Thoughts about politics and the church, repost from a friend of mine

I am just getting caught up on reading my friends' blogs and stumbled across this post from a friend of mine. Paul Sundberg posts on his blog "JUST KEEP ASKING" He is a friend of mine, the father/father-in-law of two of my dear friends from college. His is the pastor of an ELCA Lutheran Church in the Pacific Northwest. I really appreciate his perspective and this is not the first time I have reposted one of his posts. Without further ado, enjoy:





Last night’s vote on health care reform in the U.S., was hardly the end of it. Our divided nation will be more divided. Wrangling and rancor will continue, and indeed, increase. That is the way of the world. It is most certainly nothing new. But what a sad display: it remains disheartening and disturbing.

Still a Christian, I am most disturbed by those who identify themselves as Christians and who see our government as an enemy and not as an instrument of compassion. I continue to be dumbfounded by those who care about the first three trimesters of life and are totally callous about the fourth trimester. I continue to be appalled by those who call this a Christian nation, demanding legislated moral constraints, without demanding care for the least among us. I continue to be saddened by the Christians that label such care as socialism, and sees solutions only in capitalism (as though it was a social mechanism baptized by Jesus himself). Have they never read about the communities of Jesus in the New Testament?

No wonder why fewer and fewer Americans are finding hope and solace in the church.

We have so much work to do to show we still matter.