the storied jesus

Because some Christians inappropriately associate the Cross with American military might, we should disassociate ourselves from the political process?

He states that a woman came up to him and told him to stop preaching liberal politics, and he responds that he was simply quoting Jesus. Something tells me that he wasn't just standing in the pulpit reciting scripture.

And I don't think he understands the issue of homosexuality in our country right now. There is no Gluttons Rights organization or Greedy Pride movement trying to infiltrate our schools and tell our children, "It's okay to be gluttonous it's okay to be greedy. You were born that way, it's a normal way to express yourself."

So there's a tenuous correlation between abortion and poverty, therefore Christians should relax on the abortion issue and worry about electing a candidate who will reduce the number of abortions by "fighting poverty"? Look a bird! I'm sure Planned Parenthood would be more than happy to hire Mr. Boyd on as a spokesman.

Charles Chaput, the archbishop of Denver, put it well in an article in First Things Magazine about Catholics in the public sphere. Plug in "Christian" wherever he writes "Catholic" and the point still holds. "If...American Catholics really understood their faith, we wouldn't need to waste one another's time arguing whether the legalized killing of an unborn child is somehow balanced out or excused by other social policies.

If we learn nothing else from last November, it should be this: We need to stop overcounting our numbers, our influence, our institutions, and our resources, because they are not real. We cannot talk about following St. Paul and converting our culture until we sober up and admit what we've allowed ourselves to become. We need to stop lying to each other, to ourselves, and to God by claiming to oppose personally some homicidal evil--and allowing it to be legal at the same time.

We've forgotten how to think, especially how to think as Catholics. We have to make ourselves stupid to believe some of the things American Catholics are now expected to accept. There is nothing more empty headed in a pluralist democracy than telling citizens to keep quiet about their beliefs. A healthy democracy requires exactly the opposite. Democracy requires a vigorous public struggle of convictions and ideas. And the convictions of some people always get imposed on everybody else. That's the nature of a democracy. So why should faithful Catholics play by different rules and a misguided sense of good manners?"

I agree with Boyd... (Jason, you probably could have guessed I would). I think he's right on.

Transforming culture is NOT about electing the right people. It's about relationships with our neighbors-- it's about loving the unlovely and resisting the materialism that is so rampant in our society.

I wonder what would happen if we spent less time trying to get certain laws passed by certain people and more time building real, authentic and deep relationships with the people in our communities... not guaranteeing anything, just wondering.