Many of the folks on the left end of the debate over health care 'reform' have suddenly latched onto the idea of making the issue a moral obligation that every good Christian must support. I always find it interesting when people that give little thought to religion in their day to day lives try to use the shallowest interpretation of someone else's religion to force others into their camp; that would be the insulting and ironic sort of 'interesting'.
The fact that Christ was big on charity does not compel Christians to embrace socialism. When Christ tells us to look after widows and orphans, he is not telling us to forcibly take money away from someone else to do it with. It is unfortunate, and it points to a very fundamental confusion, when the conservative refusal to support government charity is viewed as religious hypocrisy. The real hypocrisy is found in the argument of the one that denies the existence of God in one breath and then assumes a false piety to expound on the will of God for a Christian that won't support the government charity program du jour.
The increasing use of this tactic by progressives may be revealing something about how they view the role of government. It is difficult to imagine Jesus and the disciples coming across a needy widow and directing her to the appropriate government program to have her needs met by the state. It is difficult to picture Jesus directing his disciples to give a little extra to Caesar out of compassion for the poor. Even so, this is the moral equivalency we see being drawn by progressives; giving to the government to support welfare programs is morally equal to supporting a needy family or a private charity.
It is unfortunate that politics has so divided our society when it comes to charity. If charity were left to the private sector there would be countless opportunities for liberals and conservatives to work together to help our fellow man. The politicians would like to convince us that it is our view of charity that divides us, when in reality it is our view of the proper role of government. There is no reason that conservatives and liberals could not work together to find private sector solutions for those in need. Well, there is one reason; a private sector solution wouldn't meet the needs of politicians that are more worried about helping themselves by expanding their power and influence than they are about helping those in need.
They ("the liberals") also say we need to help all these folks that don't have as much as we do in the name of Christian charity. Paul said "if you don't work, you don't eat". There are a number of folks that don't have anything because it was easier to sit at home, get a gov check, and watch Oprah. It's not my job to help them "feel good" about their choices. Government should be more concerned with creating opportunities for these folks to go get a real job and become a contributing member of society than with providing a handout in an attempt to buy their vote next election (Acorn anyone).
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