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Deutsche Version | Wiki Start | Topics Collection iv

Moving Society Forward! - The somewhat different Advent Calender XXII ...

Saturday, Dec 22, 2012. Recently, I took part in some advent conversation, taking place in the middle of a Christmas market, in northern Germany. It was a conversation between two Christians, both active in the church szene, one a doctor in a psychatric clinic and the other a director in a government institute. Both in a situation where you take responsibility for society, where you think about processes and how to solve real problems.

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When the health system was established …

These two people talked about the social system, about poverty, about mental illnesses, about hospitals and residential homes for people with mental problems. What is the situation today? How do you help those who are poor and who have difficulties to get along?

We are in a situation where we have a well developed health system today in many parts of Europe. Everyone gets treatment, there are not many who do not have an insurance which pays the doctors and nurses, which pays the drugs and medicine which is needed. This has not always been the case. Centuries ago, medical treatment was limited to quite few people with enough ressources and means.

But there are areas which do not work well. Today, there is a significant number of people who would need someone to help taking care of things. This can be finances, but also help with taking particular drugs in time, taking care of the household, filling out administrative forms etc etc. It needs to be balanced with the human dignity, with the wish to be independent and make your own decisions. We need a system which helps and keeps the freedom of people at the same time.

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Discipleship in practice …

Society has moved forward. Society will be moving forward. Whe can expect good things to emerge and spread, as it happend in the past. Christianity had a strong impact in the area of care and treatment, by its desire to provide help and love and support to the people. Why not move it forward, on a personal scale as well as on a social scale.

When you are an active person, your days quickly fill with duties and activities. You will see many needs of people around you, but your time to meet the needs will be quite limited. You want to help, but you cannot help. At some point you will realize that the solution cannot be to just help more and more on a personal level. When it comes to one single person who is ill and needs heavy support, you will be at the end with your possibilities immediately. Also, the family of that person will be unable to cope.

So we need support. We need to go to the Lord and ask him for wisdom and help. And we need to organize things as a society. We need to get politics involved, social institutions, the media, organizations and the state. We all are the state, we all need to further shape our systems and our processes - to further develop the world to take care where care is needed! Social activity and political activity can be a part of practical discipleship! This is the discipleship we need, in unity with faith, truth, love and intensive prayer. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts

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