Healthcare
The Economic Blessings of Faith
All throughout Easter week I thought on the amazing blessings that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ brought to the world. The forgiveness Christ offers, the power that comes from His Holy Spirit, and the fruits that He produces in human lives are of inestimable value to the human race.
In the same way, his followers have greatly changed and improved the planet by taking His teachings to the nations. One of the unique aspects of the United States in particular is its founding on the biblical principles of Jesus in family life, government, and even the economic sphere.
Not long ago, some major studies came out that detailed the economic blessings of faith in America.
What they found out might surprise you.
John Stonestreet’s article begins with this question: “Guess who has the world’s 15th largest economy, right between Russia and Australia?
“American religion. Yep.”
He goes on to explain: ‘A few months ago I mentioned a Pew study that demonstrated Americans’ increasing ignorance of the vital role played by religious institutions in this country. Between 2001 and 2016, the percentage of Americans who think that religion plays a role in solving important social problems fell from 75 percent to 58 percent.”
“As I said at the time, ‘part of the problem is that the religious contribution to the common good is so woven into the fabric of American life, most people these days just take it for granted and never stop to think about how prevalent it really is.’ In fact, according to another study, half of Americans think that the government could replace religious organizations with no problems and nothing lost.”
“And now, a new study quantifies just how wrong half of Americans are.”
“Published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research in Religion, the study quantifies that ‘religion in the United States today contributes $1.2 trillion each year to our economy and society.’ That’s ‘trillion’ with a “tr,” or ‘more than the top ten tech companies combined—including Google, Apple, and Amazon.’
Let that sink in for a moment. We tend to think of Google, Apple and Amazon as the business heavyweights of our day.
Jonestreet continues: “Put another way, if American religion were a country, it would rank 14thor 15th among the world’s economies, just ahead of Russia and just behind Australia. Put still another way, religion accounts for a little under seven percent of our economic output.”
“Now you still think that religion can just be replaced?”
“The study conducted by Brian and Melissa Grim of Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs reminds those willing to listen that the nation’s 344,000 religious congregations aren’t just houses of worship, ‘they are also the nucleus of many communities.’ They are the ‘centers for job training, charity, child care, and social events.’”
“They employ ‘hundreds of thousands of people, creating jobs, and spend billions of dollars on goods and services, which support local businesses.’ And finally, they fund 1.5 million social programs and gather 7.5 million volunteers.”
“As Brian Grim put it, the benefits of religion aren’t intangible, nor are they limited to the members of these congregations. People of faith serve the vulnerable because of their faith.”
“A little-known example of this outreach are the 78,000 programs that help ‘people struggling with mental illness.’ That’s three times as many programs as there are Starbucks in the entire world! Yet, while people joke about how ubiquitous Starbucks are, no one takes note of how all-pervasive these programs are.”
“Without these programs, the communities that rely upon them would be far worse off. And yet an increasing number of Americans think religion can just be replaced.”
“In light of these findings, think of the recent attempts to force churches to go along with the sexual revolution in places like Iowa and Massachusetts. Both efforts assume a private/public distinction that, as the report documents, just doesn’t exist.”
“For many congregations, what it means to be the Church isn’t limited to the four walls of their sanctuaries, and their understanding of what it means to love their neighbor isn’t limited to the folks in the pews. That’s why churches form the nucleus of so many communities.”
“In effect, proposals like the ones in Iowa and Massachusetts punish people of faith for loving their neighbors as themselves. Worse than that, they’re willing to sacrifice the vulnerable among us in the furtherance of the ideological projects of the sexual revolution, a revolution that has already left millions of victims in its wake.”
“There is no area of life that Americans care about, or at least should care about, in which people of faith, motivated by their faith, are absent. And their presence is making an incredible difference. Even if people refuse to notice.”
Jonestreet is right that the multitude of blessings (including economic ones) that people of faith bring to the United States is almost uncalculable. If America ever forgets her faith, those trillions of blessings will go away.
Julie Zauzmer of the Washington Post agrees that faith in Christ, among many things, is an economic powerhouse. She writes: “Religion is big business. Just how big? A new study, published by a father-daughter researcher team, says religion is bigger than Facebook, Google and Apple — combined.”
“The article in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion said that the annual revenues of faith-based enterprises — not just churches but hospitals, schools, charities and even gospel musicians and halal food makers — is more than $378 billion a year. And that’s not counting the annual shopping bonanza motivated by Christmas.” (Imagine if that was included.)
“Georgetown University’s Brian Grim and the Newseum’s Melissa Grim — in a study sponsored by an organization called Faith Counts, which promotes the value of religion — produced a 31-page breakdown of all the ways religion contributes to the U.S. economy.”
“The largest chunk of that $378 billion tally comes from faith-based health-care systems. Religious groups run many of the hospitals in the United States; Catholic health systems alone reportedly account for 1 in 6 hospital beds in the country.”
“Then there are churches and congregations themselves. Based on prior censuses of U.S. bodies of worship, the Grims looked at 344,894 congregations, from 236 different religious denominations (217 of them Christian). Collectively, those congregations count about half the American population as members. The average annual income for a congregation, the study said, is $242,910.”
“Most of that income comes from members’ donations and dues, meaning Americans give $74.5 billion to their congregations per year, the study said.”
“Religious charities also contribute to the economy. By far the largest faith-based charity, according to the study, is Lutheran Services of America, with an annual operating revenue of about $21 billion. The study counted 17 more faith-based charities, all among Forbes’s 50 biggest charities in America, with revenues ranging from $300 million (Cross International) to $6.6 billion (YMCA USA).”
“Almost all the charities are Christian, except for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, with an annual operating revenue of $400 million.”
“Religious revenues also include faith-based colleges and universities, where 2 million students pay more than $46.7 billion in tuition annually, the study said. The tally includes tuition revenues for religious elementary through high schools as well, plus the Christian book industry, sales of Christian music, the Christian cable networks EWTN and CBN.”
“The study suggested all sorts of other ways one could count the contribution of religion to the U.S. economy — the revenues of faith-linked businesses such as Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A, the box office profits of religious blockbuster movies such as ‘Heaven Is for Real,’ even the household income of millions of Americans who run their financial lives guided by their faiths.”
“But sticking just to the direct profits of faith, religion comes out as highly lucrative — a larger chunk of the country’s $16 trillion GDP, the Grims pointed out, than many giant corporations.”
Because Jesus Christ changes lives and his followers, in turn, live out their faith in the world, then myriads of blessings–financial, social, and spiritual–are brought to whole nations that bask in the light of Christ’s wisdom and love.
Hey, America (and other faith-based nations): Don’t knock or try to explain away your Christian roots.
“Count your blessings”–including financial ones that flow from Calvary and the Empty Tomb.
“Name them one by one.”
“Count your many blessings, see what God has done.”
Healthcare: If At First You Don’t Succeed…
I watched with great concern as the proposed repeal and replacement of Obamacare went down in flames last week. It was a sad day for all Americans. An imploding, top-heavy healthcare system still hangs around our individual necks like a surgical noose.
I went back and forth about the merits of the Ryan bill. On one hand, I thought it might be a good first step forward (though not great) and give President Trump a win and some momentum. On the other hand, I knew there was a better way that many were championing with their “no” votes.
Then the bill was pulled and we careened back to this truth:
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Here are my thoughts and gradebook on the most recent healthcare debacle.
It’s easy for me to think of grades right now because of teaching at Faith International University. Besides my YWAM projects and responsibilities, this Spring Quarter I will be teaching fourteen courses at FIU (most on-line) and grading papers most days.
Right now I live in the land of A through F–so let’s apply those letters to the various players in the healthcare saga. Before we go there and suggest the way ahead, I’d like to analyze why the American healthcare system debate is important. I will do it in question and answer form to make the ideas clearer.
1. Why is healthcare such an important issue in today’s world?
The main answer is the cost due to advances in modern medicine. MM keeps us alive with antibiotics, prolongs our lifespan through major surgeries, and even extends quality of life via cancer treatments and the like. All of the these medicines and procedures cost large sums of money to research, develop and provide.
The benefits and costs of medical care were not an issue prior to 1900. Before the 20th century you simply lived, fought various diseases in natural or primitive ways, and died. Today there are vast (and often expensive) ways to extend both quantity and quality of life.
My wife recently had major female surgery from which she has received a great outcome. Even with the bloated costs of care that exist in today’s system, her surgery cost thousands of dollars that we wouldn’t have been able to pay without insurance.
One more reason for healthcare’s importance: It amounts to nearly one-fifth of the American economy. Getting it right or wrong affects literally trillions of dollars.
2. Why is there such a rift between Democrats and Republicans on healthcare?
It’s the great American divide–between the secular view of life and the biblical one. The secular Democrats believe that government is the answer to most problems (a God substitute). They don’t care about people’s behavior or the cost of things. In the name of compassion (whether honest or pretended), they want all citizens to be taken care of–with the government in charge.
Republicans hold to the traditional Judeo-Christian view that individual responsibility (under God), free markets, and church-centered compassion make for the best combination of health care in society. They believe this view retards bad behavior, gives everyone a sense of stewardship, encourages good works and philanthropy and lowers costs through competition.
3. Why did Obamacare (ACA) pass eight years ago and the AHCA fail?
Obamacare wasn’t easy to ram through Congress (it was a 2700 page bill), but at the time, the Dems controlled all branches of government including the critical 60 votes needed in the Senate. Democrats are also more united in their secular philosophy (liberalism/progressivism) than the Republicans. They are a small tent party–either be Far Left or get out! Do you know of many national Democrats who are moderates or conservatives?
Republicans are the Big Tent party of the 21st century. Their roots are in conservative (biblical) philosophy of government (Freedom Caucus and others), but they possess a strong moderate faction (Paul Ryan, John McCain, Lindsey Graham etc.) and even some liberals (e.g. Susan Collins and Linda Murkowski). In 2017, they don’t hold a 60 vote margin in the Senate. This makes their task much more difficult–a harder needle to thread.
Plus, they’re not used to governing (they have a lot to learn) and, as mentioned above, aren’t as united as the Dems.
4. Why did the Republicans keep many governmental aspects in the AHCA bill and not vote on a free market solution?
This is one of the “dirty little secrets” of the health care debate. Republicans know (and Dems depend on the fact) that a sizable portion of 21st century Americans like free stuff. The American populace is so addicted to government hand-outs and re-distribution of wealth that it is very difficult for the Republicans to rescind Obamacare. That’s why the moderates clung to Medicaid expansion and defected. They knew some of their constituents have Democrat appetites for government aid.
5. Did this dependency make Obamacare easier to pass?
Yes. Another dirty little secret is that Obamacare was really a 10 million person expansion of Medicaid— expanding the definition of poverty to anybody with an irresponsible lifestyle including drug users and indigent folks–while making everybody else pay for them. It was a step toward fully socialized medicine or single payer insurance (government controlled).
I learned about single payer when I had hip surgery a few years ago. One of my fellow patients, from Canada, had been a chain smoker. The government paid $250,000 for lung transplant surgery (which was his fault), which then impacted his hips (his body reacting to anti-rejection drugs). They paid for that too ($30,000). Quite a gravy train with no personal responsibility.
Single payer takes from the responsible and gives to the irresponsible. I believe in caring for the truly needy, but not subsidizing poor choices.
So what are the grades for last week? (from good to worst):
1. Freedom loving, responsible Americans = A for praying and caring about their health.
2. President Trump = A- (half a grade off for naively trusting House leaders). Beyond that, he did a yeoman’s job of listening and negoiating with everybody. In fact, it was refreshing to see our government at work again.
3. Freedom Caucus = A on first two weeks (holding out for a good bill) and a C in the last week (loyalty to the party). Average = B. These House members must learn to be principled team players.
4. Paul Ryan & Allies = B for effort but D for delivery (should have gotten consensus beforehand). This reverts to a C.
5. Barack Obama and Dem Party = D- (will give half a grade for “compassion” but terrible policy). Plus, not one of them would have voted for this better bill.
6. Justice John Roberts = D- for horrible Supreme Court verdict (he should have stopped this mess).
7. And “F” to the demonic forces who are behind destroying America though inspiring irresponsible behavior, economic collapse, and bad leadership. Don’t forget the unseen realm. They are our true enemy.
What’s a solution going forward?
Here’s the simplest idea.
Rescind Obamacare with one sentence, then immediately replace with the free market. Just like every other industry where prices have gone down, create more quality, competition and lower prices. (Here’s a good freedom-oriented proposal from the Heritage Foundation.)
- Make the 90% of able-bodied Americans buy anything they want or can afford. Let all policies be sold nation-wide and let all manner of associations pool their resources (to drive down costs).
- Make the poor and indigent have some skin in the game (small co-pays etc.) If you don’t pay, you won’t care about how you live.
- Let Medicaid be a state-based safety net solely for the diligent poor.
Bryan Fischer agrees:
“The solution to Obamacare is not to make it worse and grant it the government equivalent of eternal life. No, it is to get government out the health insurance business altogether and let insurance companies develop whatever plans Americans want and compete with each other for their insurance dollars. This will instantly lower costs and increase accessibility, which is the goal.”
“Overnight, policies will be crafted that will make health insurance accessible to everyone and affordable for every budget. Folks with limited incomes will be able to buy low-premium, high deductible plans that will protect them in cases of unforeseen but expensive health incidents like cancer.”
“What about those who still wind up with a stiff deductible and a large health care bill even with insurance? Well, that’s what families, friends, churches and charities are for. Christian America is the most spectacularly generous nation on earth and they will step up.”
I agree.
So, Congressional leaders, get back to work with perseverance and wisdom. We’re praying for and standing with you.
If at first you don’t succeed, then try, try again.
I Finally Get President Obama
I followed closely and did my research on Senator Barack Obama during his ascent to power. It was important because he was a rising political star and eventually became the 44th president of the United States.
US presidents have a great influence on American life, the economy, cultural trends and also the state of freedom and liberty around the world.
The POTUS is the most influential political fugure on the planet.
Now that he is in the last year of his presidency, a light has gone on for me.
I finally get President Obama.
The first Revive America blog that I wrote detailed the 2008 presidential election and what I knew about both Barack Obama and then-challenger John McCain.
The genesis of that article came on a plane ride back from Asia in the summer of 2008. Whipping out a legal pad as I sat in coach on a Korean Airlines flight, I jotted down all that I knew about Barack Obama’s policy positions.
That article was published as “One Hundred Reasons I Will Not Vote for Barack Obama” and detailed his economic, social, and foreign affairs positions as I understood them at the time.
They proved to be quite accurate.
In 2008, I thought Barack Obama’s policies showed he was an ideological liberal and would govern from the left of the political spectrum. (He had run as a moderate.) Liberals generally favor government cronyism in economics, secular social values, and downplay America’s military role in the world.
That fits Barack Obama to a “T.”
I’d perused Mr. Obama’s autobiography, Dreams from My Father. It revealed the strong anti-colonialism of Barack Obama Sr. that he passed down to his son. Much of President Obama’s foreign policy decisions seem to echo this call to down size America, especially in the Middle East and Africa.
That view of President Obama’s MO also makes sense.
I’d also studied the rise and evolution of progressive politics–the new, trendier name for American liberalism. Following in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt, progressives want to transform America into the image of a European social welfare state. Thus the need for wealth distribution by taxing the rich and giving out freebies to everybody else.
Check another box for under understanding the president.
But now after viewing his presidency through the prism of seven years of speeches, rhetoric, executive actions, court battles, legislative achievements and Supreme Court decisions, I believe I have a better understanding on what makes our current president tick.
I believe I understand the Obama Doctrine–his primary operating philosophy. It is this:
Don’t discriminate against anybody–with one exception.
If you reflect on what Barack Obama has done over the last seven years, his accomplishments, policies, and battles all come down to fighting discrimination as he sees it.
Here are some examples:
Health Care
His largest legislative success, what we call Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act), was aimed at non-discrimination against the uninsured in the United States–those with existing pre-conditions (requiring more expensive healthcare), and the poor in general. He felt that the free enterprise system of health care (which was the best in the world at the time) discriminated against some folks.
So he “fixed it” and forced us down the path toward socialized medicine now being touted by Socialist Senator and Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Of course, nineteen million Americans still don’t have healthcare and costs are up and services are down. Socialism doesn’t work in any business domain. It just gives a “feel good” experience to those concerned about “medical discrimination.”
Immigration
The Obama Doctrine is equally clear in this area of not discriminating against those who come across our border illegally. They should be protected from the law in sanctuary cities, get jobs, work–and in some cases even vote. But they should never be called “illegal” but rather “undocumented.”
Sounds like they lost their visas somewhere. (Woops–they never had one because they entered the country illegally.)
The Administration’s encouragement of open borders, the mass migration of Central American children, and lax deportation reveal his desire to not discriminate against anybody who wants to come here.
I agree with one immigration decision made by this Administration: The Dream Act. Children of illegals should not be held accountable for the sins of their parents (Exekiel 18:20).
Women
President Obama based both of his election campaigns on a phony war about discriminating against women in the marketplace. He said that women made seventy cents on the dollar to men; That women were not promoted like men in the workplace; That women needed special rights for maternity leave, child care and other government programs.
Of course it wasn’t true. Woman have equal rights and opportunities in America that are the envy of the world. President Obama should have been speaking up for the rights of women in Muslim nations.
LGBT
Much of the Obama presidency has concentrated on diminishing the Christian vestiges of sexual morality in this country (such as marriage) and replacing it with the atheist/secularist version of non-discrimination against any form of sexual immorality.
Legalizing gay marriage was the big win in this anti-discrimination category and was celebrated by lighting up the White House with the colors of the rainbow.
The final thrust in this anti-discrimination crusade is trans gender acceptance–attempting to give .01 percent of the US population the “right” to have every public bathroom in America neutered. This allows a man or a woman who thinks they are the opposite to walk into a restroom or locker room and bare their private parts (to the horror of the other 99.99 percent).
So much for sexual sanity and democracy. Anti-discrimination will rule the lieus!
African Americans
I’m proud of the civil rights progress we’ve made in the United States. At a university class I taught last night, I showed the entire “I Have a Dream” speech delivered by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King on August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. There used to be institutional racial discrimination in this nation. God used MLK and others to eradicate most of it fifty years ago.
Not in Barack Obama’s eyes. From the Ferguson riots, to the burning of Baltimore, to the war on police, to inviting the head of Black Lives Matter to the State of the Union address, President Obama keeps insisting that blacks are systemically being discriminated against in the urban centers of the nation.
Not true. More blacks are incarcerated because they commit more crimes. They commit more crimes because 70% grow up without dads and live in poverty as a result. There’s no discrimination here–just a neglect in evangelism, discipleship and social incentives to strengthen the black family.
President Obama missed a great opportunity, as our first black president, to strengthen African-American families. Instead, he beat the drum of racial discrimination for votes and political pandering.
Muslims
The final aspect of President Obama’s Doctrine of no discrimination is seen in his prosecution of the War of Terror. He rarely uses that term. He calls Islam a religion of peace. He will unleash the American military to defeat ISIS and will not call the jihadists of the world what they are: terrorist Muslims that are following Mohammed’s example.
President Obama does not want the world discriminating against his father’s and step father’s religion. So he doesn’t weep when heads are cut off, and doesn’t say that terrorism comes from a traditional strain of Islam that goes back fourteen hundred years.
Meanwhile, the Middle East is on fire, millions of Muslim refugees are de-stabilizing Europe, and jihadists are emboldened kill Americans here.
I could give numerous other examples of our president’s non-discrimination mindset. It’s clear from looking at the full array of President Obama’s policies that his central operating ideology is:
Non-discrimination–with one exception.
It’s not making judgments on anything or anybody–with one exception. It’s celebrating cultural diversity–with only one exception.
That exception, which, in his view, should be discriminated against is biblical values and faith in Jesus Christ.
The evidence of President Obama’s war on biblical values is abundant:
- Forcing Catholic charities like the Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for condoms and abortions through the ACA.
- Persecuting non-profit organizations via the IRS for their faith and free market principles.
- Promoting freedom of worship (only in your building) instead of freedom of religion (everywhere in public life).
- Radically promoting abortion and the selling of aborted baby body parts (Planned Parenthood).
- Negating ala the Supreme Court the 5000 year definition of marriage (that comes from Genesis chapter 2).
- Not participating in the National Day of Prayer each May (the only president to do so).
- Welcoming thousands of Muslim refugees and refusing Christian ones.
- Persecuting Christian colleges and seminaries. (Right now 47 Christian colleges are suing the federal government over religious freedom).
And on and on.
President Obama, at his core, does not believe in making any moral judgments (discrimination) against anyone or anything–except the Christian faith.
Why the exception?
Because the spirit or mindset influencing him disdains America’s Judeo-Christian heritage, the true meaning of freedom which comes from right living, America’s role in world evangelization, and the protection the US provides against evil around the world.
That spirit wants to persecute and destroy Christ, his ways and his followers (Revelation 12: 13-17).
Under the guise of non-discrimination.
Get it?