Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.
You know, we seem to be hearing a lot of railing and gnashing of teeth from Christians in America who do not believe that the less fortunate in our country deserve to be able to buy healthcare. As a Christian, albeit not the most righteous one it constantly confounds me how they can use Christianity to argue against many things that Christ argued for. Things such as forgiveness, tolerance, love for your fellow man, protection of the least among us, and last but certainly not least reserving judgement for God with Christ at his right hand.
Yes, these Christians in America could learn a whole lot from their Canadian counterparts. Not consumed by the hatred and vitriol that seems to rule Christian churches in America, in Canada they seem to have listened to what Christ actually said and not what they in their twisted vision of the world wish he would have said.
In Canada, a Baptist minister and grandfather of actor Keifer Sutherland named Tommy Douglas was actually voted "The Greatest Canadian" in 2004. Why?? Because he led the fight to bring that country Universal Healthcare. Now, the Canadian Council of Churches, fed up with the lunacy spouted by some in America is joining the healthcare debate here in America:
Would Rush Limbaugh support Canadian-style, government-run universal health care, if he knew Jack Bauer thought it was "damn well worth fighting for'? Of if he knew that the man who brought universal health care to Canada was Bauer's (a.k.a. Kiefer Sutherland's) grandfather, Tommy Douglas, a Baptist minister who was voted "The Greatest Canadian" in 2004?
Probably not, but it's an interesting side note to the current U.S. health-care reform discussion/debate/Jerry Springer show, especially now that the Canadian Council of Churches has joined the fray.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/...
Far different from Baptist churches here in Kentucky,
who offer their facilities for free to allow one-sided propoganda meetings, Canadian Christians seem much more in tune with what Christ really had to say:
"Medical needs are too fundamental to be responded to solely on the basis of market forces and for reasons of profit," Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton, the CCC's general secretary, wrote in a letter this week to three organizations that represent most major denominations and churches in the U.S -- the U.S. National Council of Churches, the National Evangelical Association and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
He also sought to set the record straight on the Christian way in regards to healthcare:
"Before 1966," Hamilton wrote, "Canada had a health care system that failed to provide over 30% of the population with medical insurance. This created enormous human suffering and ethical problems
for those who believed with Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:26, 'If one member suffers, all suffer together with it . . .' With varying degrees of fervour, Canadian churches publicly began to advocate for the establishment of Medicare. Canadian churches wanted health care for all."
This view is in stark contrast with some American churches who seem to content to fight against their own mandate using the misinformation provided by such hate-filled hypocrites as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity:
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: As The New York Times reported Friday, a growing number of Catholic bishops are speaking out forcefully against some details in Obama's proposals, despite the fact that conference itself "has been lobbying for decades for the federal government to provide universal health insurance, especially for the poor."
Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City, Iowa, expressed the misgivings of his fellow bishops in a recent pastoral letter: "The Church will not accept any legislation that mandates coverage, public or private, for abortion, euthanasia, or embryonic stem-cell research . . . No health care reform is better than the wrong sort of health care reform."
This despite the fact that H.R. 3200 does not call for the funding of abortion or euthanasia. They seem to have sacrificed the truth to make some kind of political point despite their role of promoting Christian values. Lying is not a Christian value.
The National Association of Evangelicals is just as bad, spouting the lie of abortion to disguise their real misgiving, government control and equality in healthcare:
The National Association of Evangelicals: The NAE is just as concerned as Catholic bishops about health-care reform's impact on abortion and end-of-life issues. "Abortion is not health care. Any health care plan which inc1udes coverage for elective abortion should be rejected," the NEA declared in its Aug. 19 statement.
But the NEA is equally concerned about government involvement: "We also call on the President and members of Congress to diligently seek to make health care accessible to all . . . to establish health care provisions that will maximize the creativity of the private sector while minimizing governmental control."
Only the National Council of Churches seems to understand what Christ really taught when applied to the healthcare argument:
The National Council of Churches: The more liberal side of the Church doesn't seem to be sweating the details at all. In fact, it's Aug. 14 letter urging members to support health-care reform doens't mention abortion, end-of-life counseling, or any other legislative details.
"Christians believe that all human beings are infinitely valued children of God, created in God's image. Adequate health care, therefore, is a matter of preserving what our gracious God has made," NCC officials wrote. "People of faith recognize that health care is not a privilege, reserved for those who can afford it, but a right that should be available to all."
So, I guess it seems that you should go to Canada if you are poor and need healthcare, but if you are Christian and seek to worship Christ without the hatred and misleading propoganda fowarded by the far-right lunatics in America Canada seems to be the place to do that to.