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Was Jesus a Politician?

In just over a week, Karl Rove and Howard Dean will be coming to Greencastle for a debate between the two of them at DePauw University. The debate between these two men brings front and center a topic that seems to create and kill conversation: politics. Many of us can remember our own heated debates at the dinner table; others remember nary a word spoken about elephants or donkeys.

All of us have our political opinions, and some of us happen to believe that politics and religion simply should not be mixed. They are like oil and water. And while I too get bored or frustrated with the ongoing circus that politics can become at its worst, the simple fact is God has created us as political beings. What I mean by "political beings" is simply this: we exist and must learn how to live together. This is the basic meaning of what politics is.

And, with this basic definition of what politics is - discussing how, learning about and working on living together - we can say clearly that Jesus was a politician.

With this acknowledged ... allow me to ask some very hard, but important questions. And please feel free to comment or write me with your thoughts. Let's be honest and caring enough to communicate with each other:

1. What issues in the current health care debate do you think Jesus is most concerned about?

2. What issues in the health care debate do you think Jesus is most frustrated with?

3. Do you think God cares more about certain moral issues than God does others (in other words, does God care more about sexual morality or health care)?

Wes
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