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 Jesus depicted healing a sick child.
June 28th, 2012
08:45 AM ET
Would Jesus support health care reform?Editor’s note: This piece ran earlier this year, but we’re spotlighting it now because of Thursday’s health care decision from the Supreme Court. The story generated more than 3,000 comments, including these two:
What’s your take? By John Blake, CNN (CNN) - He was a healer, a provider of universal health care, a man of compassion who treated those with preexisting medical conditions. We don’t know what Jesus thought about the individual mandate or buying broccoli. But we do know how the New Testament describes him. The Gospels are filled with stories of Jesus physically healing the most vulnerable and despised people in his society. References to Jesus, of course, didn’t make into the recent U.S. Supreme Court’s hearings on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Yet there is a moral dimension to this epic legal debate: How should the nation help its “least of these,” an estimated 50 million Americans who can’t afford health insurance, as well as those who could go broke or die because they can’t afford medical care? Christians are as divided about this question as others. Many cite Jesus, but come up with completely different conclusions. Trust God or government? Tom Prichard, a Lutheran and president of the Minnesota Family Council, said it’s ultimately about faith. Who do we trust – God or government? He opposes “Obamacare” because he has more faith in the market and people, than government. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories “Here Jesus’ words come to mind about not worrying and trusting God to meet our basic needs,” Prichard wrote in an online post warning about the dangers of “government run health care.” “Or if we believe it all depends on us, we’ll look to government.” When reached at his Minnesota office,Prichard elaborated: He said the nation should empower families and individuals to make health-care decisions. If families can’t afford health insurance, private and public entities like churches and nonprofits should step in, he said. “We all have the same goal,”Prichard said. “We want all people to have health care, even people who can’t afford it. I would argue that having the government be the primary vehicle for providing it is not going to get us to that goal. It’s going to make the situation worse.” Carl Raschke, a religious studies professor at the University of Denver, evoked Jesus’ words about Rome and taxation. Raschke cited the New Testament passage when Jesus, after being asked if Jews should pay taxes to Rome, said that people should "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." Jesus was against strictly political or economic solutions because he thought they were too easy when it comes to the real challenges of human life, Raschke said. “Writing checks won’t solve social problems,” Raschke said. “One has to get involved. If we see someone in need, we just don’t throw a dollar at him or her. You get to know them, you offer yourself, and ask what you can do for them.” Helping the Good Samaritans of our day There are some Christians, though, who say that charity isn’t enough to solve the nation’s health care problems. An estimated 32 million Americans could lose health insurance if “Obamacare” is struck down, including children who can stay on their parents’ insurance until they are 26 and seniors who get help paying for their drug prescriptions. Most observers say health care costs would continue to rise. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter Some people believe the health care situation in America would be scandalous to Jesus because he was a prophet concerned about social justice. Steven Kraftchick, a religious scholar, said Jesus comes out of the tradition of Jewish prophets who preached that the health of a society could be measured by how well they took care of “its widows and orphans,” those who had the least power. Kraftchick said there’s a famous story in the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus heals such a person. He was the man who called himself Legion. He might have been called homeless and mentally ill. The man roamed a graveyard, so tormented that even chains could not hold him and everyone feared him, Mark wrote. Jesus healed the man not only physically, but socially as well, according to Mark. The man returned to his community with a sense of dignity, said Kraftchick, a professor at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. “A move toward universal health care would be fitting with the prophetic traditions,” Kraftchick said. “When you read the New Testament and look at the signs of the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God, it’s always connected to being physically healed.” Yet Marcia Pally, an authority on evangelicals, said many evangelicals are wary of government doing the healing. Their reasons go back centuries. Many are the descendants of people who fled Europe because of religious persecution from countries and state churches. They fought a revolution against a government in England. And they settled a frontier, where the virtue of self-reliance was critical, said Pally, author of “The New Evangelicals: Expanding the Vision of the Common Good.” Suspicion of government is part of their historical and religious experience, said Pally, a professor at Fordham University and New York University. Those attitudes, though, may be changing. Pally said she spent six years traveling across America to interview evangelicals. She discovered that a new generation of evangelists now believes that certain issues are too big and complex to be addressed by charity alone. “Some note that charity is very good at the moment of emergency relief but it doesn’t change the underlying problem unless structures that keep people poor, sick or deny their access to health insurance are changed,” she said. No matter what the Supreme Court decides, the legal debate will continue. If more Americans go broke or die because they do not have health insurance, more Americans may ask, what would Jesus do? But don’t expect any easy answers from the Bible, said Raschke, the religious studies professor at the University of Denver. “People are always looking for support from the Bible for American political positions,” Rashke said. “Would Jesus be against abortion, or would he support a woman’s right to choose? It’s almost become a standard joke in the theological world that you quote Jesus in American politics to support your political views. “The teachings of Jesus do not fit into the views of any political party." soundoff (5,234 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 Next »
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A Christian would, a Catholic would but a Morman don't think so.
The Catholics have been advocating for afforable healthcare since the Hoover Administration. I mean they were the front line for unversal education for Americans, they were the first to educate poor people for free, the first to educate women in this country and the first to educate African Americans in this country.
It's MORMON.
Duh.
ElmerGantry – The burden is on God, not on me, hon. If you want evidence of God, you must believe and seek Him. You know not because you seek not, so that's not my problem, but yours. There isn't enough explanation to satisfy your ignorance. Those scripture are way too strong for your understanding. Again, as Matthews 7:6 says, they are not given to the swines because they lack spiritual understanding and discernment.
WELL SAID........BRAVO......
Bullsh!t, times two. You are both idiots.
awwwww....Angry atheist......nothing new...lol
Aww, dimwitted dolt. Nothing new.
Another great film is out and is blacklisted like was The Passion, There will be Dragons, about the Spanish Civil War and the persecution and killng of catholics, this one is called No greater Glory is about the Cristero war, that Catholics fought against the Mexican anti catholic Goverment, Irish Catholics from the US went to defend the Faith, a well kept secret, since then priests in Mexico are forbidden to wear their robes, etc.
Pass the word, becuae the media will keep mum.
Stupidest question ever.
Jesus could have used some Health Care after the Romans crucified him. Instead he died and was buried with his Mother, Brothers, Wife and Son in Talpiot.
His words remain in a fairly edited format, but even so, we can assume that he would be in favor of free Health Care provided by the Government, or anybody for that matter.
What are you talking about? Jesus had a resurrected body after the Crucifixtion
Sorry, that's not even scripture. Nothing in the Christian Scriptures says anything about "physical" resurrection, just spiritual.
Besides, if Jesus died on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday...that's not the 3 days and 3 nights of prophesy.
Dave, looks like you didn't read the part where Christ was resurrected.
Jesus would refuse to side with any political party. He is above that. He would simply encourage people to take care of one another. He would tell us forgive the mistakes of politicians of judges.
Do Atheists work all 7 days of the week because taking Saturday and Sunday off which has been given to Americans for rest and worship are wait for it .........RELIGIOUS I would think they would proudly work all 7 days then. Also how do they date their paperwork because we use the Gregorian Calendar which comes from the Catholic Church!
Don't you have anything better than clerical examples?
Our numbers are... .wait for it .... ARABIC
What do the number have to do with it. The Catholic Church even uses arabic numbers for most things. You are using today's date based off of a religious calendar and if you don't believe why do you take two days off that are given for religious reasons? Its a legitimate question.
Saturday and Sunday are off because of the forty hour work week and the eight hour day. This is *NOT* religious but a result of the organized labor in the nineteenth century. Many unions were granted a 40 hour week at 8 hours a day in the mid-late 19th century. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1937 established the 40 hour week.
We even have a public holiday to celebrate it. It is called "Labor Day".
They why don't we have Thursday and Friday off? You can't deny the Jewish sabbath is Saturday and the Christian Sabbath is Sunday and they both share the Book of Genesis that has a day for rest. This country was founded by Christians.
And what on earth is your point about the Gregorian Calendar supposed to mean?
The Gregorian calendar is mostly about the accurate length of the year, not about days of the week. Last I checked, the days of the week were all pagan:
Moon Day (for moon worship)
Tiw's Day (for worship of the God of single combat and victory)
Odin's Day (for worship of Odin/Woden)
Thor's Day (for worship of Thor, you know, the hammer guy)
Frige's Day (for worship of Frige)
Saturn Day (for worship of Saturn/Chronos)
Sun Day (for Sun worship)
@Voice
Not everyone works from Mon to Fri. And the 5 day work week is due to labor laws, not religious laws you dolt.
You are confusing the Julian Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar which replaced the Julian Calendar.
And who had the most influence in labor laws?????????
@ Voice of Reason,
1. The founders of the United States included people from a number of different Christian sects and non-believers.
2. A founding principle of the United States was freedom of religions expression.
3. The United States is not therefore, a "Christian" country
But to answer your question, the 'weekend' has nothing to do with the founders of the United States. Choosing Sunday as the day of 'rest' certainly was convenient for people to attend services. I'd be delighted to have someone tell me when an actual forward-looking historical decision to officially defing the weekend was made (not a backwards looking law that merely formalized existing habits.)
@Voice of Reason,
who had the most influence in labor laws???
Ummm ... the workers? They had to organize to get fair conditions.
@Voice
Humanist views. Sorry but your false dichotomy won't fly here.
@Voice of Reason,
I really don't think I am confusing the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The Gregorian calendar was introduced to fix the c-mulative round off error in the Julian calendar which incorrectly assumed 365.25 day years.
Now posted where it belongs.
This is the most idiotic article I've ever read.
We shouldn't need healthcare or health insurance, if we can just pray to Jesus, to keep us in good health. But Jesus doesn't give a rats ass about our health. Why? Because he's a mythological character, i.e., a figment of the human imagination.
There are numerous non religious records that Jesus was a real. The most referenced person in a standard encylopedia is Jesus he has about 22,000 references.
Actually, your anger and bitterness has blind you from seeing how much Christ cares for you. Christ was wounded for our transgressions, but hey, how can you believe if you are too busy being blinded by your own wrath over nothing?
Jesus may be a real or composite person but there is no god.
accounts of Jesus Outside of Bible..
Thallus (52AD), Pliny the Younger (61-113AD) , Suetonius (69-140AD) , Tacitus (56-120AD) , Mara Bar-Serapion (70AD), Phlegon (80-140AD) ,
Lucian of Samosata: (115-200 A.D.) ,, Celsus (175AD) , Josephus (37-101AD)
There's no evidence that the man mentioned in the article ever existed (especially in the mythical/mystical context most refer to him in), thus there is no way of knowing what a mythical non-existant human being would approve of.
And quite frankly, who cares? Noone asks Mickey Mouse's opinion on world politics or health care issures......
Clint, go to any history department of any university in our land, seek out the professors of ancient history, and see how many of them believe that Jesus was just someone made up.
And where is your evidence that He never existed? Come on, bring us your evidence, I am waiting. When I see your evidence, I will then follow your thinking, until then, I will believe in Christ.
There are numerous non religious records that Jesus was a real. The most referenced person in a standard encylopedia is Jesus he has about 22,000 references.
@Voice of Reason,
actually, I'm pretty sure there are no contemporary historical records of Jesus. (I'm not saying that he didn't exist, mind you, I do think he probably did.)
The teachings attributed to Jesus are the defining theology for much of western history, hence the encyclopedia references. Other than Pontius Pilate and the Kings of Judea, there's no contemporary evidence for anyone named in the Gospels.
accounts of Jesus Outside of Bible..
Thallus (52AD), Pliny the Younger (61-113AD) , Suetonius (69-140AD) , Tacitus (56-120AD) , Mara Bar-Serapion (70AD), Phlegon (80-140AD) ,
Lucian of Samosata: (115-200 A.D.) ,, Celsus (175AD) , Josephus (37-101AD)
schwmin,
Your listed historians simply reported what the new Christian cult claimed about their hero – hearsay. They all lived and wrote long after the alleged life of Jesus.
Josephus and Tacitus had more references to Hercules than they did about Jesus.
Read more extensively here: (if you dare)
http://www.truthbeknown.com/pliny.htm
http://www.truthbeknown.com/josephus.htm
Would any historical evidence suffice an atheist? I doubt it....
"suffice an atheist"? No, idiot, it's "would any... be sufficient for an atheist".
Really, get a clue.
Your quote minisg from atheist websites is lacking. Josephus was VERY detailed about Jesus. Try reading it instead of mine quoting
Your quote mining from atheist websites is lacking. Josephus was VERY detailed about Jesus. Try reading it instead of mine quoting
Mine quoting? You seem a bit flustered, dear. Did you mean "quote mining"?
Poor thing. Get a grip.
Temper temper tommy boy....lol...too funny that your only response is grammer.....
Uh, sure. That would be "grammar", dimwit.
Notify the media when you graduate from high school, honey.
shwmin,
1. Some of the writings of Josephus are highly suspected as having forged passages added to them in the 3rd century.
2. Josephus was a Jew. He remained a Jew his entire life. Don't you think that if he thought that this Jesus persona was "God" and the "Messiah", he would have run right over and joined the new sect of Christians?
awww..poor tommy has no response to the historical writings about JESUS,,...... Try reading ...you might learn something
I might learn something? Not likely. You didn't, dear.
Well said tommy.......That Statement i agree with.....
Tommy said....I might learn something? Not likely. ......Well said
I doubt you have a clue what it meant, you moronic dolt.
schwmin,
Quote mining? Your "authoritative" list more than likely came directly from one of your haunts:
(http://www.pleaseconvinceme.com/index/Is_There_Evidence_for_Jesus_Outside_the_Bible)
Nothing better than getting an atheist riled up......
the bible is propaganda to promote a story based on no evidence but someone elses say so. fact!
argue this!
You seem surprised! What would you expect of a fvckwit that thinks "statement" should be capitalized?
The troll is dumb, dumb, dumb, and stupid.
hippypoet....And your verifiable proof is to make such a statement? (not your opinion)
hippy poet wouldn't need much other proof than the fact that a moron like you believes it, doofus.
TOMMY....I think your momma is calling.....Time for your nap....
my proof is i read the damn thing...did you? did you believe every word as the word of god or only some of it? did the other parts seem like you needed an interpretation to understand it? do you believe everything in the book to its core to the point where i can quote anything and have you know it?
i rather doubt it..
schwimmy, is that the best you can do?
Pathetic.
hippypoet....like I said ...NOT YOUR OPINION......WHY would you read a book that you dont like or believe in..? As for your other question...YES I believe and live by the ENTIRE WORD OF GOD......(yes CAPITAL G.....O......D)
Tommy.....Go Grow up some before you can play with the big boys...nighty night......
So, schwimmy, you only read books you believe in?
You're an idiot.
schwimmy, notify the media when you grow your first pubic hair, dingus.
dude, in the book it never says that god wrote the words... its always a man writing what THEY expierenced and so is hearsay...BY DEFINITION! moron....good night, dream of the end times and your not part of the one third! lol
2 tim 3:16....All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,....If you need a definition of the word ALL I can give you that....
Oh, please, you couldn't give anyone a single idea that wasn't crap.
Tommy....Does your mommy know you are still up? You might get time out......
i bow my head in the light of your willingness to be a tool of someone elses agenda built from someone elses hearsay from 2000 years ago and therefore has no direct reasoning for caring if you believe or not...furthering your defining characteristic as a tool! bravo.
Your mommy was a turd, schwit-sh!t. Does it know you're trying to roll uphill and failing?
"Jesus' teachings of Jesus do not fit into any political party." ends this essay. But wouldn't anyone easily see that the teachings of Jesus clearly do fall outside the ethos and priorities of some political parties. I don't think any rational person would object to the assertion that, "Jesus' teachings are not in line with the National Socialist Party." If this is true, we surely should be able to say that Jesus' teachings are more in-line with one party than another. It does not mean that Jesus loves someone of another political party any less or any more than another. But one should be able to logically infer what policies Jesus would be in favor of and what he would be opposed to by looking at the implications of his teachings.
It is supposed to start, "The teachings of Jesus..."
i think jesus wanted non-belivers to be in some imaginary constant pain. doesn't sound like a feudal republican protecting his feifdom, not an unbiased person looking out for the good of all.
i think jesus wanted non-belivers to be in some imaginary constant pain. comes across as a feudal republican protecting his feifdom, not an unbiased person looking out for the good of all.
Of course he would have approved. He live off everyone else as a wandering street person. Couldn't make it as a carpenter.
The historical man called Jezus would support the pla.
Who is this Jezus? Never heard of him. Would you like to share what you about him?
Some Christians believe that the government shouldn't be involved with health care and that it should be up to the kindness of individuals and organizations to provide that health care? Just what is it that we've had all this time anyway? It hasn't worked, plain and simple, and that's why Obama created the ACA. Is it perfect? No. But it is a start, and it should be refined, rather than eliminated, because health care the way it was, was a broken mess.
II'm very pleased you said "some" instead of generalizing like so many do. We are not all of the Pat Robertson ilk.
What would Jesus do? He gave us the Commandments and the Bible to guide us and both tell us KILLING HIS CREATION is an ABOMINATION against GOD....so clearly he would not support OBAMACARE that supports the destruction of HUMAN LIFE!!!
And a few books after those "laws" he then directs his on the proper way to go and kill massive amounts of people in city after city. Yup that's some nice consistency there.
No-Brainer!
Ha ha you funny.
Abortions......What about all the LiVING people that get killed everyday because they can't afford it. Americans call themselves the richest country in world..hahhahahaha. PLUS, Do you really think god exists......obviously you haven't read a science textbook. Factual things.
Actually, the commandments were given by Moses, the Law Bringer, in the Old Testiment. I assume you are familiar with the difference?
Further, while we teach that abortion is wrong – as the taking of human life – the Our Testiment is silent on the specifics of pre-natal terminations.
As for the ACA, you seem to be as unfamiliar with its tenets as you are with the word of Our Lord.
As I say to my parishioners, it is forgivable to speak from the heart, but refrain from speaking from ignorance. Read, learn, grow as a person. Have faith that He believes in us as we believe in Him.
@"Father" Tom,
as learned in the good book as I imagine you are, you do realize that it is spelled "testament" not "testiment" don't you?
All life is nothhing but a spreading disease....none of the are better or have more right than another. Why do you feel human life is more important than bacterial life...you kill the bacteria on your counter so you are not burdened by it....no different than abortion! why does man think that he is the best or more worthy life form?
Why ask such questions? Your purpose here is to do God's will and love one another as Christ loved you. If you require payment for such acts, your did not understand the commandment.
I think it was in Matthew 59:1-4 where Jesus said, "It's only okay to feed the poor and help the sick if the government isn't involved. Place your trust in those who make the most money, because government is the root of all evil."
Place your trust in those who make the most money? Where are they? Where have they been? No where to be found....
ElmerGantry – How possibly can you understand what prayer means or how it works? Also, I see you posting scriptures from the bible, how true is the Word of God to you? If it's worthless, let me show you why:
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6).
You funny, but don't give up your daytime job (if you have one that is).
ElmerGantry – Aw, what's the matter, hon, can't answer my question?
Jesus was very clear in ose statements. If there is some context that changes the meaning, by all means explain that contex, without using the religion equivalent of technobabble, misdirection, circular logic, name calling, Ad Hominem attacks, strawman arguments, or any of the other disinformation tactics.
Clear, concise, well reasoned non-equivocal logic only
Can you, the bible expert, do that?
You are the bible expert, the burdon of proof is on you.
I am waiting for your lear, concise, well reasoned non-equivocal logic only explanation of the context of those quotes of Jesus.
Cricket cricket cricket.
6Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
7There came unto him a woman having an alabaster flask of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat to eat.
8But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
9For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10When Jesus knew it, he said unto them, Why trouble you the woman? for she has worked a good work unto me.
11For you have the poor always with you; but me you have not always.
12For in that she has poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
13Verily I say unto you, Wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, which this woman has done, be told for a memorial of her.
Matthew 26:6-13