Church and State

So, I continue to be dismal at updating my blog. I really can't wait till I get a new lap top. That would enable me to write during my commute.

Anyway, it has been an eventful week. Election time is always an emotional and intellectual stimulant. This was a pivotal election. Unity has been a big issue in our country for quite some time. Remember 2000? Sure we united over 9/11. It is easy to unite in a common anger/grief during a time of tragedy. Anger is a better uniter than grief, just look at Katrina. I recently saw a bumper sticker that read "We are definitely not united and most of y'all are sitting". The truth of this statement brought many thoughts to my head. Are we sitting in apathy, are we sitting in protest, are we "sitting on the fence", or are we just struggling to get by and trying to keep up with this crazy world is just too much? To steal a defense from a lawyer friend, "I am just doing the best I can."

Something hit me on election night, when my son asked me who I voted for in one of the "lesser" California races. I could not remember the name of the candidate I voted for just an hour before. With so many different government positions to fill, I did not have time (or the desire) to investigate the candidates enough to make my choice. So in some cases, I gave my vote away by going with a recommendation. In other cases, I gave my vote away by just confirming judges that I knew nothing about. In still other cases, I gave my vote away, by not voting for any candidate. Now this is not to say, I gave everything away. I knew exactly who I wanted as Governor, and I did research the propositions (some more than others). These were the reasons I voted, but how much of this countries leadership and direction is determined by people voting for someone or something that they know nothing about. That can be as bad as not voting at all. I think that is why campaigns hit us so hard with ads and mailings and recorded phone calls. I had Arnold, Bill, and Al all call me in one night (I figure since they know my home phone number we are on a first name basis). They hoped that we would remember just enough to vote the way they wanted us to, based on hearsay.

All this only related to what I really want to write about. I want to write about how we seem to separate Church and State in our personal political lives, just like we do in our business lives. A lot has been written about the politics of Evangelical Christians. I think this has had a negative impact on the views of Catholic Christians. I think Catholics are afraid to stand up for our beliefs because we don't want to be associated with the "religious right". Catholics are generally more low key. I could argue this is really because a lot of Catholics are struggling with their faith and don't know if they want to be associated with their religion at all, but that is another blog entry (State of the Church?).

The problem with the "religious right" is that they are focused on the wrong issues. They have been drawn into the areas that divide our country the most and have taken the stance that God is on their side, so vote for this candidate or this issue. I don't believe they are necessarily evil hypocrites, and I do believe they are trying to defend against real issues. They are just not the core issues. We have all lost sight of God's will, especially when it comes to politics.

So what is God's will? I would start with these two principles:

1) I believe the primary will of God is His command to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself(Mark 12:29-31). Another way to look at this is Micah 6:8
2) Our primary social charge is to take care of those in need (Deuteronomy 14:28-29 and James 1:26-27)

We have forgotten these principals. This is not to say the issues of Abortion and "Protecting" Marriage and the war in Iraq are not important. I believe we are approaching them wrongly. We have forgotten the poor, the fatherless, and the widow. Some have begun to notice this and remind us, even in the "religious right".

I believe until Catholics reconcile our crisis of Faith and stand up for the forgotten as Jesus taught us by his actions, we will continue to let this great nation become more divided or maybe even worse become so luke warm that we will crumble in apathy. May God place conviction and compassion in our hearts and mend our nation.

Grace and peace to you all.