Seven Key Health Care Questions

Great article here.

Wheelan, an economist, asks (and answers) seven key questions.
(Side Note: I think economists should run the world.)

1. How did we get the health care system we have?

2. If we had a Canadian-style system (or British or French), would you give it up for what you have now? (And might I parenthetically add, what would the "least among us" do?)

3. What are your preferred benchmarks for quality in a health care system, and how does the U.S. system stack up?

4. Where did King Hussein of Jordan fly for cancer treatment?
(The answer is not exactly what you think, if you know the answer.)

5. Should we scrap Medicare?

6. Can our health care system get worse?

7. Do you think the American health care system will be better or worse in 10 years if we do nothing now?

Read the whole article here. It is really good.

My take on potential global warming.

I'm not a scientist. Neither are most of you. So what to do about all the scientific claims on global warming.

Here is what not to do. Don't think that this issue is in any way actually related to any other issue that has become partisan.

I really, really, don't understand why virtually everyone that things abortion is wrong, also thinks global warming is false. Or why so many who think global warming is true, think the war in Iraq was a mistake from the beginning. One should be able to study an issue and come to a conclusion on that particular issue, irrespective of other issues. To me, the fact that this has become so partisan speaks to what I guess is obvious, the deep divide and mistrust that exists in this country. It is this latter point, as much as anything, that I find so troubling. We should be able to listen to people who are experts in their field, without judging them on every other issue, which they may or may not be qualified as an expert on.

So back to global warming. I chimed in on a facebook discussion page hosted by my denomination, the CRC, here.

What I said follows, and it pretty much sums up how i feel about this issue, one which may be a flash in the pan or something much more dvestating.

Just a thought in defense of Luke's position. Not that I absolutely agree with him, but here is something to think about.

There have been a number of social justice issues that, in the heat of the moment, seemed like partisan issues the church should not be involved in, but which, with the passage of time and 20/20 hind sight there is now clear consensus on.

Racial desegregation and reconciliation is the best example of this, as are woman's suffrage, and child labor laws.

M.L. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail, is a powerful call for churches to get off their asses and stand up for what is right. Many churches in the north really thought separate and (supposedly) equal was acceptable. People gave "Biblical" reasons why there should not be interracial marriage. And "science" proved that black people could not see at night, so they were not given important position in the military, but were instead relegated to being cooks, plumbers, and the like. (no offense to those positions, but when it is applied across the board...)

Global warming may turn out to be as devastating as the Y2K bug. But if hundreds of thousands of people suffer because of the effects of global warming, we may be saddled with the same guilt that the church in Germany carries, for not standing up to Hitler. Given these two potential outcomes, standing on the side of caution, and preparing for the worst seems like the only acceptable thing to do.

While I appreciate some of Tyler's concerns about dividing the church in his initial post, I applaud Luke for standing up for what he believes in. And I am very happy to call myself a part of a denomination that stood up for this at some level way back in 94'.

My Take on Recent Mega Church Research

Pretty interesting article New Research Offers Portrait of Megachurch Attendees

Here's the highlights

• Nearly two-thirds of megachurch attenders are under 45 years old, as compared to only one-third for all Protestant churches (62% vs. 35%).
• Nearly a third of megachurch attenders are single, unmarried persons. In a typical church, singles account for just 10% of the congregation.
• Megachurch attenders are both more educated and more affluent than attenders at other churches.
• The majority of megachurch attenders are not necessarily new to Christianity but nearly a quarter had not recently been in another church before coming to a megachurch.
• While newcomers almost always attend a megachurch at the invitation of family, friends or co-workers, the real attraction tends to be the church’s reputation, worship style and senior pastor.
• Long-term attendance flows from an appreciation for the church’s music/arts, social and community outreach and adult-oriented programs.
• 45% of megachurch attenders never volunteer at the church, and 40 percent are not engaged in a small group, the mainstay of megachurch programming.

What do you think: news, not news? - good, bad?

My own take is that a lot of the criticism of mega churches is partially accurate, but only as far as it goes. Most of these critiques, in my opinion, are simply tearing down a straw hoarse, or a caricature. That said, I think critiques that look at the influence of consumerism and individualism on the church, and the mega church specifically, need to be taken seriously.

Part of the reason I look at things this way is because I view "church" as so much more than the Sunday worship experience. Consequently, critiques that focus on the final outcome I find more interesting.

Sure i would want to tweek some elements of your average mega church worship service, make it more holistic and interactive if possible, but on the whole I don't have a big problem with that. It is what is going on the rest of the week that I have questions about, which is a church by church question. Some churches, no matter the style, do a better job than others at reflecting the Kingdom of God. That's not just a mega church issue, that's an all of us issue.

What do I mean by "reflecting the Kingdom of God"? I'm talking abut Jesus values.

Things like this: ¹⁶He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

²⁰Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." - Luke 4:16-20

Being like Jesus, now that's a life long challenge. And I think, the chief way in which we should ask ourseleves if our church is doing all that it can or should be doing.

A Bible Thumping Agnostic

There is a pretty interesting book coming out, and the title says it all.

Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible

Written by David Plotz, a writer for Slate, an online news magazine, it is a compilation of his multi-year blog journey through the Bible.

In his blog entry on the book he says this: Maybe it doesn't make sense for most of us to read the whole Bible. After all, there are so many difficult, repellent, confusing, and boring passages. Why not skip them and cherry-pick the best bits? After spending a year with the good book, I've become a full-on Bible thumper. Everyone should read it—all of it! In fact, the less you believe, the more you should read. Let me explain why, in part by telling how reading the whole Bible has changed me. Read more here.



David's journey through the Bible didn't change his agnostic outlook, but he did learn to love the book many of us cherish. For a review from a Christian perspective check out Church Central's Book Review.

Why do I bring all of this up. If Christians want to be engaged in God's world, we have to understand how that world thinks. This is as good a tool as any. Furthermore, what David says in that video about understanding the complicated characters of the Bible on their own terms, without the window dressing if you will, of sermons and commentaries, is spot on.

Using Bible study tools is good, but I think the place to start is with a naked reading, the whole Bible as it really is, the good, the bad and the absolutely disgusting.

And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood. - Ezekiel 16:20-22

Economic Stress Index

Check out this map of the US showing stress by county.