Mr. Ellis Responds

Mr. Ellis has a respectful reply to and disagreement with this post of mine.  I have defended the role of religion in public life multiple times on this site, so Mr. Ellis and I have no argument on that.  See my post here, for example.  Where Scripture is relatively clear (e.g., protecting human life and marriage), people of faith should speak equally clearly. It is right to bring biblical principles into the discussion about how to provide health care to our society, thus my quotes from John Paul II and the reference to subsidiarity.  But I think it is presumptuous to label reasonable proposals such as single payer health care systems as "unbiblical." My argument is simply that while Scripture tells us to love our fellow man and to care for the poor, it does not anticipate modern health care systems.  Socialized medicine, usually operating through something like a single payer insurance system, actually can be a response to certain biblical imperatives, such as loving one's neighbor and giving a preferential option to the poor and the sick.  And, yes, there are certain biblical principles undermined by socialized medicine, thus my references to John Paul II and subsidiarity.  In the end, though, we do better not to disparage the motives of our fellow citizens, but to help them see the improvident nature of socialized medicine, i.e., socialized medicine in practice is actually worse for the poor and the sick.  As I say, on some things Scripture is clear (e.g., marriage is between a man and a woman) and views to the contrary cannot be reconciled with God's word.  On most political matters, though, Scripture gives certain principles and then leaves it to prudence to figure out how to best bring those principles to practice.  I'd rather say that socialized medicine is an imprudent attempt to secure certain biblical values rather than simply labeling it "unbiblical" and calling into question the good faith of that policy's advocates, which include, no doubt, many honest and good hearted Christians.  I will let Mr. Ellis have the last word, should he so choose.