Great, great comments on the last SCHIP post.
So here is the question. What would Jesus support?
Would he support universal health care?
I think the answer is absolutely, unequivocally yes. Jesus would want every single person covered by a health care plan.
Would Jesus support universal health care administered by the government?
Not necessarily. I do not think Jesus has a particular method in mind for his desire to care for the poor. He would, I suspect, be equally happy with a free-market approach to universal health care.
Look, for instance, at how Jesus healed people in the Gospels. He didn’t have a single method – just one way to heal. For one woman he healed by walking and having her simply touch the hem of his garment. For another it was through the faith of his friends. And for another it was with spit and dirt. Jesus was trying to make different points about faith and Jesus understood what each situation required for what he was trying to teach.
Likewise, how one approaches a problem should not qualify or disqualify them from the moral high ground.
If someone is committed to helping the poor and genuinely believes that a particular tax cut policy is best so be it. Who is to say their policy is less likely to be endorsed by Jesus than someone who says government should be paying? If both people are equally committed to caring for the poor I don’t think either can claim Jesus’ endorsement.
So here is the question. Are their things where Jesus would, unequivocally, say there is a right way and a wrong way to do something?