Hypocrisy from nominal “conservatives”? A view of health care reform by a film critic
From something I read today:
The word socialism, however, has lost its usefulness in this debate. It has been tainted, perhaps forever, by the malevolent Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who succeeded somehow in linking it with the godless Commies. America is the only nation in the free world in which “socialism” is generally thought of in negative terms. The only nation in which that word, in and of itself, is thought to bring the discussion to a close.
-Roger Ebert
I lived in France for two years, and “socialism” seemed to provide for a population that while worried about many things did not have to be concerned about going broke from becoming ill.
At the end of Ebert’s post, he quotes what should be for nominal “conservatives” who claim we live in a “Christian nation” the most compelling reason we should reform the way we provide health care in this country:
Matthew 25: 31-46
31 When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.
34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”
37 Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?
38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee?
39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?”
40 And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.”
41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”
44 Then they also will answer, “Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?”
45 Then he will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.”
46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
It takes a movie critic to remind us of a basic Christian ethic.
—
Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice .
—
opinions powered by SendLove.to
23 Responses to “Hypocrisy from nominal “conservatives”? A view of health care reform by a film critic”
If the administration wants to help the poor so much, why did it raise the amount of taxes collected from charitable contributions?
I'm not a Christian but it seems to me the biblical quote is referring to voluntary acts and not to taxation. Is Roger Ebert also predicting the Second Coming like Matthew is?
Yup the way into heaven is not through your neighbor's wallet but through your own charity.
Leonidas, you are exhibiting a case of classic deflection. Instead of answering directly the charge of nominal “conservatives” claiming we live in a “Christan nation” objecting to any plan that involves taking care of the weak, you instead try to direct attention to the failings of those proposing the changes to improve the care of the weak.
Your objections would be more relevant if you explained why exactly the weak should NOT be cared for, instead of pointing out the deficiencies of those proposing to help those who cannot help themselves.
How you tell when politician lie?
Comrade Pelosi blink
Slick Willy rub nose
Comrade Oboma open mouth
Dumb Donkey Gibbs laugh…Hehaw..he..haw..he..haw!
Is this really healthcare “reform”?
Compare Obama Care vs Igor Care at Obama vs Igor Care
I Igor produce Barrack Milhaus Hussein Obama Birth Certificate at http://www.igormaro.org
johnmgrant,
I was countering a position put forth that tried to rely on a misinterpretation of what the Bible called for, countering posted Biblical quotations meant to infer a support for a government run system with Biblical quotations.that made it clear that that was not the case at all and the appeal to pity made by Ebert was not justified by what was in the Bible.
[...] Excerpt from: Hypocrisy from nominal “Conservatives”? – The view of health care … [...]
[...] news by JACK GRANT, Assistant Editor Firefox 3 Hug Day (for Ubuntu) [...]
[...] Read more from the original source: Hypocrisy from nominal “Conservatives”? – The view of health care … [...]
Umm, Leonidas, last time I checked, the way to heaven is through God's grace, not people's works, no?
Your objections would be more relevant if you explained why exactly the weak should NOT be cared for, instead of pointing out the deficiencies of those proposing to help those who cannot help themselves.
Christian conservatives don't believe that the weak should not be cared for, but it's a question of how they should be cared for. There's certainly some room for consideration of political principles to organize society in as fair a manner as possible- removing barriers that prevent people from being able to work and care for themselves and their family. There's also room in most Christian conservative's worldview for public policies that include social safety nets for the very poor- either temporary welfare programs for those who need a bridge to self sufficiency or more permanent programs for those who truly can't earn an income. Beyond that though, we simply disagree with liberals on the degree to which our Christian obligation to care for our neighbors should be outsourced to government (a highly corruptible human institution) and paid for by tax dollars that are largely made up of other people's money.
At any rate- if anyone is truly interested in exploring Christ's teachings in a political context, an excellent resource is the book The Political Teachings of Jesus” by Tod Lindberg. It's not written strictly from a religious standpoint, but instead examines what Jesus really said about political/governmental issues in the context of his times, and how that teaching can inform our current politics.
Of course, an interest in reading on the topic from that perspective presumes that one is not just trying to score political gotchas by selectively quoting Jesus to 'prove' that all Christians should be politically liberal/progressives (a tactic which itself is suspect because conservative Christians are also often told that they need to check their Christian beliefs at the door when it comes to issues like abortion.)
Who cares what the bible says and why would it be “conservative” to base morality and ethics or even a philosophy on a book created and edited by a culture incompatible with our own? Is the next decade going to be as useless and inane as this one?
What Christian Conservatives believe and what they do are two different things. I don't know what they believe, but I have a reasonably good idea of what they do, and judging on what they do, they ain't all that christian.
YES!!!
Until the Democrats grow a spine or things get so bad that the standard of living of these Christian Conservatives make their labor competitive with that of mainland China things are not going to change.
And don't expect Democrats to grow a spine anytime in the near future…
Invoking the name of the Lord in support of a political cause is, in my opinion, one of the most blatant violations of the third commandment.
Certainly the Bible does say that we should take care of the poor. But I see nothing in scripture to indicate that he would have supported or opposed doing so through government programs.
Alas, christian conservatives want to make our culture (indefinable as it is!) much more similar to the culture (!) of the bible. Watch out for unintended consequences…
Cherry picking bible quotes to make an argument or back a political belief is never a good idea and usually leads to the misuse of God's word.
The claim starting this thread that the word “socialism” (in quotes!) is dead or tainted is, of course, wrong.
Jesus may be a liberal, insofar as many would insist, but that doesn't mean Jesus would be PC-deceptive.
“Cherry picking bible quotes to make an argument or back a political belief is never a good idea and usually leads to the misuse of God's word.”
Too bad Christian Conservatives also do just that.
Gegenschattenbild
Indeed so, but God's grace will not likely be bestowed on many people who did not do works when they were able. God smiles upon us when we do works, but the works themselves will not get us into heaven, we can never pay that bill with just our labors. God does however, appreciate our efforts to do what we can.
@ Don Q
Your statement is self-contradictory. You claim you don't know what Christians believe, and yet you claim what they believe and what they do are two different things. This is terrible logic.
Leonidas,
Let me rephrase that for you.
What Christian Conservatives say they believe and what they do are two different things. I don't know what they believe, but I have a reasonably good idea of what they do, and judging on what they do, they ain't all that christian according to what they say.
If you read the comments, Roger Ebert questions the value of conservative philanthropic donations because the average dollar amount given might include church tithes. It is hard to believe that any believer is going to view church tithes as anything other than good and proper charitable donations. It suggests, if not a claim on, then an ease with the idea of determining how other people should spend their money.
Quote in question:
“By Bob on August 21, 2009 3:55 PM
Roger –
You use of scripture misses a huge point. God wants each of use to freely CHOOSE to help our neighbors. If I am FORCED to pay taxes to help my neighbor, I am not doing God's will; rather, I am doing the government's will. And, worse, the taxes I have paid reduce the resources I have left to help others by my choice. So a tax-funded universal health care system actually reduces the likelihood that individuals will follow God's wishes.
Leave me my money to help others as I see fit. And remember, stastics show that conservatives give far more to charity than liberals.
Bob
Ebert: And what does God think of those who CHOOSE not to help?”
Do those statistics include church tithes?. “