Some thoughts on the role of Christianity in society and government

The basic point of this blog is to promote discussion on the role of Christianity in society and government. Debate, even if no one comments on posts (which I hope ya'll will do) will doubtless get...spirited (I mean, I have debates inside my own brain that would qualify as  good  knock-down, drag-out fights, and that is just one person....). Just so ya'll understand where I am going to go in this blog, I offer the following...planks to my platform, if you will.

1. Christianity, as the "cultural religion" (if there is such a thing...but that is another post) of the United States, has a responsibility to provide for the people of this nation a clear definition of what it is, and what it isn't. In this, it has, in the past, failed greatly.

2. Any forced blending of politics and religion is detrimental to both. In a free society, most things can be left to the personal conscience of each citizen. Parallel to this thought is the thought that religion, as a voluntary association, must have license to speak its truth, unfettered by outside governance. Freedom of speech must run both ways. The marketplace of ideas must be the freest market in existence, where if not all opinions are "correct", all serious ones are at least met with respect and consideration.

3. Christians today are in an awkward situation. One that they have been in since Jesus walked the Earth. How are we to be "in the world" but "not of the world"? What must we concede, and what can we not concede? Is it right to draw lines, and if so, where do we draw them?

Like I said in the opening post, this quandary has occupied the back of my mind for quite some time, and hopefully together we can forge a working framework from which to operate.