Would you be a Good Samaritan?

Does being a good samaritan mean bankrupting our nation of 200+milloion so 14 million who really need some help with health care get it? Is being a good sameritian creating a culture in which young ladies feel it appropriate to spread thier thighs so they can get welfare? Young men willing take advantage and abandon the children they father? In Jesus time time the poor gleaned the fields, the poor did not expect the farmer to bundle the grain to feed them. Like most liberals Mr Zwemer seems to want to spend other peoples money to help his cause. Why not open a health clinic Mr. Zwemer? Oh! it is not a big government program paid for by others?

There's a HUGE difference between a helping hand and a free ride.

1ST churches do a lot for the poor 2ND conservatives are the most generous according to the gallop poll 3RD LIBERALS LIKE
to preach about compassion thats usually it. 4th if you are going to qoute or use biblical sources make sure you qoute wisely the bible says the poor will always be with us and to help them. but in context of working hard. all the disciples had jobs. when jesus told the man to get up and walk he also said and sin no more. ie..change your life. my friend our poor are not really poor as we like to think of poor say in africa. our poor have food stamps govt asssitance tvs ipod cell phones cars etc*********also they have access to health care no one can be turned down in this country.. all need and can contribute to their own health care if they are more frugal and prudent with what they have. i believe in giving a helping hand but you also need to pull your own wagon b/4 getting into mine.

In biblical times, a Roman soldier could require any citizen to carry his pack for 1 mile (this is where the term "go the second mile" is derived). This was done at the point of the sword. This is the type of good samaritan that the government would have us to be.
I don't recall any part of the Lord's parable that mentions someone forcing the Samaritan to help the injured man.
Charity comes from the heart, not the sword.

I guess the writer never saw any of the homeless shelters or soup kitchens sponsered by churches. Maybe they never saw the countless programs to help train poeple for job skills, or to provide medical care for inner city children. They never saw the money that is given to missions by church members that is used both here and abroad to clothe and feed people or to help in times of disaster. I agree with nofanofobama, liberals need to put their money where their mouth is and start donating instead of trying to donate everyone else's money.

It's kind of like all the store's with the donation jars for March of Dimes, or whatever at their registers. The corporation gets the tax break for the charitable donation, while we walk out the door with only the satisfaction of having put our dollar in the jar. Go to your doctor's office, if you have health insurance you probably have to pay a copay before you will be seen by the doctor. But take a look around at the ones who walk in and are seen without being asked for their copay. These are the one's that are already on the government dole. To those who will not do anything to better themselves, the government has a program to take care of them. Who pays for it? The working taxpayer.

justus4 yes the country was based on judialchristian principles to deny this is to deny history. while man is still a sinner the principles are there in the constitution. our rights are given by GOD and not man or govt. we have made many mistakes but as long as we have this principle we can at least strive to correct them. obviously you are unhappy and find all wrong in this country. my suggestion if you are unhappy with these freedoms afforded by this counrty, i would leave if i were you. but im not i cant think of better place to live right now unless obama destroys it more.

nofan: Kinda silly and childish to suggest someone leave this country just because they find issue with some of it's hypocrisy isn't it? If that's the case you and everyone who thinks the sky has/is falling since the 44th POTUS took office should have booked a flight back in January...Name one thing PBHO has done that has destroyed this country? Not something you heard he MIGHT do on talk radio, something he has done...Although I don't agree with all his actions, nor did I with GWB, but neither destroyed this nation...If slavery, the Great Depression, segregation, Civil War, and terroism has not destroyed it I doubt the current POTUS is the biggest threat to this country..I'm done, you can go back to your bunker now...

I would think dividing the country like never before is pretty destructive, or at least has the possibility of such.

As you can tell from these other posts, Mr. Zwemer, your letter has hit far too close to home for some people!

The Good Samaritan is a parable just a made up story about love for others. The reality of assumptions about others and the ideal love that Jesus expects.

native son i did not say leave if you fIND issue we will never agree on everything thats cool. but ol justus 4 every thing i read that he posts he just seems so unhappy and i was merely offering a remedy. lets see stimulus bill and omni bill signed and not even read .
these massive spending bills backed up by borrowing and printing money pure stupidity. up coming cap and trade already passed in house the health care debacle. govt owning banks and auto manufactruring. passing laws to regulate pay in private sector more czars than you can name. just a start.....
i dont need a bunker i will be out on the street. the foundation and principles of this country are being hacked up by this group
of misfits in power now.

And don't forget in the parable of the Good Samaritan that many did walk by the injured man in the ditch. These are the folks that we see today who are angry and disillusioned. The Samaritan was of a ethnic class who was not even supposed to help the injured man in the parable. But yet he did that. If one truly believes in the hereafter then they just might see the Samaritan and the guy on the cross next to Jesus who said to "Remember Me". These are the kinds of people we should be meeting in the world today, but alas we do not.

Just an opinion, but I disagree with some CONservatives opinion of what charity is. I don't think contributing to a political PAC is really a charity. Some of you make me sick to see your holier than thou attitudes and believe me your ElRushBo and Beck attitudes are showing whether you know it or not. I still cannot understand how an educated person would glorify and follow known drug addicts. And an addict is someone who does a little more than try a drug.

Some really like to preach a good sermon about the Good Samaritan and how Christians are hypocrites when they in fact are no better themselves. The story about the Good Samaritan is a parable about helping someone when they are down, lifting them up in their time of need but no where in this story does it say we have to supply all their needs and take care of them for the rest of their lives. I have not problem helping someone physically, financially, or spiritually, but it also states in the Bible, God does not like a lazy fool. If you don't teach them to be self-sufficent and stand on their own two feet, then they become lazy and dependant and never move forward.

disssman on Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:44 AM Obama admits to using weed and blow, and is addicted to cigarretts,so are you as condemning of Obama as you are of ElRusbo, Beck etc?

What happened to the liberal doctrine of separation of church and state. Another govt handout program isn't the answer.....

The Good Samaritan got to CHOOSE whether or not to stop and help. Obama's plan removes our free will to make that decision. FORCED charity is not the same as giving from the heart. With that in mind Zwemer's LTE makes a mockery of good deeds unwillingly given.

disssman, a little bit of that holier-than-thou attitude is coming out in your post. What is your definition of charity? I think that if someone gives of their time (like working in a soup kitchen) and whether it's money or material possessions (like clothing, furniture, etc) they donate, that is an act of charity. As for educated people glorifying and following drug addicts, it's not just conservatives. We have them in the democractic sector as well, just look at Hollywood and Sports.

Big difference between being a good samaritan and a Communist. The system being proposed does not help anyone up....it brings the rest of us down. It lowers the quality and availability of care to all of us, especially SENIORS. The spirit of being a good samaritan by virtue of a forced government socialist system is pretty much laughable. Geez, read the statements of Canadians and British patients under the exact same socialized system we are impletmenting. If you REALLY GET SICK YOU WILL MOST LIKELY DIE WHILE ON A WAITING LIST TO SEE A SPECIALIST OR GET SURGERY. Stick that in your good samaritan. Socialized systems are great for cut fingers and broken arms but if you are really sick and need specialized treatment you are sucking buttermile.....especially if you are old.

I agree with those who say "walk to the side" when it comes to government controlled health care. The difference between a intelligent person and a more liberal one, is based on what a man can and will pay for something. The author missed something in that scripture, and that was when a man had compassion, he put him on his own mule. Well, I have a mule called a job, and it only carries a certain amount of load before it starts to show signs of struggle to even go one more mile. Right now, my mule can not carry a full load of a family when it only gives me $8 per hr before taxes. Now taking into consideration I will soon be one who was robbed on that road when the government gets done with the healthcare reform, well, is anyones guess. But the mule will buck and run when that happens cuz businesses cant afford the added expenses when it does. and then what? The government didnt create new jobs to replace the millions that are all ready lost. And how do u think these ppl will pay?? Sorry, but my mule is full and all ready burdened, and my kids cant seem to walk on their own yet.

The good Samaritan helped the victim of a mugging using his own time and money. Mr. Zwemer would have the government (using its coercive power) mug you and me in order to help a person who is the "victim" of not being responsible for himself.

A good samaritan relects on the needy and afflicted. Some posters are confused by the difference in needy/afflicted and those who are wanting.
Any Conservative and I hope Liberal will help the truly needy. Those other than the needy might fare better if they get off the streets and find a job.

ITom Zwemer is an aquaintance of mine from church. He is socially liberal almost to the fringe. Perhaps he should open a free dental clinic in his home as he is a retired dentist. The good Samaritan acted on his own to help the injured man, as the majority of Republicans do (we give more to charity than the average DIM).. He did not have a Roman soldier standing there with a sword ordering him to do so, which is what government run health care would be.

I'm sure Mr. Zwemer is a good man, but his self-righteous attitude is distressing. I see him as one who wants someone else to do his bidding rather than cleansing wounds and caring for the sick and injured himself. He suggests a vote against universal health insurance is un-Christian, so he wants the gov't to cleanse and heal. I believe he misses the point of the parable and his righteous indignation is misplaced. I favor any plan that offers healthcare for those who cannot access it. Historically the gov't has been unable to effectively or efficiently distinguish between those who cannot and those who will not. Why should healthcare be any different.

Name one thing PBHO has done that has destroyed this country? Not something you heard he MIGHT do on talk radio, something he has done...Although I don't agree with all his actions, nor did I with GWB, but neither destroyed this nation...If slavery, the Great Depression, segregation, Civil War, and terroism has not destroyed it I doubt the current POTUS is the biggest threat to this country..I'm done, you can go back to your bunker now...
Posted by Nativeson on Tue Sep 29, 2009 8:51 AM...For starters, BimbObama and his DIM enablers Pilosi and Reid, has placed this country in four times the debt in only nine months that GW Bush did in eight years. He is in the process of destroying the value of our dollar to the extent that Communist China is getting nervous what we owe them. Gov't health care will allow invasion into the most personal aspects of our lives. His cap and tax bill will see milions more Americans who can't pay their heating and electric bills, plus add another kick to our already weak economy. Tell me ONE thing BimbObama has done or attempted to do that isn't contrary to our American/capitalistic way of life that has made us the envy of the world.

What about that $3900 fine for those who don't have insurance? What is that all about? I seen it mentioned a few times in articles. I am having trouble finding many articles about it. They just say its part of the new plan but don't elaborate how this works. How do they expect people who can't pay their rent or mortgage to pay a 3900 fine for no insurance. Are they also charging this to those who refuse to work and collect all these government assistance programs or just those working at a low paying job that doesn't carry insurance 40 hours a week. At least they try to be self supportive and help make this country go round. Anyone know, have links or know where I can find the documents on this?

I have always been charitable and will continue to do so because of how I have been blessed. It is a choice I make. But, please don't force me against my will to do so. It ceases to be charity then. What Obama is wanting to do is not charity but being a modern day Robin Hood. There is a HUGE difference between stealing and giving.

Tom Zwemer I do question your definition of charity. Try and give it without your anti-Christian bias.

Nativeson - (insert emoticon for standing ovation) good post.