Throughout the course of this week, the first daily scripture
reading is the familiar story about Jonah, the reluctant prophet. Despite his attempt to avoid his call as a
prophet, and even though Jonah thought he was on a fool’s errand, the people of
Nineveh responded quickly to the word of God, repented, and reformed their ways
immediately. The wonderful Veggie Tales
cartoon series produced a parody of this story in which the people of Nineveh were
slapping each other with fish, until Jonah arrives and tells them to knock it
off. In the Veggie Tale version, the
people were hurting themselves and constantly in a state of agitation until
Jonah pointed out the error of their ways.
Aren’t we all like the people of Nineveh, hurting
ourselves and each other by our selfish pursuits? We excuse our failings by claiming that “we
are only human.” Of course it’s true that we’re all sinners, but our humanity
is much more than just our material bodies and pursuits. We are also spiritual beings, capable of responding
to God’s offer of salvation and able to live virtuous lives. Recognition that humanity is flawed produces
a variety of responses. Many
well-intended liberals seem to think that the best solution for addressing
humanity’s weaknesses is to set up a large bureaucracy that regulates every
human activity in order to protect people from their own mistakes and
self-destructive tendencies. This
political philosophy has been around for centuries, having been articulated in
detail by the 17th century philosopher, Thomas Hobbes in his
monumental work, The Leviathan. In it Hobbes lays out a detailed argument for
a large central government (the Leviathan) with absolute authority to ensure
peace and tranquility. He views this as
necessary because of his materialistic view of human nature, which he considers
to be inherently violent, motivated by fear, and resulting in people constantly
at war with one another.
The word leviathan
is derived from Greek and it means “sea monster.” It is the very same word used in the bible
for the creature that swallowed Jonah when he was thrown overboard at sea, then
spewed ashore at Nineveh. The Ninevites
were indeed at war with one another (not fish-slapping, but something akin to
it), and in need of change before their society self-destructed. One of the lessons to be taken from the Book
of Jonah is that people can overcome their sinfulness and learn to live in peace. It is not necessary for a huge central government
to assert control over every aspect of our lives. People are quite capable of living in peace
if they accept the love of God and work to acquire virtue, rather than give in
to the temptations of their humanity.
Hobbes denied religious belief as false and useless. It seems that our own government has adopted
Hobbesian principles, churning out thousands upon thousands of pages of new
regulations, including many that violate individual sovereignty by requiring
people to violate their centuries-old religious beliefs. Like Hobbes, our government seems to regard
religious belief as an impediment to peace and happiness, accusing people of
being religious extremists for
opposing abortion, and gay marriage.
Last week, the federal government filed yet another
lawsuit against Hobby Lobby, appealing the decision by an appeals court which
overturned an earlier decision that would have levied fines of over $1.5
million PER DAY on the owners of Hobby Lobby, for refusing to provide insurance
coverage for chemical abortions and surgical sterilization. This case appears destined for the Supreme
Court, but is only one of hundreds of similar lawsuits filed by companies
facing similar penalties ($100 per employee per day), if they fail to comply
with the new HHS mandates. Our
government has become a leviathan, imposing endless regulations, even to the
extent of requiring religious communities who run nursing homes and hospitals,
to violate their religious beliefs. Are
we all to be consumed by this leviathan, like Jonah? Or will we reclaim our belief in the
principles of Christianity which encourage us to self-regulate through the
acquisition and exercise of virtues? Obamacare is only the latest manifestation of
the leviathan that has become our federal government.
The current political debate over de-funding Obamacare is
about a lot more than just money and political posturing. While the press continues to portray the
government shutdown as a disaster for Americans, there is never any mention of
the many reasons why conservatives believe Obamacare is bad for America. Here are just a few reasons why it should not
be funded:
1. It
is inherently flawed as an insurance mechanism and is therefore unsustainable
without massive infusions of money.
2. It has
already depressed our economy by discouraging employers from hiring full time
employees.
3. It has
already increased the cost of healthcare and health insurance substantially, and
this will get much worse over time because of number one above.
4. It
will add trillions of dollars to our already out of control national debt.
5. It
gives the government unprecedented control over healthcare decisions, in the
name of improving efficiency.
6. It
empowers the federal government to force people to violate their religious
beliefs - a clear violation of the First Amendment.
There are many more reasons to defund Obamacare, too many
to cite here, but of course relatively few people will ever hear about these
details. It's hard to see clearly when you're in the belly of a whale.
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