Religion and politics have gotten so entangled during my lifetime. I grew up in a pretty conservative church. They encouraged me to take my Bible to school everyday, which I did. They convinced me that dancing was sinful and I never went to a dance in high school. I'm not sure why dancing was a sin, (we didn't talk about that), but the implication was that dancing was just a warm up for sex. As an adult I found that dancing was fun and good exercise. One of the most delightful things that ever happened to me was when one of my students taught me to fox trot and danced with me at the prom. I've made a point to teach someone else to fox trot every year since then.

Jerry Falwell said the other day that evangelical Christians control the Republican Party. I'm an evangelical Christian and I think Jerry Falwell is a self-centered idiot. I'm pretty sure he doesn't understand God all that well. Rather, he twists the Bible around to say what Jerry Falwell wants to say. He was one of the group that would have celebrated that I never danced.

Conservative Baptists took over the financial assets of the Southern Baptist convention a few years back by seizing on a weakness in the Convention‘s political design. The Moderates (There weren't any card carrying liberals in the SBC) tried to rally support for their side at first. After awhile they found the whole fighting thing unseemly and they just withdrew. It wasn't that the moderates couldn't win a pitched battle. They just couldn't bring themselves to pitch a battle. The people who took over had not built the convention nor contributed very much to its infrastructure. They just took everything. Largely they were independent folks, not convention folks at all. It was an ugly sight and the SBC gets wackier and less Christian every year. Fortunately there are Baptists who stayed on the same course the convention had before the takeover. They are called the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Now Jerry Falwell assures me that those fighting, thieving conservative Christians are running the country. What are their issues in politics?

Abortion is number one isn't it? Never mind that the mother might die. She'll just have to die. It's God's will, they say. But John 10:10 quotes Jesus saying, "I came that you might have abundant life." Makes sense to me to let the pregnant person and a doctor make decisions about their life. It must be hard to have an abortion.

Guns are number one also. Can't have too many guns. Guns keep us safe. And guns kill thousands of innocent people each year. About as many as are killed in cars? Do we need guns as much as we need cars? I'm old and have never had a gun. Always felt pretty safe too. I wonder if I'd feel super safe if I went out and bought an Uzi.

Another Republican issue is locking up criminals and executing anyone that we can. They've also eliminated rehab programs in prisons. Those criminals don't need to know how to stay sober; they need to be punished. Since it cost less to keep someone in jail for life than to execute them, and since being in jail for life is terrible beyond my imagination, wouldn't it be worse punishment . . . Oh yes but there is the vengeance thing. Didn't God say something about that too?

Two other big issues. Rich pay too much in taxes. Poor people reap too many benefits from the government. Seems to me that capitalism has been pretty good to rich folks. Didn't the tax system tax up to fifty-something percent of high incomes years ago. Now it is only 35% isn't it? Now they want a sales tax so they will only pay 25% on a portion of their income.

I was talking to President Jimmy Carter a while back. At a little party. Family type thing. I was honored to be invited. We were standing around munching munchies and I said "I don't see how anyone can be a Republican these days." He shook his head back and forth and said quietly. . . "Me either."

Lot's of folks have badmouthed President Carter. I wonder if they have ever met him. He is a brilliant man. He does have principles though and that is a weakness in a politician. Still, he's my favorite President. What an impact on the world. He's like the eveready bunny. President Carter is a member of one of those moderate Baptist churches. I'll bet he can fox trot.