Good health is the will of God for each and every one of God’s children. Death, disease, and pain did not exist in the garden of Eden, and Revelation tells of a “new heaven and new earth,” where once again they will not exist.
In the fallen world in which we live, injury and sickness are a fact of life; physical death on this earth will never be overcome. But scripture paints a clear picture that health was God’s intent from the beginning and will be the goal once again in the end. This means that on a personal, national, and global level the physical well-being of all God’s children is close to God’s heart -- and should be close to ours as well.
There is no religious mandate for a specific, God-ordained system of health care or insurance. No amount of biblical exegesis will lead you to a policy conclusion about health care savings accounts, personal versus employer-provided insurance, single-payer public systems, or private insurance plans. Luke might have been a physician, but he never commented on whether or not computerizing medical records should be a national priority.
But these policy questions are still of vital importance. And, as they will be debated in the coming months at the White House, in Congress, and in the press, they should also be discussed in our churches. With an issue like health -- deeply personal but of great public concern -- the faith community has a unique and important role to play: to define and raise the moral issues that lie at the root of the policy debate.
There will be much heat, and maybe even a few fires, over policy specifics. The faith community has the opportunity to remind our political and national leaders about why these issues are so important -- why they speak to our values.
There are a myriad of special-interest groups who will be promoting their own agendas during this process. The faith community has the opportunity to step in and advocate for the common good and those who would not otherwise have a voice. This page has been created to help you begin your own journey into healthcare issues, so you can speak up, with confidence, on an issue that is critical to so many Americans.
Providing resources for you and partnering with similar organizations are just some of the ways that Sojourners is working for healthcare reform. We believe that healthcare reform is a profound moral issue of life and death. It is fundamentally about whether we are a community that values the life of each person – poor, rich, or middle class. Please support Sojourners’ work against poverty today.
The faith community must remind our elected officials and media that health care is not just about dollars and cents, but is a moral issue of life and death. It is about whether we value the life of each person — poor, rich, or middle-class. Tell our leaders what is really important in the health-care debate.
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Faith groups launch campaign in favor of health care reform CNN.com
"Healing and health are fundamental religious issues," said the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners, one of the sponsors of the campaign along with PICO National Network, Faith in Public Life, Faithful America and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.”
Faith Groups to Help Obama on Health Care CBSNews.com
"Every so often there is an issue that is so clear and compelling, or so alarming and disconcerting, that it really does galvanize the faith community," said Reverend Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, one of the groups sponsoring the new initiative. "Inclusive, accessible, affordable health care for all of God's children is for us a moral issue."
Wallis: Not Pushing a Health Plan, Just a Moral Position The Christian Post
With the launch of a massive faith-based, pro-health reform campaign Monday, one of the initiative’s most prominent supporters clarified that those involved are not advocating a particular health reform plan, but the moral position that the health system must be fixed. “This isn’t a political issue, it is a deeply theological issue, a biblical issue, and a moral issue,” said Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners. “So we are not going to at any time during the debate weigh in on the particulars of policy questions…[We’ll] leave the plumbing to the politicians.”
Faith Leaders Campaign for Health Care Reform, Release TV Ad Beliefnet
A coalition of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders has launched a national campaign for health care reform, calling it a "fundamental religious issue," in hopes of countering the vocal opposition exhibited at recent town hall meetings. The "40 Days for Health Reform" effort includes a television commercial, an Aug. 19 conference call with President Obama, and a request that clergy preach on this topic during the last weekend of August. The coalition, organized by Faith in Public Life, Faithful America, PICO National Network, Sojourners and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, also plans to hold dozens of prayer vigils, rallies and meetings with politicians between Aug. 11 and Sept. 18.
Faith Groups to Help Obama on Health Care CBSNews.com
As part of a major new initiative from the faith community, Mr. Obama on Aug. 19 will participate in a call-in and audio Webcast with at least 25 faith leaders -- from evangelical Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other religious traditions -- to aggressively encourage their congregations to support health care reform. Every so often there is an issue that is so clear and compelling, or so alarming and disconcerting, that it really does galvanize the faith community," said Reverend Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, one of the groups sponsoring the new initiative. "Inclusive, accessible, affordable health care for all of God's children is for us a moral issue."
Catholics United Condemns Family Research Council's Deceptive Health Care Attack Ads Catholics United for the Common Good
Catholics United today strongly condemned a new television attack ad campaign by the Family Research Council's FRC Action lobbying operation that misinforms the U.S. public about health care reform. The Family Research Council's efforts are part of a broader “Stop the Abortion Mandate” campaign that is using abortion scare tactics to turn pro-life voters against health reform.
A Faith-Based Push for Health Care The Atlantic
A coalition of progressively minded faith-based groups is waging a campaign to support health care reform (which launched in May), and it’s put out a series of new ads that aired on Christian radio in early July, targeting senators in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Nebraska, and North Carolina -- states belonging loosely to the Bible belt, and whose moderate senators often cast swing votes in the upper chamber -- as they returned home for Congress’s July 4 recess.
Prophet Isaiah Weighs in for Health Care Reform Beliefnet
In 1993, religious groups were an insignificant part of the health-care reform debate. This time, groups like the Family Research Council are weighing in hard against, while progressive religious folks are working hard to generate grassroots support for, health-care reform.
In Political Ads, Christian Left Mounts Sermonic Campaign The Wall Street Journal
Democratic lawmakers representing conservative districts say such efforts help them make the case to skeptical constituents that they aren’t simply toeing the party line -- or turning into bleeding-heart liberals -- when they support President Barack Obama’s calls for health-care and climate-change legislation. Listen to the health-care radio ad yourself by clicking here.
Common Ground Measures on Abortion Debate Sojourners
Sojourners media advisory on the issue of federal funding of abortion within the current proposed healthcare reform.
