Evangelicals and health care for the poor

A typically excellent post from Slacktivist: 

For more than a century, evangelical churches in America have been giving generously, sometimes sacrificially, to support medical missionaries in other countries. Health care for poor people is something they’ve prayed for and donated to for generations — but only overseas.  

Somehow that commitment has never really translated into support for health care for the poor here in America. Not in any form. Here in America, evangelicals do not pray, give or vote for health care for the poor. Here in America, health care for the poor is something that evangelicals pray, give and vote against.  

That’s immoral and generally horrifying. But given those same evangelicals’ support for medical missions, it’s also just deeply weird.

I also liked this comment from "hidden urchin":

My guess is it's the idea of "deserving" vs. "underserving" poor.  If you're poor because you live in an undeveloped country in a state of civil war or the like then it is clearly not your fault and you deserve help.  Indeed, you are probably one of the industrious poor sent by God to show us how to live humbly and gratefully.  If you're poor in The Greatest Country in the World then it's because you Made Bad Choices and so you don't deserve help. /sarcasm

Read the whole thing.