At Progressive Revival, Paul Raushenbush calls for the Christianization of the health care debate:
When I say Christianize the health care system I mean that we should change the vantage point from where we hold this debate. Whether talking about a single payer plan, or an additional national government plan the loudest objections are coming from those who have excellent health care such as members of congress, lobbying groups, and the wealthy. The impetus for our need to correct our health care system is not that it is failing the rich—it is that it is failing the poor, the fifty million or so Americans who have no or little health care and for whom getting sick requires deciding whether or not to risk bankruptcy to get healthy. Christianizing the health care debate would give the concerns of poorest of our society equal weight to the concerns of the wealthy.
In the past few decades Christians have too often thrown their lot in with free market Darwinism emphasizing personal free will over collective responsibility. This has led to the ridiculous prosperity preachers and dangerous missionary mercenaries. But if we look back a bit further we can see the important role that Christians had in the civil rights movement, the Great Society and the New Deal. Christianizing the health care debate means applying the inspiring power of religion to promote self sacrifice and compassion in one of the most pressing issues of our time.
Read the full post here.