Here are some notes from an article on the Rev. Gregory A. Boyd of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul. I don't entirely agree with him, but I think he has some points.

A common concern is that the Christian message is being compromised by the tendency to tie evangelical Christianity to the Republican Party and American nationalism, especially through the war in Iraq.

I'm a dedicated Republican, as it so happens. But, I agree that the inextricable tying of evangelicals to the Republican Party is disastrous. It leaves us talking about political issues more than we talk about Jesus Christ. People who don't agree with our politlcal convictions might not be attracted to the Savior if we identify the two so closely.

He said there were Christians on both the left and the right who had turned politics and patriotism into “idolatry.”

It seems to me that Christians of all stripes are turning a lot of different leaders into idols, political leaders = political idols. religious leaders = religious idols. I think we should look back to what God said to the Israelites when they wanted a king. As Christians, God is our leader.

“I am sorry to tell you,” he continued, “that America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ.”

I think that abortion and homosexuality are bad things, but I think that they are nowhere near as bad as people dying and going to hell. I never shop at our local Wallgreen's because of their support of homosexuality. But, I don't see many commandments in the Bible about trying to contain or hinder the sin of the world. I see commandments about weeding out sin in my life, to perfect my testimony to that world. I also see statements about shining as a light to a lost world. We can't stop the world from being . . . worldly. The god of this world is the devil. We shouldn't be surprised if the world is more and more evil. We should pick out battles and not waste our time trying to change the world. We should, instead, divide and conquer. Change individuals with the gospel and the world may slowly change a little.