Restoring Civility

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Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:13 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

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Pastors: Jesus Loves the Glutton, Crook, Porn Star, Religious

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Sat Aug 29, 2009 12:11 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

Romans 5:8 God shows his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Gay Employment Bill on Queue for Returning Congress

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Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:46 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 2

Once again there is more heat than light in these Christian Post articles and especially the comments that follow.

In this case, I find it hard to believe that the journalists who wrote this article, or the Christian groups like the Family Policy Council and Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink who no doubt provided the press releases that spawned the article, did not point out that the bill under consideration carries a blanket exemption for the hiring practices of religious congregations and institutions linked to congregations.

Christian small business owners are already prohibited from hiring based on religion. So some of their employees are lost. I pray that we are a good witness to the lost, particularly when we are in a position of authority over them at work.

Prop. 8 Trial Set for Jan. 11

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Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:58 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 3

Flagged as inappropriate. show As a Christian, I can find evidence in the Bible that homosexuality is a sin. I can see no evidence that God recognizes and blesses a same sex marriage. As an American, I can find evidence in the Constitution that gays have the right to pursue happiness by entering into committed, monogamous relationships that are recognized and protected by the state. As always, Christians, remember that you (and I) are commanded to "love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you..." hide

Gov't Funded Abortion Still 'Unclear' in Health Reform, Experts Say

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Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:36 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 0

Thank you for sharing your in depth knowledge of the bills before Congress, Douglas. Some comments:

Of course Obama is right that reproductive services should be part of any health care reform. This is a completely non-controversial statement. Perhaps the National Right to Life Committee should have a woman as legislative director, someone who understood that ob-gyn visits are the biggest part of most women's health care regimen.

The question is, should the federal government pay for abortion coverage in the public plan or subsidize it in the other, private plans? On that subject, Obama is quoted in this article as saying that while he is pro-choice, the tradition of the country is that the government does not finance abortion as part of health care.

Seems to me that if you have to pay out of your own pocket for abortion coverage, this means that the government is not financing it, you are. Sounds like an acceptable compromise to me, an abortion opponent who nonetheless wants to see a common sense health insurance reform bill pass into law.

Angry Mobs

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Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:44 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 1

Chuck - Thank you for your call for civility and respect. I would make a couple points:

I agree that "Shouting down congressmen and senators is counterproductive and disrespectful. There’s no room for that kind of behavior in civilized, democratic debate." However, that's exactly the point that Pelosi was making.

She did go on to make the un-American remark, which "is the kind of rhetoric that does nothing but inflame already heated passions and opinions."

The second point is, in addition to respect and civility, we need to make sure that what we say is accurate and fair.

That's why I would not put the White House tip line to report misinformation about health care reform efforts in the same category as shouting down senators or calling people racists (or Nazis).

Apply Heat

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Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:21 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

And just to close the loop here, when Christians make claims like there's a huge conspiracy out there to force euthanasia on America, we look more than a little unhinged. We are playing politics as usual. And we are not telling the truth. All of which hurts us. It hurts our witness and it hurts our effectiveness as we try to put forth persuasive arguments on other issues that are important to us.

Apply Heat

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Fri Aug 14, 2009 4:55 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

throughitall - you are correct that doctor-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon and Washington. So I learned something from this debate, which is good.

However it's a big step from doctor-assisted suicide, which I do not support, to forced euthanasia, which no one in his right mind supports.

I have received several emails from my Christian brothers in the past few weeks repeat claims from Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin and others that Obama supports forced euthanasia, or the bill authorizes death panels. These claims are not true.

Apply Heat

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Fri Aug 14, 2009 10:23 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

My last post was from the New York Times, make of it what you will. All I'm saying is let's be careful as Christians that we don't play politics as usual and diminish our witness to this dark and fallen world. If we exaggerate and tell half truths to make our points, that is a sin.

Apply Heat

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Fri Aug 14, 2009 10:19 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

The stubborn yet false rumor that President Obama’s health care proposals would create government-sponsored “death panels” to decide which patients were worthy of living seemed to arise from nowhere in recent weeks.

Advanced even this week by Republican stalwarts including Sarah Palin and Senator Charles E. Grassley, the nature of the assertion nonetheless seemed reminiscent of the modern-day viral Internet campaigns that dogged Mr. Obama last year, falsely calling him a Muslim and questioning his nationality.

But the rumor — which has come up at Congressional town-hall-style meetings this week in spite of an avalanche of reports laying out why it was false — was not born of anonymous e-mailers, partisan bloggers or stealthy cyberconspiracy theorists.

Rather, it has a far more mainstream provenance, openly emanating months ago from many of the same pundits and conservative media outlets that were central in defeating President Bill Clinton’s health care proposals 16 years ago, including the editorial board of The Washington Times and the American Spectator magazine.

There is nothing in any of the legislative proposals that would call for the creation of death panels or any other governmental body that would cut off care for the critically ill as a cost-cutting measure. But over the course of the past few months, early, stated fears from anti-abortion conservatives that Mr. Obama would pursue a pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia agenda, combined with twisted accounts of actual legislative proposals that would provide financing for optional consultations with doctors about hospice care and other “end of life” services, fed the rumor to the point where it overcame the debate.

On Thursday, Mr. Grassley said in a statement that he and others in the small group of senators that was trying to negotiate a health care plan had dropped any “end of life” proposals from consideration.

A pending House bill has language authorizing Medicare to finance beneficiaries’ consultations with professionals on whether to authorize aggressive and potentially life-saving interventions later in life. Though the consultations would be voluntary, and a similar provision passed in Congress last year without such a furor, Mr. Grassley said it was being dropped in the Senate “because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly.”

“I guess what surprised me is the ferocity, it’s much stronger than I expected,” said John Rother, the executive vice president of AARP, which is supportive of the health care proposals and has repeatedly declared the “death panel” rumors false. “It’s people who are ideologically opposed to Mr. Obama, and this is the opportunity to weaken the president.”

Apply Heat

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Thu Aug 13, 2009 3:05 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 2

Yes, throughitall, Wallis is a minister. Not all Christians are politically conservative.

Sojourners is not promoting a particular solution or bill, but, like Chuck Colson, they believe that "as a matter of promoting justice, ensuring access to quality health care is a proper, biblical role for government."

Look around the pews next Sunday. One out of 10 or more of the people you worship with do not have health insurance. They wait until the last minute before they go to the doctor, and are one serious illness away from bankruptcy.

Apply Heat

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Thu Aug 13, 2009 2:49 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

Euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide is against the law in all 50 states. There's no way it would ever be made a best practice by any panel of sane people - even a government one!

As for rationing, our health care is already rationed by our insurance companies. Have you tried to get them to pay for anything lately? One third of all health care dollars go to pay for administration costs, and most of the dollars our health insurers spend on administration goes to paying the salaries of people whose job is to get them out of paying us any benefits.

Our insurance company kept changing the medication that our doctor was allowed to prescribe for a chronic condition my wife has. The good news is that she got so mad she went to a Christian homeopathic doctor who has gotten her completely healed. Praise God!

Apply Heat

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Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:29 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 2

I don't agree with everything you say, Chuck, but overall this was a good, reasonable take on the issue. It's always nice to have a debate instead of a shouting match.

There is a lot of disinformation going around about the various bills in Congress. One of them is around "end of life" services.

Despite what you hear, no one is advocating that the government convene “death panels,” as Sarah Palin dubbed them, to exploit the cost-saving potential of euthanizing the old and disabled. That’s fear mongering.

At his town hall Tuesday, the president had to explain that he did not intend to “pull the plug on grandma.” He said that the specter of death panels had spun out of a proposal from a Republican, Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia, who has long espoused helping Medicare patients learn about options for care at the end of their lives. In an interview with The Washington Post on Monday, Isakson diagnosed Palin’s interpretation of his suggestion as “nuts.”

I would like to see amendments to protect the consciences of medical providers, but recognize that this issue may have to be dealt with separately. Doctors and nurses are already being "forced to choose between their consciences and their careers". I don't think this reform effort would make that situation better or worse.

Finally, maybe in your next column you could give some scriptural basis for your belief that running a health care system is not a proper, biblical role for government. I'm not saying I'm for a single-payer system, but I don't see where it is un-biblical.

Who Lives, Who Dies?

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Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:32 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 0

I look forward to the day when some Christian doesn't compare our government to Nazi Germany.

Chuck, can we not make any decisions to ration care without being a Hitler, or does everyone just get to have whatever procedure they want, regardless of whether it has a reasonable chance to prolong life or increase quality of life?

The costs associated with the health care system we have now is crushing the economy. What's your solution?

Tens of Thousands Lobby Congress to Exclude Abortion from Health Care Bills

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Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:52 am Agree: 3   Disagree: 4

In the interest of clarity, which I wish the editors and writers of Christian Post cared more about, everyone should understand that there is no language regarding abortion in the House health overhaul bills.

In the bills under consideration there are no requirements that insurers pay for the procedure, no language defining abortion services as a mandatory health benefit, no large federal subsidies for abortion, no mandated creation of many new abortion clinics, and no nullification of state limitations on abortion.

The bill (HR 3200), WOULD authorize a new appointed committee to recommend minimum benefits that all health insurers would be required to offer in their plans.

What pro-life groups want is a provision written into the bill that would specifically prohibit abortion from being one of those minimum benefits.

I support that provision, but I don’t like the half-truths that are perpetrated by pro-life advocates to inflame the issue. Pro-Life Christian groups, I know you need to raise money to continue your work, but be careful of your witness. Christian journalists, what is your calling?

Obama: I Pray All the Time Now

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Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:48 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 1

You guys need to go to snopes,com and type in Obama birth certificate.

U.S. Senate Committee Passes Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill

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Thu Jul 16, 2009 4:21 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

I would flag idletolive's death threat, but perhaps it's more instructive to leave it here.

Responding to schemeroo, yes, the bill allows for the federal government, via an unelected, appointed "committee", to mandate procedures be covered.

But Democrats are saying the intent is not to mandate coverage of abortion, they just don't want to forbid coverage of abortion.

"Senate passes health care bill which is abortion neutral" would have been a more accurate headline for this article.

Maybe we should just judge the health care bill on its merits.

U.S. Senate Committee Passes Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill

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Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:20 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

Pro-life Republicans contend the bill would lead to more abortions because insurers would be required to pay for the procedure.

There is no language regarding abortion in the House health overhaul, and Democrats say they do not intend to require that insurers and employers cover abortions under the bill.

The bill (HR 3200), would authorize a new appointed committee to recommend minimum benefits that all health insurers would be required to offer in their plans. Without a prohibition against including abortion among those benefits, the Republicans said, history suggests insurers will be required to cover the procedure.

Democrats portray the issue differently.

A longstanding provision in the annual spending bill that funds the Department of Health and Human Services, named for former Rep. Henry J. Hyde, R-Ill. (1975-2007), prohibits Medicaid from paying for abortions. Democrats who support abortion rights have long chafed at the inclusion of the Hyde amendment in the bill, year after year, but have not tried to remove it since taking over Congress for fear of inflaming abortion opponents.

But those Democrats say Republicans are now simply trying to expand the Hyde prohibition to all health care services.

In that case, Republicans say, the slow decline in the number of abortions performed in the United States over the last three decades will likely be reversed. There were more than 29 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15-44 in 1980, according to the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute. The rate fell to 19.4 per 1,000 women by 2005.

Most people with employer-sponsored insurance also must pay for abortions out of their own pocket. "Most insurers offer plans that include this coverage but most employers choose not to offer it as part of their benefits package," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the insurance industry's trade association.

U.S. Senate Committee Passes Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill

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Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:08 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

Someone needs to explain how the bill would "empower federal officials to mandate coverage of abortion on demand in virtually all health plans."

That claim is made but not backed up by any evidence.

Indie Film Tackles Teen Suicide, Fake Christians

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Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:08 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

Lots to think about in your response, Rhi Bran. Lots to pray about in the Lost World of American Teens.