They didn't lobby the pagan government or solicit aid from the shopkeeper guilds. They didn't ask for a bailout or even build subsidized shelters. They -- followers of Jesus from all class distinctions and professions
heeded Cyprian's call by taking the hurting into their homes, personally tending to the sick, giving money out of their own pockets to relieve a person's suffering, and showing love to those who had previously been their persecutors.
Talk about a creative approach to health care.
Right now in American politics, health care is a hot-button issue. I watched a town hall meeting a few weeks ago on television and became disturbed. Not only was I more worried that universal health care in the U.S. may not work as it does in other countries, but I was also concerned that we were missing the point. I'll freely admit that I'm not sure what is the solution to millions of people lacking proper medical attention in this country, but I wonder if we are even looking for it in the right place.
Maybe health care should be universal, but not in the way we originally thought. Maybe those of us who are Christians don't have the privilege of relegating care of the sick to a duty of the state. Maybe we should look to Cyprian and other lessons in church history where there were a few brave souls "naive" enough to believe in faith-based, holistic solutions to complex problems.
I keep hearing from conservatives and liberals alike that health care is a complicated issue. I certainly don't want to sound simplistic, but what was so complicated about early Christians rescuing newborn babies from
infanticide? According to
Aristides, an ancient Greek statesmen from Athens, these Christians didn't turn away the widow or fatherless, but rather welcomed in the wanderer and even fasted for days to provide enough food for the poor and hungry.
Complicated, indeed.
Church history is chock full of such examples of extraordinary faith coupled with compassionate action. Am I silly for believing that another rag-tag group of people radically in love with Jesus could do the same now? I sure hope not.
In ancient Constantinople, there was a sixth-century version of Patch Adams. An Eastern Orthodox saint named
Sampson the Hospitable turned his home into a free clinic where people could receive food, lodging and medicine. After gaining favor with the emperor by healing an illness of his, Sampson was able to open a hospital for the poor that lasted for over 600 years.
Certainly, people of faith have the freedom to influence political entities to help advance the kingdom of God on earth; however, I think that we Christians in America have all sold ourselves short by aligning ourselves with the political left or right. In any ancient culture,
hospitals and caring for the sick were
always associated with religious institutions.The idea of treating health and wholeness as something that was purely the responsibility of the state would have been considered ludicrous.
Of course, the Biblical allusions would be too obvious to mention: James 1:27, Proverbs 17:22, Exodus 22:22, Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 25:35, Luke 7:22. Caring for those who have no one to care for them, binding up the broken-hearted, and healing the sick and dying have always been a responsibility of God's people. Why should that change now?
Why not learn from the early Christians -- from Cyprian and Sampson, who displayed their belief in a kingdom where there are no tears or pain and were brave enough to actually seek such a kingdom?
Maybe history has a few lessons yet to teach those who are looking for holistic solutions to health care that don't necessarily involve giving the government more power. It's just a thought.
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In AD 251, a plague broke out in the Roman Empire. It was believed that an average of 5,000 people per day died of this disease (
It all means we as believing followers of Jesus should never get embroiled with the world's kingdom from within; we must be an attractive light that makes others see us as redemptively different and a shelter from the violence of the political battlefield.
Good post - I found you at crninfo.
Rick Frueh
I acknowledge that there are Jesus loving people in the political realm (somewhere...) and others who feel it is there God-given vision to get inside the system and change it through legislation. I get that, but it's not for me.
What if it wasn't simplistic to say that the answers to health care, to the economy, to war and policies and every single issue people lose hair and sleep and about, really is answered in "Love your neighbor."?
People want an instant change, one that is written down, plotted out in a step by step process. Love isn't always like that. I mean, if you just look at the life of Jesus, He flat out REFUSED to get involved in the government (corrupt as it was) He only focused on individuals and taught his disciples to do the same.
I think we as a church need to stop looking at how we can change policies to make them more "moral" and start asking how we can take care of the poor, share with those who don't have jobs, take care of the sick and the elderly. If we stopped arguing about details and stopped trying to fit Christianity into a system, and realized we are FREE from it, imagine where life would be...
I know that may seem idealistic, but what did God command of us besides Love Him and Love people and share the GOOD news?
Great blog, I love how you went into the history... truly, our problems in America are not new... "nothing is new under the sun."
I am not saying that there isn't a lot we could and should do but in the world we live in a government run not for profit health plan available to all citizens is the only way to solve our problem in a way that is sustainable. (imho)
Not to say the church can't do more. They can open clinics, volunteer at hospitals, and help in many other ways. Also, christians should be organizing, holding town halls of their own to discuss solutions. Mobilizing efforts to guide legislation that is fair and modeled after godly principles.
We know the government is severly impaired when it comes to solving real problems. The federal gov is totally incapable, state gov may not be much better, but is certainly more in touch with reality since they can't print their own money.
Christians have a lot of influence but have been too silent and too disconnected with public affairs. Hopefully that is already changing.
Part of the problem is that the US Government is fast becoming a "Pagan Government", not to mention that they are over-reaching into every aspect of our lives.
Have you noticed that Christ is squeezed out of every public entity? Schools, city council meetings, public squares, etc. What happens when the government funds health care? No more prayer in hospitals. Nurses and doctors forced to do abortion and euthenasia regardless of their religious beliefs. This has already started happening.
Government can be dangerous. Governments have killed more of their OWN people throughout histories than the wars they engaged in with other countries.
small government = small danger
big government = big danger
As far as the church goes, the church has a history of starting both hospitals as well as colleges. The church has already been kicked out of the colleges they started (Ex: Georgetown, Harvard), and soon the church will be kicked out of the hospitals it founded (Ex: St. Joesph's, New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, etc).
I'm amazed that christians put their faith in government to do anything at all, especially life and death issues of healthcare.
So yes, I believe the church could do this better than the government.
The Revolutionary War was unchristian.
God is no longer partial to America, I agree with that statement, but it was absolutely founded as a Christian nation.
If you're not sure about this, I'd encourage you to read "Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History" found at http://tinyurl.com/nfqctz
Haiti has rec. billions in real cost health care for free, we could direct it here if we united. It might be too late, this will surely bankrupt the nation.
Six months a go I probably would have thought this bill passing is the greatest thing that has ever happened in America well besides the Green Bay Packers. I realize today what happens in politics certainly affect me but it doesn't have the power to really change everything. I have been out smarting the health care system for years now.
As a person who doesn't have a family to fall back on and doesn't have health insurance I will say that at times working my way through health care in America has flat out sucked, but God has always provided. I do agree with you Liz about the need to be able to go to doctors and hospitals for surgery, root canals etc. I for one am very grateful for the programs in America that have offered free doctor visits, and holler at target for $4 medication. But I also agree with you Jeff, because I have seen first hand what the body of Christ using her gifts for God's glory can do. God has used the church to provide for me in so many ways including health care. I have friends in the church who are doctors who have seen me free of charge when it would normally take weeks to get in somewhere. I have experienced the church coming together to pay for a prescription I can't afford. I have seen nursing in the church make house visits to people who do not have health care. I would love to see more Dr's like my friend use their gift for God's glory. I trust God will use this health care bill to help many people, but I also know God is already using radical Jesus loving doctors to take care of the sick.
I am more concerned right now about the angry response from many Christians. I have heard Christians tell me it is their God given right to be in control of their money excuse me what. You can't change the world through the government. If anyone should know that it should be the church. Our kingdom is not of this world. We have kingdom values. The American dream is not the gospel not even close. How the church responds to this will show the world and America what we value. I would hope the church would instead of complaining, freaking out, or placing their hope in politics place their hope in Christ. It is still our job to love the widow, orphan and the poor maybe if we took the bible more seriously and lived like we shared everything in common we wouldn't need the government to do what followers of Christ should be doing. I'm saying this not in judgement but as challenge to the church to be the church. America is not king. The Roman Empire fell and the American empire will fall. Our hope is in the kingdom of God. so that's my rant for now.
Not one to back off from honest observations myself, I will share a couple.
I don't expect the government to get it right; the politicians are too self serving and interested in promoting whatever their constituents pull strings for.
The church needs to step up. There are very qualified health professionals in most churches; I know there are at my home church. They serve both inside the church, the community and overseas. They get messy, they hurt, they help. They volunteer.
We need more of them, and then the church could again function as it once did...
I think spreading the wealth, asking those who have more to help those who have less is similar enough to the concept of those who had sold everything to help others. Would we label the early church fathers in the same way that we label those in favor of greater access to health care?
The anger and mudslinging grieves me. GRIEVES me, for me this is horrible behavior by Christ followers and it is time for an infusion of sacrificial service and humility.
The reason I am in favor of healthcare reform is that I sincerely believe healthcare to be a basic right in our society, and I believe that one of the most important jobs of the government is to protect the basic rights of the people. While I am not so much of an idealist that I think this actually works most of the time, I applaud healthcare reform as a step in the right direction.
That being said, the church is not excused of its duty. In the old testament there was no separation of Church and State...the commands given by God were for the nation of Israel because they were God's chosen people. We no longer live in a Christian nation, but that doesn't mean biblical principles can't be used to guide our government. I think the church needs to do a better job of filling in the gaps.
As of 10:54 pm today, there are STILL 32 million Americans without insurance. Turns out the healthcare bill didn't cover ANY additional Americans, and never will. Bummer!
All it does is fine people $700/year for NOT buying private insurance from the evil insurance companies starting in 2014.
The "pre-existing condition" guarantee doesn't kick in until 2014, (which makes you wonder - if that's such a great idea, why wait 4 years to implement it?)
Furthermore, the pharmacutical companies (big pharma) negotiated a monopoly for themselves - federal funds cannot be used to buy generic drugs, only name brand drugs, insuring a huge profit for them. No more $4 prescriptions from Walmart - ha ha ha ha ha!
Bart Stupak sold out 2 days before the vote for his abortion funding opposition for $700,000 to pay for a private airport that he likes to use in his district. At 1 million abortions/year, that comes out to 70 cents for each life taken before birth.
So here's what people will do when 2014 comes around.
The average insurance plan costs $2,500 per year, so it will be much cheaper to pay the $700 fine. Then, if you suffer a terminal illness, you can buy insurance AFTER you find out, since they can't deny you! What an incentive NOT to have insurance!
Based on that scenario, there will actually be MORE uninsured Americans when 2014 rolls around, not less.
Oh yeah, the President, House and Senate are all exempt from the plan for LIFE, including the penalties.
A big giant joke was just played on everyone. This was mostly a big tax increase disguised as a health care bill.
Nobody read the bill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdBuvLXTv3c
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