How do Christians view access to affordable health care for their neighbors?
Here is the latest (this week) from our President:
“Obamacare is a disaster, but we’ve run it very well, and we’ve made it barely acceptable. It was a disaster under President Obama, and it’s very bad health care. What we want to do is terminate it and give health care. We’ll have great health care, including preexisting conditions.”
Is President right? Will he give health care? Would we have great health care under his administration? The GOP, which has been trying to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act from the date it was passed nearly a decade ago, has yet to publish a replacement. They have voted numerous times to repeal, but never to replace. Why should the American people trust them now?
Is the middle of a Pandemic the appropriate time to lobby the courts to rip health insurance from the millions of Americans who have it under the Affordable Care Act?
I’m trying to understand the moral values of American Christianity.
Jean @ 3:48. A sin? Yes… No one in my family has benefited from “Obamacare.”. Like Nancy said, ” We won’t know what is in it until we pass it. ” the ins. premiums are over the moon for working people whose employers don’t provide health insurance….
At 2AM this morning, i was putting on my shoes to go out to the horses and lock the gate… It is spooky in the mountains in the middle of the night, but i woke up, realized i hadn’t locked it, sooo.. However, i think God planned it because the dog had diarrhea and i also had a nice mess to clean up in the house. Otherwise, my daughter would have come down to it 3 hours later as she was getting ready for another long day at the hospital (15 hours doing critical care is a long day). Was it a sin to not thank God that i got to clean it up? I did pray, God give me strength… 😇
God keep all the Phoenix peeps – those who are Mothers and those who have mothers… 😉
Things going well in Australia. In my state, days go by with no new cases. About 20 a day across the country. From Monday some things reopen. 10 people can gather. Next month, more things will reopen and groups of 20 can meet. Some states taking it slower. We still can’t travel freely between states.
This means my little church will be back meeting in person. In fact we probably will next weekend, we just can’t all come at once. We joked that we’ll be talking about May 2020 when so many people came for church that some had to stay outside.
Large gatherings are still some time off. The predominent religion here is sport and it’s the first time in our lives that there has been a football season with no football. Instead of the news cycle being full of the games, we have the discussions of when an under what conditions the games will start, and reports of players in trouble for having parties (and sharing videos thereof online).
I hate to be cruel, but I will not shed a tear if Jack Hibb’s stunt results in him getting coronavirus and dying from it. I can then call him Landon Spradlin and nominate old Jack for a Darwin Award.
“Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Rom. 1:32)
In his final indictment against fallen mankind, Paul, prosecuting the case of the Law against fallen humanity, strips us of any possibility of knowing God’s will, much less obeying His will, through even the highest and noblest faculties of mankind – our mind and reason, for “they not only do them [i.e., evil] but give approval to those who practice them.” Even our natural minds are devastatingly corrupted.
Paul speaks further of our woeful condition (yes, even among Christians) when in Chapter 7 he says, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”
Being born from above, Paul has a new inner being (i.e., spirit), but he is still afflicted by his human flesh. He was still tempted by evil thoughts, which if he obeyed his natural mind and reason, he would approve. But, now, the difference between Paul and his pagan neighbor is that he has a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit which bears witness with his spirit that he is a child of God. His new spirit (i.e., inner man) delights in the law of God and opposes the evil that Paul’s natural flesh desires to do in the name of doing good. Sound wretched?
With this background in mind, I believe it is crucial for Christians to understand their competing impulses during this pandemic. We are divided not only as a society, but internally within each one of us.
You will hear for actions based on “faith” rather than “faithlessness,” or on “confidence” rather than “fear,” or on “strength” rather than “weakness.” The problem is that our flesh views these things very differently than the Spirit. We are called to follow the Spirit not the flesh, but in the Christian, they are two opposing voices. So it is critical that we learn to distinguish between the will of our flesh and the will of the Spirit.
For example, if I open my church to public services, or if I go to a public service, am I following my flesh or the Spirit? Is opening a church to public services an act of faith or faithlessness? Is going to a public service an act of strength or weakness?
Each of us needs to work these questions out for ourselves, but I will provide you with what I believe is the key to following the Spirit in making these (and other similar) decisions: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “ The Spirit of God, which God pours into the Christian, sets us free from self-centeredness and turns us outward in love and service to our neighbors.
Not every question in life is easy to answer, but if we walk by the Spirit (and not by the flesh), we will find the answers to many of them and can make those decisions with a clear conscience towards God and our fellow citizens.
“ CM May 9, 2020 at 6:29 pm
I hate to be cruel, but I will not shed a tear if Jack Hibb’s stunt results in him getting coronavirus and dying from it. I can then call him Landon Spradlin and nominate old Jack for a Darwin Award.”
I feel sick and sad at so many posts here in this vein.
You don’t have to agree with Jack Hibbs to see how monstrous these words are.
Perhaps I should point out that Jack Hibbs is a fool pure and simple, pursuing his own folly. Which means this:
” In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.” Proverbs 13:16.
That is what Hibbs is doing. Which brings me to this:
“The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.” Proverbs 10:14
“The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.” Proverbs 10:8
Jack Hibbs is proposing something that could very well be terminally foolish and stupid and for completely political and self-serving reasons. And as such, the book of Proverbs replete with the potential consequences (and does the author there have show any sadness)?
Others in this forum have pointed out other CCs who are addressing the reopening in the correct way. Hibbs pulled the date of out his rear end and used the standard ManoGawd canard “God told me.” If he truly cared about his flock, he would not pull this stunt.
It’s all yours today…
Question for the house:
How do Christians view access to affordable health care for their neighbors?
Here is the latest (this week) from our President:
“Obamacare is a disaster, but we’ve run it very well, and we’ve made it barely acceptable. It was a disaster under President Obama, and it’s very bad health care. What we want to do is terminate it and give health care. We’ll have great health care, including preexisting conditions.”
Is President right? Will he give health care? Would we have great health care under his administration? The GOP, which has been trying to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act from the date it was passed nearly a decade ago, has yet to publish a replacement. They have voted numerous times to repeal, but never to replace. Why should the American people trust them now?
Is the middle of a Pandemic the appropriate time to lobby the courts to rip health insurance from the millions of Americans who have it under the Affordable Care Act?
I’m trying to understand the moral values of American Christianity.
Jean,
Thou art a pot stirrer… 🙂
This guy…
Sorry Michael. I will take no offense if you delete my last post.
I am venting. I just can’t believe how callous some people are. Even worse, when callousness becomes a virtue. It blows my mind.
Michael,
The Calvary Chapel preacher in you post at 3:20 pm said: “The threat is so incredibly minimal.”
Michael, would it be a sin if I prayed that Donald Trump might hear and believe this pastor and act accordingly in his personal life?
He totally went off the rails when he compared Missouri’s response to the Nazis.
Jack Hibbs
Don Stewart
Ken Graves
Disagree all you want but don’t make a mockery of those who don’t agree with you.
Jean,
I share your astonishment.
There are no words.
Jean @ 3:48. A sin? Yes… No one in my family has benefited from “Obamacare.”. Like Nancy said, ” We won’t know what is in it until we pass it. ” the ins. premiums are over the moon for working people whose employers don’t provide health insurance….
At 2AM this morning, i was putting on my shoes to go out to the horses and lock the gate… It is spooky in the mountains in the middle of the night, but i woke up, realized i hadn’t locked it, sooo.. However, i think God planned it because the dog had diarrhea and i also had a nice mess to clean up in the house. Otherwise, my daughter would have come down to it 3 hours later as she was getting ready for another long day at the hospital (15 hours doing critical care is a long day). Was it a sin to not thank God that i got to clean it up? I did pray, God give me strength… 😇
God keep all the Phoenix peeps – those who are Mothers and those who have mothers… 😉
Things going well in Australia. In my state, days go by with no new cases. About 20 a day across the country. From Monday some things reopen. 10 people can gather. Next month, more things will reopen and groups of 20 can meet. Some states taking it slower. We still can’t travel freely between states.
This means my little church will be back meeting in person. In fact we probably will next weekend, we just can’t all come at once. We joked that we’ll be talking about May 2020 when so many people came for church that some had to stay outside.
Large gatherings are still some time off. The predominent religion here is sport and it’s the first time in our lives that there has been a football season with no football. Instead of the news cycle being full of the games, we have the discussions of when an under what conditions the games will start, and reports of players in trouble for having parties (and sharing videos thereof online).
I’ve been into the current craze of home music recordings. My modest results are at https://eric.mappage.net.au/?page_id=125
I hate to be cruel, but I will not shed a tear if Jack Hibb’s stunt results in him getting coronavirus and dying from it. I can then call him Landon Spradlin and nominate old Jack for a Darwin Award.
Decision Making in the Time of a Pandemic
“Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Rom. 1:32)
In his final indictment against fallen mankind, Paul, prosecuting the case of the Law against fallen humanity, strips us of any possibility of knowing God’s will, much less obeying His will, through even the highest and noblest faculties of mankind – our mind and reason, for “they not only do them [i.e., evil] but give approval to those who practice them.” Even our natural minds are devastatingly corrupted.
Paul speaks further of our woeful condition (yes, even among Christians) when in Chapter 7 he says, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”
Being born from above, Paul has a new inner being (i.e., spirit), but he is still afflicted by his human flesh. He was still tempted by evil thoughts, which if he obeyed his natural mind and reason, he would approve. But, now, the difference between Paul and his pagan neighbor is that he has a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit which bears witness with his spirit that he is a child of God. His new spirit (i.e., inner man) delights in the law of God and opposes the evil that Paul’s natural flesh desires to do in the name of doing good. Sound wretched?
With this background in mind, I believe it is crucial for Christians to understand their competing impulses during this pandemic. We are divided not only as a society, but internally within each one of us.
You will hear for actions based on “faith” rather than “faithlessness,” or on “confidence” rather than “fear,” or on “strength” rather than “weakness.” The problem is that our flesh views these things very differently than the Spirit. We are called to follow the Spirit not the flesh, but in the Christian, they are two opposing voices. So it is critical that we learn to distinguish between the will of our flesh and the will of the Spirit.
For example, if I open my church to public services, or if I go to a public service, am I following my flesh or the Spirit? Is opening a church to public services an act of faith or faithlessness? Is going to a public service an act of strength or weakness?
Each of us needs to work these questions out for ourselves, but I will provide you with what I believe is the key to following the Spirit in making these (and other similar) decisions: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “ The Spirit of God, which God pours into the Christian, sets us free from self-centeredness and turns us outward in love and service to our neighbors.
Not every question in life is easy to answer, but if we walk by the Spirit (and not by the flesh), we will find the answers to many of them and can make those decisions with a clear conscience towards God and our fellow citizens.
“ CM May 9, 2020 at 6:29 pm
I hate to be cruel, but I will not shed a tear if Jack Hibb’s stunt results in him getting coronavirus and dying from it. I can then call him Landon Spradlin and nominate old Jack for a Darwin Award.”
I feel sick and sad at so many posts here in this vein.
You don’t have to agree with Jack Hibbs to see how monstrous these words are.
“DYING”
Really?!?!
jtk,
Perhaps I should point out that Jack Hibbs is a fool pure and simple, pursuing his own folly. Which means this:
” In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.” Proverbs 13:16.
That is what Hibbs is doing. Which brings me to this:
“The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.” Proverbs 10:14
“The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.” Proverbs 10:8
Jack Hibbs is proposing something that could very well be terminally foolish and stupid and for completely political and self-serving reasons. And as such, the book of Proverbs replete with the potential consequences (and does the author there have show any sadness)?
jtk
Others in this forum have pointed out other CCs who are addressing the reopening in the correct way. Hibbs pulled the date of out his rear end and used the standard ManoGawd canard “God told me.” If he truly cared about his flock, he would not pull this stunt.
Michael, who is “this guy” in the video above?
https://calvarychapel.com/posts/placing-jesus-christ-above-our-own-rights
On the other hand, here is, IMO, a really level-headed article by a CC pastor for whom I have come to respect.
CK,
That guy is Ken Graves of CC Bangor…the epitome of everything loathsome that CC can produce.
Bummer, I’ve always wanted to visit Maine. I’ll be sure to stick to lighthouses and lobster.
Captain Kevin,
You should spell it lobsta. If you enjoy the occasional adult beverage, I highly recommend this place in Maine:
https://grittys.com/
Their Black Fly Stout is truly one of the finest beverages ever crafted by mortals.
CM, don’t know why autocorrect didn’t fix lobsta for me. Thanks for the recommendation.