Religion in the Political Arena: One Brief Comment...

Separation of church and state puts American politicians in a very difficult position. For instance, Catholic politicians have a difficult balance to maintain, often torn between supporting the stance of the Church and supporting the nation as a secular whole.  House Speaker John Boehner, a Catholic, is in the news this week because of this issue.  The tough spot Boehner has faced re: his political position on programs for the poor is not an uncommon one.  The question is whether to support programs that help so many so much, or to partially or fully cut programs that are abused by so many so much.  This is not really a matter of religion--all true Christians support helping the poor, pretty much regardless of denomination.  This is an issue of politics—these programs need reform.  Now, I don’t presume to have the answers; I don’t know what measures of reform to implement that would solve the problem of abuse of federal programs for the poor.  All I know is that our nation has been ‘separated’ for so long from God that no one seems to know what to do at all; and we are floundering more and more every day…

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Recent News Articles

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/11/catholic-professors-want-boehner-to-reconcider-cuts/?hpt=C2

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/12/catholic-professors-slam-boehner-gop-budget-cuts/?test=latestnews

My Odd Response to the Wolves...

I recently heard some great musical stylings and witnessed some good fun on the part of Christians outside of my denomination.  I am attracted to that stuff--always have been.  But just after I enjoyed it, warning bells went off in my head:  are these people the people who have been said to woo the soul of a person, in order to imprison one's heart and surreptitiously change one's mind with words like those the serpent used in Eden?  Could these people be the 'wolves' against whom I have been cautioned?  And, then, I got mad...really mad...

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A Christian worldview is a Christian worldview is a Christian worldview, people!!  What does it matter how one person worships as opposed to how another person worships within the Christian community??  Different people choose different denominations, each with differences in doctrine.  But holding on to the basics--that Christ is our Savior--should inspire unity, not division; respect, not derision.  Operating according to that fact, and adhering to the Ten Commandments, should make for peaceable interaction between all Christians.  It makes me so upset when one Christian denomination condemns another Christian denomination based on social teachings of that church.  The focus should not be on judgment, but on persuasion to the Truth.  That is not to say that some churches have social teachings that are wholly or inherently bad; but, rather, that we are called as followers of Christ to be open to hearing the points of view of others and that we are called to convert mislead hearts by gentle persuasion.  There is no call for fire and brimstone condemnation, or any  judgment whatsoever on the part of the human church.--that should be left to God.  Our mission as Christians is to do God's will as exemplified by Christ on Earth, and in so doing, glorify God at every turn.  We are called to be glimmers of God in the world, rays of His Light to those whose vision is obscured.  But we are most definitely NOT called to judge or condemn.

So, I say, sing away Christian musicians!  Enjoy yourselves, Christian folk of every ilk!  You most definitely might be "'wolves in sheeps' clothing" from the standpoint of one or another specific denomination's doctrine; but so long as you are glorifying God, I'm down with that.  I mean, really, one Christian guy's howl is another Christian guy's "HALLELUJAH!!"

Amen!