Another American Icon Advocating Death Panels

In April 2009, Sarah Palin suggested that the health care bill being debated in Congress would create death panels; Health care would have to be rationed and health care decisions would be made based on your value to society. She was roundly ridiculed for this statement. "How could anyone believe something so absurd?"

That was before it became law.

Two months ago, another icon of American success made a similar statement that nobody is ridiculing. During a conference at the Aspen Institute, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, stated that we should have the discussion about the benefits of allowing someone to die a few months early so that we can save the jobs of ten teachers.

Gates continued, "But that's called a death panel, and you're not supposed to have that discussion. . . because of our penchant for generosity [in our end-of-life decisions] we will be laying off over 100,000 teachers, which, you know, I'm very much against that." ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrJBY2l1MQQ )

I highly value our public teachers. There are many who are underpaid, and whose jobs are in jeopardy. But we live in a dangerous time when celebrities like Bill Gates can advocate a speedy death for some individuals so that others, who are more beneficial to society, can keep their jobs. Where should we stop? Do we refuse to treat terminal cancer patients so that we can pay first responders like police and firefighters? Do we sacrifice Down's Syndrome individuals so that we can build better highway bridges?

Is there any job that is so valuable that we can justify "buying" it with a human life? And what would a society who was willing to make that transaction look like? Would you really want to live in that kind of a world?

Celebrities have always spoken out on public policy matters, but Gates is more than an icon, he is a wealthy icon who can financially influence public policy decisions. In American society, few are admired more than those who are financially successful. We would do well to listen to Jesus' letter to the church in Laodicea.

"You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." - Revelation 3:17-18

Mother Teresa plainly challenged the idea that life and death decisions can be carried out based on financial considerations. She said, "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

Followers of Christ have an obligation to challenge the idea that any life can be traded for financial or social gain. If the people of God remain silent on this issue, the deaths of some people will be accelerated so that others can take benefit financially. Some lives will be deemed "worth-less" so that our tax burden can be reduced. Other lives will be deemed "worth-more" so that politicians can gain and maintain political power. We must act. We must pray.

Pray for those who make social policy. Pray for financial power-players like Bill Gates. Speak out wherever you find this idea. Stand up for those whose lives are jeopardized by policies that trade human lives for financial or social advancement.

No matter how ridiculous this idea sounded yesterday, it may be public policy tomorrow. The structure is already in place, the battle is now in the arena of public opinion. The choice is yours. Choose well.

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Lessons From September 11 - Discipleship

Events can impact us, but they rarely transform us. Nine years ago we were impacted by an event. September 11, 2001 started as a normal day but ended with thousands dead, all air travel grounded, and a nation in shock.


That morning nineteen al-Qaeda extremists used four commercial airliners to stage an event that paralyzed a nation, but only for a while. Soon we were calling friends and family to assure them that we would be all right. Later, we gathered in churches and synagogues to seek help from God. Then we turned to our first-responders and encouraged them and prayed for them. We were impacted.


I know that many in the church, leaders especially, hoped that this event would bring transformation. Unfortunately, increased airport security and increased limits on carry-on luggage have become the only long-lasting changes. True, we are fighting two wars overseas that we weren't fighting then. But only the ones who lost loved ones, or those who are now sending them overseas, are living lives that have been altered forever. The rest of us were merely, temporarily impacted.


Transformation happens not through events but by living it - daily. For many Americans, including American Christians, life isn't much different than it was on September 10, 2001. American life has retreated to an imaginary world of televisions, computers, and I-Pods. We remember 9/11 simply as a horrific day in history. It impacted us, but only for a time and nearly a decade ago.


But how would the world be different if we could live a life that was transformed rather than simply impacted? Every day would offer new opportunities to live this revolutionized life. We would understand and accept new responsibilities. We wouldn't simply 'think' about an issue; we would be compelled to action. Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated, "We have learned a bit too late in the day that action springs not from thought but from a readiness for responsibility."


This is where many in the church have forgotten the mechanism that God instituted for ensuring that our efforts accomplish transformation and not simply well packaged events.

Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -Matt 28:18-20 "The Great Commission"

In the original language, this passage could read ". . . cause them to learn all of the things that they see that I have instructed you . . ." The mechanism that God established for transformational growth is discipleship; transmitting to others what we learn on a daily basis.


My theological friends are thinking to themselves, "Salvation is what changes someone"; and my holiness friends are saying, "TheHoly Spirit baptism is what brings real change." I agree with both views, to a point.


Here is where I often see a disconnect in the church: we assist people as they experience 'salvation' and an 'infilling' of the Holy Spirit, but that's where the church often stops. We leave these 'spiritual babies' in the delivery room and go look for another 'pregnant' event.


We don't do that with human babies. We understand that, even though we have witnessed a miracle that only God could perform, we have a responsibility to care for and nurture these newborns for several years to come. Likewise, discipleship is the next natural step in spiritual development, yet in many cases it is ignored. No wonder that recent studies have shown no difference between the moral behavior of Christians and non-believers.


This may be why September 11 surprised many in the church. We forgot the power of discipleship.


How could you train nineteen men to live peaceful, quiet, suburban lives for several years, and yet expect them to willingly sacrifice those lives for what they believe in? Discipleship. It's time for the church to reclaim its Commission.

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Does The Church Have A Voice?

"It is high time we broke with our theologically based restraint toward the government's actions - which after all is only fear. 'Speak out for those who cannot speak' - who in the church today realizes that this is the very least that the Bible requires of us?"

Who spoke these words? A right wing crazy? A Pro-life zealot?

Obviously, it was someone who took God's Word seriously. Isaiah 1:17b reads - Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

We are commanded to do this because it is part of God's very nature. We are called to imitate our Father. Deuteronomy 10:17-18a reads - For the Lord  your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow . . .

For the last 40 years the church has been leading the way in speaking out for those who cannot speak - the unborn. In spite of this, over 52 million babies have been aborted legally in the United States since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

Soon there will be a new class to speak out for.

Dr. Donald Berwick was recently appointed the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He is also a strong advocate for transforming our healthcare system into one that imitates NHS in Great Britain. A quick glance at the NHS website reveals a chilling reality - the government there uses a formula to assign values to human lives.

A portion of the official website reads: The enormous costs involved mean that choices have to be made . . . To ensure our judgments are fair, we use a standard and internationally recognized method . . . the quality-adjusted life years measurement (the ‘QALY’).

The QALY is determined by multiplying your life expectancy by a number that corresponds to your "quality of life". Your quality of life is determined by an agent of the government. Then, using the QALY, they calculate how much your life is worth. If you are young or have a higher quality of life, then you have great worth. If you are aged or have a lower quality of life, then you are worth less.

How can we reconcile this concept with the fact that our Savior gave His life for ours? Are some lives worth more than others? Are other lives worth-less? There have been times in world history where large groups of people believed this lie, and the consequences were unspeakable.

In those dark times in history, few spoke up for the worth-less. Why should they speak out? After all they were proud, patriotic citizens and these decisions were being made for the good of the country.

Scripture clearly teaches that all life is precious; there are no worth-less lives. Scripture clearly commands us to speak out for those who cannot speak; there are no worth-less lives.

The church has a decision to make. Will we speak out? If this national effort to calculate the value of a human life cannot be prevented, the church will have additional decisions to make. Will we care for those whose lives have been determined to be worth-less? Will we agree by our silence that some lives are worth more than others? Will we allow this cancer to grow unchecked in our culture?

The choice is ours. The worth-less are depending on the church to find and use its voice.

By the way, the words that began this article were penned on September 11^th . . . 1934. They were written by a German pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Eleven years and more than 6 million "worth-less" Jewish lives later, the world was concluding the Second World War; a war that claimed an additional 60 million lives during the conflict. Were all of those lives worth-less? Were ANY of those lives worth-less? How would history have changed if the church had found its voice?

Questions or comments? Write curt@smdcog.org

You can find me on FACEBOOK at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719). Here's a link to my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/) Thanks for reading!

The Things We Don't See

Christian Perspectives Article for the New Castle Courier-Times - June 12, 2010

I just got my new issue of Discover Magazine and the theme for the month is the Invisible Planet - The Science We Don't See. It got me thinking; What are the things we don't see in our world?

Have we witnessed the selfless acts of our community's first responders?

Do we think about the positive effects of the various food pantries, the Westminster Community Center, the Christian Love Help Center, Cradles, the Henry County Pregnancy Care Center, and other similar groups?

On the flip side, do we see the damage that drug abuse does to our community or is it invisible to us?

Do we appreciate the destruction that broken families leave in the emotional lives of our children?

Are we aware of the loneliness experienced by our neighbors?

Do we perceive the quality of educators we are losing to cutbacks and retirements?

Do we notice the vacuum created by lost economic opportunities?

Howard Hendricks, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, said something at a conference I attended a few years ago that has haunted me ever since. He said, "It's not enough to see a problem. It's not even enough to be able to articulate the problem. What are you going to do to solve the problem?"

There are a lot of issues that emerge in communities. Some are very visible; some are relatively hidden. Oftentimes we pride ourselves in being able to see these issues and talk about them. But the real question is, "What are we going to do about them?"

James 4:17 reads: Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

What can you do about the issues you know about? Do you have a problem with something happening on a national level? Have you offered a solution? Have you contacted your representatives? For instance, many people are concerned about the oil spill in the gulf. Do you have the ability to offer your time or services to resolve the issue?

Have you noticed our economic hardships? Have you offered to be part of a delegation to secure new businesses for Henry County? Can you help re-train someone who is out of work? Are you able to teach a new job skill? Are you doing what you can to make Henry County appealing to prospective businesses?

Do you appreciate our local heroes; our first responders? Have you told them or shown them in a tangible way? Have you encouraged them or prayed for them?

Maybe one of the invisible things in our community is our identity. When you look in the mirror do you see part of the answer to many of these issues? Don't wait for the President, or Congress to do something. Stop depending on the state or local government to "take care of it." Be part of the solution even if your church is not mobilizing. You and I can be agents of grace, healing, encouragement, and restoration. "We The People" can make a difference, and if you are a Christian you are an ambassador of the Kingdom of God. See the issues and talk about them, but don't stop there. Do something!

Any questions or comments? Email me at curt@smdcog.org

You can find me on FACEBOOK at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719). Here's a link to my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/) Thanks for reading!

Does It Really Matter What Truth Is?

What is truth? Philosophers have asked that question for centuries. Roman governor Pontius Pilate asked Jesus the same question. What is truth?

In recent years the question has changed. Does real truth exist? Is there absolute truth? Is your truth the same as my truth? Does it really matter what the truth is?

When you go to the bank and ask for your bank balance, do you want the truth? Do you want your truth or the bank's truth? Does it really matter what the truth is?

Imagine that you are in a severe car accident with your family. When you wake up in Recovery, you ask about your spouse and children. Do you want the real truth? Does it really matter what the truth is?

Modern philosophy says that what's true for you may not be true for me; what is really meant is that your perception of truth is different from my perception of truth. In this world there is only One Truth. Everything different from that One Truth is someone's perspective on truth. But eventually perspectives will be compared to the One Truth.

That's what is beginning to happen in climate change science (formerly global warming science). Actually, climate change is not science at all; a leading advocate for climate change studies readily admits it.

Recently, Christian British blogger, Kevin McGrane uncovered quotes from Mike Hulme. Mr. Hulme is founding director of Tyndall Centre and Professor of Climate Change at the University of East Anglia and has prepared climate change reports for the British government, the European Commission, and the United Nations.

Hulme explains that climate change science is not "normal" science, but post-normal science. Post-normal science discards conventional methods of scientific discovery, and advances a pre-determined political or social agenda.Hulme acknowledges that post-normal "scientists", himself included, are not searching for truth, they are searching for power.

Or take the recent Arizona Immigration Law. Dozens of people, from politicians to entertainers to clergy, have publicly condemned the law only to later admit that they have not read it. It's hard to believe that they really care about finding the truth. If they do care, how can they criticize something they haven't read?

In the 1981 movie, Absence of Malice, Paul Newman's character debates truth with Sally Field's character. They come to the conclusion that something can be true but not accurate; certain facts are true but they don't tell the whole story. At least twenty years ago we were concerned with accuracy. Today, in many ways, we will trade the truth we know for the lie that we want to believe. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he calls that sin.

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised."

I can trade juicy information about my neighbor; it's not really gossip. Really?

We can spend our way out of debt. Does that even make sense?

I can commit adultery; it won't really hurt anyone else. Does it really matter if that is true?

God is truth. Everything that is true flows from who God is. Everything that is untrue is opposed to God. At the core of everything we call "sin" is a transaction; we trade truth for a lie. Then we act on that lie and not on the truth.

When we act on a lie, disregarding truth, we sin and there will be consequences. When a church acts on a lie, ignoring the truth, it sins and there will be a cost. When a nation acts on a lie, closing its eyes to the truth, it sins and there will be a price to pay. But, does it really matter?

I believe it does matter. We must be people who seek the truth wherever it leads. We must be churches who are obedient to the truth whatever the cost. We must be a nation who believes that there is real truth, values that truth, and acts on the truth.

Do you know the truth? Or does it really matter?

Questions or comments? Write curt@smdcog.org

You can find me on FACEBOOK at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719). Here's a link to my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/) Thanks for reading!

Revisiting The Warning Sign of Columbine - Eleven Years Later

Published in the New Castle Courier-Times, April 10, 2010

April 20th marks the eleventh anniversary of the warning sign of Columbine. Do you remember the shock following that day of horror? Everyone was seeking answers that at first glance appeared elusive, but could be found in what the Founding Fathers called Natural Law.

Scripture lays the foundation for Natural Law: ". . . since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Rom 1:19-20 (NIV)

C. S. Lewis talked about it in "The Abolition of Man". Lewis maintained that every culture has a basic understanding of right and wrong. His book was a response to an effort by some educators to undermine a belief in Natural Law and to establish a secular understanding of morality.

Lewis believed that Natural Law should be taught to every generation so that these 'first principles' could enlighten the intellect, and restrain the animal nature of a person. Much of what Lewis wrote echoed our Founders.

"I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them. We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this divine book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws . . ." Benjamin Rush - signer of the Declaration of Independence.

"Why then, if these books for children must be retained, as they will be, should not the bible regain the place it once held as a school book ? Its morals are pure, its examples captivating and noble. The reverence for the sacred book, that is thus early impressed, lasts long; and, probably, if not impressed in infancy, never takes firm hold of the mind." Fischer Ames - suggested the wording for the First Amendment.

"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scripture ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evil [that] men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." Noah Webster - the Father of American Scholarship and Education.

Amazingly, in the wake of Columbine, most people ignored the conclusions of the Colorado State Board of Education:

"Finally, we must remember, respect, and unashamedly take pride in the fact that our schools, like our country, found their origin and draw their strength from the faith-based morality that is at the heart of our national character . . . Today our schools have become so fearful of affirming one religion or one value over another that they have banished them all. In doing so they have abdicated their historic role in the moral formation of youth and thereby alienated themselves from our people's deep spiritual sensibilities. To leave this disconnection between society and its schools unaddressed is an open invitation to further divisiveness and decline."

Natural Law is just as real as the laws of physics and we ignore them both at our own peril. The inalienable rights described in the Declaration of Independence are based on a belief in the Laws of Nature and Nature's God. If Natural Law is rejected, then our rights disappear as well. If Natural Law is discarded, rights could be granted or removed at the whim of whoever holds political power.

Ideas have consequences. This nation was birthed because of a common understanding of Natural Law and an acknowledgement of a Creator. If we abandon Natural Law and reject the idea of a Creator, there will be consequences as well. If we fail to teach the laws of Nature and Nature's God, we will continue to experience events like Columbine. But do we really need another warning sign?

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