We Love The NHS

I may have been critical of our current Labour Government again on Wednesday, but I am generally supportive of them when it comes to the NHS. Some of the recent attacks from the States (and even here) look dumb in the extreme. Can we just remind the Investor’s Business Daily that Stephen Hawking is both British and alive, for example? (Even the corrected version of the article, to which I have just linked, doesn’t fully correct all the facts and still leaves room for doubt about the role of the NHS with respect to the brilliant scientist’s health.) And as for the views of Conservative MEPs Daniel Hannan and Roger Helmer that we should abolish it because 80% of Americans get better health care, well hang on: for all the faults of the NHS (and I’ll come to some of them), a Christian has to remember not just the 80% but the 20% – that is, the poor. Oh, and twice as much GDP is spent on health care in the US than here. Who is going to campaign to double our spending, even on top of the rises under the current administration?

So it’s not surprising that Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister who ‘got down wiv da kids’ by making policy announcements on YouTube, has now sent a message of support to the Twitter campaign #welovethenhs. Of course it’s political that he does so, but – hey – I actually agree with him here. (Just as I do on his concern for the welfare of the poorest nations in the world.)

Why? For theological reasons. We are our brother’s and sister’s keepers. That has to be seen corporately. I have had it argued to me in the past by conservative American Christians that it is the sole preserve of the church to offer healthcare and healing to society. Yeah, right. Because that is going to cover everyone, isn’t it?

Less cynically, although I come from the Arminian theological tradition and am therefore meant to view almost everything John Calvin said with suspicion, I find value in his concept of ‘common grace’ – that the sun shines on the righteous and unrighteous, as Jesus said. Surely health and healing would be among such common blessings.

Personally, I have benefitted from the NHS. Most recently in major terms, it was the nasal surgery I had in May (a septoplasty and submucus resection, for those who like the medical swearwords). That surgery corrected a lifetime’s breathing problem. Nobody questioned me about the level of my medical cover, or whether my premiums were paid. I was simply treated. Then, a week ago, on the night before going away on holiday, I began to suffer pain in the right rib area. A phone call to NHS Direct led to advice that I should attend our nearest Accident and Emergency unit at a nearby hospital. They soon reassured me I didn’t have the feared spontaneous pneumothorax (OK, I’m showing off, that’s a collapsed lung) but had something close to a torn abdominal muscle. Triage, chest x-ray, time with a doctor, all without question, through until 2 am from dedicated professionals. Then away on holiday the next morning. First class.

No, it isn’t perfect, and I have some issues with it. The ‘postcode lottery’ is a common concern. For the uninitiated, this refers to differing policies in different areas, resulting in some people being eligible for treatment in their location but others in another area not being, perhaps due to age or general priorities.

Then there are issues of the budget being used up for causes that give me moral problems. The widespread use of abortion is the obvious one. Some uses of cosmetic surgery might be another. I could easily add othercontentious treatments to this list, and I apologise for just brief comments – however, the purpose of this paragraph is not to go into fine detail, but simply to mark up the fact that I have concerns about several significant areas.

But let’s get it straight. Supporting the NHS does not make you a Marxist, so let’s ditch that bit of ignorant propaganda that seeks to label people rather than engage with the issues. That kind of nonsense makes it sound like McCarthyism is back from the dead. Most Christians in the UK of various political and theological persuasions would concur that being in general favour of the NHS (whatever particular quibbles we have) is thoroughly consistent with Christian principles.

6

Winning

Rebekah playing the camel derby
Rebekah playing the camel derby

One joy of our holiday in Great Yarmouth has been the children’s discovery of the camel derby attraction on the Britannia Pier. Not a real one, as held in Kenya and other places, but a mechanical-electrical game where contestants thrown balls into holes to propel their camels along the track.

Rebekah takes great delight in it, win or lose. It’s all good fun. She competes to the best of her ability, and accepts the verdict, wherever she comes in the race. She has even been known to give her winning token away to her little brother. Although the first time she won, she was delighted to use that token in order to gain the prize of a jigsaw that had to be made up and coloured in.

DSC_0073Mark is totally different. If he wins, he is ecstatic. So when he beat about fifteen others one evening, he nearly went into orbit. But if he loses, he isn’t just disappointed. He goes into the hugest strops imaginable. Old cliches about redheads and tempers come into play. He is inconsolable. Winning is everything to him. For Rebekah, playing the game is the be all and end all.

So who is right? The Brit in me sides with Rebekah. Play the game and enjoy it, but don’t be crushed by defeat. However, that can be just a coping mechanism to stave off the pain of losing. I guess (going by stereotypes) that if I were American or Australian, I might be more likely to side with Mark. The competitive spirit means the world.

And maybe we’re too British like this in the church. We can play the game and not worry about how we are doing. We rationalise away failure with slogans about faithfulness. (Not that faithfulness itself should be denigrated.) We dislike certain emphases on ‘success’ that rely heavily on manipulation, and I have preached and written against such things before. But sometimes we do so in such a way that we forget the New Testament injunction to ‘run in such a way as to win the prize’. Granted, it’s a different kind of prize, but sometimes the passion isn’t there, and we aren’t devastated when things haven’t gone as they should have done, according to the Gospel. Could we do with a bit more passion and devastation in the church?

4

One Rule For Them, Part 2

Downing Street won’t disclose whether Gordon Brown has applied for a Criminal Records Bureau check in order to undertake voluntary work this summer. We don’t know what the work will be, so we don’t know whether he would have to, but Number 10 won’t give any more information for ‘obvious reasons’.

Yes, so obvious that nobody can see what they are. If it’s straightforward unpaid work with children or vulnerable adults, what does he have to hide? Isn’t that the line politicians give us about new restrictions on our liberty? If we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. Except Gordon, apparently. Remember, this Government has recent form in this area.

Harriet Harman suggests applying ‘common sense’ to MPs’ need to be vetted – the very thing they (rightly) deny to the general public. It’s still double standards, just like claiming accountancy expenses. Not that you can trust the Criminal Records Bureau, mind you.

Do I have it in for this shower? I don’t particularly expect a Conservative administration would be morally superior, not on the day when shadow Commons leader Alan Duncan has been exposed complaining that MPs live on ‘rations’. But this is the bunch exercising power at present, and it’s only right they be held accountable. But then, that’s something they aren’t keen on, are they? And power without accountability is lethal. They may just have to settle for the next General Election.

3

An Announcement

You may have noticed that postings have been far less frequent on this blog in the last month. I have also been slower than usual to respond to comments. There is a reason for this. Debbie and I have been very absorbed by a major change of direction in our lives. My current appointment here in Chelmsford runs out in a year’s time. We had been exploring staying on beyond then. However, four weeks ago, we changed our minds and decided we wanted to leave next year.

This has had all sorts of ramifications. I cannot go into them in public: Methodist policy asks ministers and circuit leaders not to discuss the reasons for such decisions in public, especially on social networking sites, blogs or the like. Not only am I bound by that policy, I also think it is wise advice. For that reason, I am confining my announcement here to these bare facts and taking the unusual step of not allowing comments on this post. However, I thought my regular readers (both of you) would like to know this, and I believe that by simply making the factual announcement but not having a public discussion of it, I have kept to the letter and spirit of our Good Practice Guide. It is effectively the same as the announcement made to my churches on 12th July.

We shall soon be putting together a profile as we seek a new appointment for next year. Please pray for us. Thank you.

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