On your examples of government intervention. These are all instances in which the government intervened to do what it was designed to do: protect our liberties. If someone is stalking me, I am not going to wait until his heart is changed. I will report it to police.

What was specifically inferred in the original letter was about the “Defense of Marriage” act and the marriage amendment. This does not actually preserve any rights that I can see. I personally disagree with homosexual marriage, but it isn’t an issue of basic human rights, so I shouldn’t be going to the government to see it abolished.

Instead, I should take my stand and discuss it with people. Our cultural decline (the fact that television and movies are becoming increasingly violent and pornographic) cannot be solved by government intervention. I can pass all the laws I want, but it will not fix the root of the problem.

That is what I was talking about. As a Christian, I am very concerned about what other people think and believe. It has eternal consequences. But I cannot legislate it, and that wouldn’t even make sense if I could.

As for science and religion (the word altogether bothers me, I prefer faith or spirituality, myself) can co-exist and does. I am currently reading a piece by a world renouned scientist and devout believer Francis S. Collins, author of The Language of God and head of the Human Genome Project. Fascinating work and interesting perspective.

I hate seeing the two worlds polarized or one lauded above the other. I do think they can co-exist, assist each other.

As for looking at governement to fix cultural ills. I like what was said about fixing ourselves first–one soul at a time. But I do think, that sometimes, government may need to jump start things or give a push to something that they see beginning to take pace; sometimes waiting for one soul at a time might just take too long ie. the end of slavery, the women’s vote, child labor laws…we couldn’t wait for each individual/soul to be moved/come around and give up their slaves, embrace the idea of a woman having a voice of understanding and hiring and providing working conditions that were fair to children and workers rather than the owners of factories.

Yes, individuals brought those movements to light, but government intervention was needed to make them binding by all. I am all for small government, but I am for a government as I do not believe man will kind and considerate and fair in all of his dealing and we need a united and guiding force that holds us and our ideals to a standard that we all (majority) agree upon…and to me, that is what our democracy is about–individualism with the common good in mind.

The thing that really gets me is that the more extreme adherents to this basic philosophy seek to do exactly what they accuse the religious of seeking to do. They completely ignore the actual teaching of the religion, use a few extremists who don’t even follow their own religion as examples and justify silencing everyone based on that? We don’t have to talk about “slippery slopes” and “short steps” to see where they are going. And it isn’t a perversion of their belief that brings them there. It is the logical conclusion of the worldview.

“The government is not the solution to our problems. When we as conservatives seek governmental solutions to the issues in our culture, we are no different than the “social engineers” we seek to counteract.“

I totally agree! I have been saying this forever.

As for Dawkins…”I am against religion,” wrote Richard Dawkins, “because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.”

I think this is one of the best things I have experienced since becoming a Christian. We need to be satisfied with not understanding the world - to an extent.

I was always one of those people (and still am at times) who would drive myself crazy needing to know and understand everything. That is about control.

There are so many things in life we cannot understand and if we cannot resign ourselves to that simple truth, we will never be at peace.

Allowing us to let go is one of God’s greatest gifts to us. (IMO)