Powers, principalities, and hospitals

Chris Erdman writes about taking the Word of God to hospitals. His evaluation of the power implicit in medical centers, and its implications for society, is particularly acute:

It used to be that in any community the biggest, most overstated and intimidating building in town was the church. But today, the biggest, most overstated and intimidating buildings are medical centers. And frankly, they’re far better attended than the churches. They also deliver a much more tangible and apparently useful service—they keep people from dying. Not always of course, but for the most part they do a pretty good job. And the buildings and machines that occupy them seem to swell with pride as their place in our society expands.

In and amongst these things of such power, the Bible seemed to me to be pretty out of place and, while often tolerated by the staff (who knew that a little religion often did some good keeping patients patient), the stuff of the hospital whispered that my Book wasn’t nearly as important as the bleeps and blips and pokes that administered the grace of the new god of technology. I’m not being completely fair of course, material things are not in and of themselves bad or evil—we are plenty glad for what they provide—but they are what the Bible calls “principalities and powers” and as such can slide into the place reserved for God alone.

What place does the Word have in such a climate? Read Chris's article and see his thoughts.