Politics and religion—nothing else matters more

I'm puzzled when people say politics and religion don't mix like to do so is driving drunk.

• Have you ever been in a black church? 
• Should abuse of unborn children not be spoken of in church because it's been political since 1973,
• or in the state house because that evil is Biblical for the last how many thousand years?
• What about women's rights? Is stealing the value of women's labor a sin or a political wrong?
• Right to work union abuses? Forcing a teacher or contractor to pay dues to support something they don't agree with is what? 
• Is polluting the rivers and lakes only political, or does the Bible address how to take care of the earth?
• You do know that the word "penitentiary" comes from the spiritual term "penitent," don't you? 
• Are crooked elected officials a political problems or a sin problem? 
• Who was it who pushed the slavery issue to the forefront of America's conscience?
• Is gay marriage a religious or political issue?
• Is ignorance of first amendment problems in the HHS Mandate a political or a church problem if it takes away religious freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution?

In the U.S. we were guaranteed at one time that the state would not encroach on the church, but the state grabbed more and more of the conversation real estate, so at some point, you'll just have to talk about it.

Thursday Thirteen--13 discussion starters

In the margins of my Serendipity Bible for Groups (4th ed. NIV) there are "warm up" questions of a personal nature to get members of a small group talking. Most are non-threatening and deal with childhood, the thinking being I suppose that the members stay off the topic of co-workers or current relationships. I'm not fond of "ice-breakers," but I've enjoyed looking through these and thinking about them. Here are 13 from the margins of Romans in the New Testament. Can you pick one to answer?

1) When you write a letter are you more likely to write until you run out of paper, or keep it short and to the point? They got me on this one. I definitely use up the paper, even if I have to add an afterthought. Then I'll write in the margins to keep from using another sheet, because I'd have to fill it!

2) When you were growing up, what chores were you expected to do around the house? Dishes--rotated with my two sisters, and lawn mowing--and my brother was in on that rotation.

3) What is the biggest scam or junk mail offer you have fallen for? It was either the life-time free ink cartridges or the 15 sex crazed 3-legged mountain climbers. Just kidding.

4) In your family, who tried to keep the peace? Mom or Dad? Mom.

5) Who do you take after in your temperament, your mother or your father? Father.

6) What about abilities, like music or art? Most likely my mother, but for those we'd probably go back to grandma.

7) What is the closest you have come to losing your life? I almost drowned as a child, and another girl who really didn't swim well saved me.

8) In your first real job, was your boss easy to work for or a slave driver? Not easy, but then who would be with a bunch of teens? I see it differently today.

9) What New Year's resolution have you made only to have it fizzle? Could I just list the one or two I've ever kept?

10) What signs of aging or weathering are you starting to feel in your bones? Ah, let me count. How much time do you have?

11) What was one thing about which your folks used to say, "Wait 'til you're older, you'll understand then?" I can't remember this specific phrase, but it undergirded every lecture from my mom I heard (and ignored). The woman had advice on absolutely everything--the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

12) When you were a child, what did you do to earn your allowance? At least when I was little, my allowance wasn't tied to anything. Family chores were not connected to money, just expectations and maturity level. As a teen-ager, the allowance was supposed to cover my clothes (except shoes and coats).

13) Describe briefly your first best friend. Are you still in touch? Smart and sort of goofy, but deep thinker, even then. Yes, we're still in touch.