Wise as serpents and innocents as doves.

I thought it might be helpful to discuss how I personally discern whether a movement or regulation might be a threat to medical freedom.

(This is an incomplete list! Please share your ideas in the comments!)

Some questions I ask myself:
-Who stands to gain financially from this movement/regulation? (“follow the money”)
-What are the ethical implications of this movement? (continued use of aborted fetal cells, etc)
-Am I allowed to ask questions or disagree? (“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire)
-Related to the last: what’s the tone and language surrounding the issue? Is there reasonable dialog, or does it devolve into name calling, fear mongering, and emotional appeals? (This is a sure sign that there’s spiritual warfare involved and I approach the issue with caution.)

After asking the questions above, I then weigh them against the corporal works of mercy and the calls to higher virtue to determine how best to balance charity and liberty.

It’s not a perfect system but it has served me well thus far.

Let us not become embittered by a world that fulfills every promise and warning Jesus gave us. We are to be cunning in seeking knowledge yet remain innocent and childlike in our trust in God.

Finally, I want to point you towards Christ and His words to us in the Gospel of St Matthew. They are eternally prescient, and may they grant us courage to speak wisely and gently but with firm conviction.

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” -Matthew 10:16-20

Share in the comments! What questions or tools do you use to discern whether the roots of a movement might endanger medical freedom?