster and not based upon sound economics.

To Bird and Wright I'd ask: Is it Biblical to implement legislation that has no Constitutional basis? There is no mandate anywhere in our Constitution that directs government to take upon itself such legislation.

Is it Biblical that a Government run a $16 Trillion Dollar deficit? Can such a government honestly be entrusted to efficiently "manage" healthcare?

Healthcare is not a right! I've sacrificed and paid for my own families' health insurance while self-employed in the past- as we deemed it important enough to do so. If Bird or Wright would like to reimburse my current costs through my employer, I'd be glad to let them. I call it Socialism!

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