  It's tough being a Christian liberal in Oklahoma. nbsp;  When I tell a fellow Christian that I vote Democrat,  they look at me like I am a turd in a punch bowl,  Satan incarnate,  or another reality TV show.
nbsp;  They look at me like I am some fetus- hater or flag- burner or like somebody dare think that Kenneth Starr did 1000 times more to hurt this country and 1/ 1000 as much to help it& nbsp;
than Bill Clinton. nbsp;  Well,  1/ 3 guilty. nbsp;
 I've taken my hit- and- run shots like " Democrats support anti- Christian& nbsp;
legislation"  ( insert the first half syllable of my retort here)  then.  " oh,
 I don't want to talk politics" nbsp;  And I've reacted with my fair share of hatered and venom,  I confess. nbsp;  (
See the& nbsp; address of my blog page for crying out loud. nbsp;  And I really don't hate anybody,  not even Georgie.
nbsp;  But when I ask someone who likes Bush what he's done,  they say it's just good to finally have a moral man in the White House. nbsp;  Great. nbsp;
 Let's send a couple hundred grand a year salary& nbsp; to every man in Promise- Keepers and let them all have the Oval Office. nbsp;  That would be fifty-
thousand times better,  wouldn't it? nbsp;  And still cheaper than the war on Iraq.  First,  I am going to try to stay on the high road here.
nbsp;  No ( more)  cheap shots on the GOP unless it's really funny,  I promise. nbsp;
 But I am going to explain to you ( fully expecting that you are capable of understanding,  my intelligent religious- right brethren and sistren) nbsp;  (
tip the hat to W.  on the made- up word)  how a man with the same Savior as you could vote left.  I am for the separation of Church and state. nbsp;
 I capitalize Church,  the body of Christ,  and not state,  a body of men. nbsp;  I am for it in every instance.
nbsp; nbsp; For example, nbsp; no Nativity scenes or& nbsp;
crosses& nbsp; at places supported by tax funds. nbsp;  I love Jesus;  but Jews,
 Muslims,  atheists and a people of a zillion other isms pay taxes. nbsp;  I don't want to pay& nbsp; for a Wheel of Enlightenment or a Star of David or a cross upside-
down shaped like a question mark or a Buddha or anything like that.  And it does not advance my belief to force the symbols of my beliefs on their sensibilities ( or lack thereof,  in cases) nbsp;  And I believe that all non-
Christians should become Christians,  but that's our job as Christians and as the Church. nbsp;  And it& nbsp; is our freedom of speech that is protected,
 to speak our minds anywhere we peacefully can,  and display our symbols proudly,  at our Churches,  on our properties and on our persons. nbsp;  And the biggest pinko liberal commie (
I)  wouldn't stand in your or anyone's& nbsp; way of doing any of that. nbsp;  Just as badly as I do not want Judaism,
 Mormon,  Buddhism or any other religion taught to my son as equally valid alternatives for to his current belief,  I don't& nbsp; want even the most trusted public school teacher trying to explain Christianity to& nbsp;
my son. nbsp; That's MY job,  with the help of well- chosen teachers in my& nbsp;
church family& nbsp; I don't intend to shelter my& nbsp; son from other beliefs,  and I intend to raise him as a free-
thinker who is true to himself,  and to be a Christian example to him,  & nbsp; so that if ( WHEN,
 I pray) nbsp; he accepts Jesus Christ in his maturity it will be& nbsp; from his heart and of his own will,  &
nbsp; and glorious(  not a formality or another ( yawn)  ceremony. nbsp;
nbsp;  And if you want& nbsp; to protect your child from any belief,  including Christianity,  public school should NOT be a place you need to avoid.
nbsp;  ( This is off the track,  but Darwinism is a scientific theory with enough& nbsp; merit to make it worthy of scientific study,
 NOT a religion. nbsp;  If you find it offensive,  tell your child that scientists used leaches as medical treatment in Darwins day,  and that some science is false,  and that the scientific method is by its own definition cyclical and neverending and never claims to arrive at any truths,
 only eventually eliminate the disproven. nbsp;  Also that Darwin was a Christian,  and had his theory published only after his intellectual peers convinced him that his theory would not harm Bible- based belief systems. nbsp;
 Teach your child to befriend non- believers,  and to be an example. nbsp;  Teach them to talk about Jesus wherever& nbsp;
anyone will listen. nbsp;  Teach your child that school prayer is NOT illegal,  that he may pray as openly and freely as he wish. nbsp;  Teach your child that it is wrong to force our beliefs on others,
 but that it is our job to always be examples and to persuade when we can.  Our government should NOT govern using the New Testament. nbsp;  ( What! nbsp;
 Yep,  you heard right. nbsp;  Nor the Old Testament,  the Koran,  the Book of Mormon.
nbsp;  If you think you want a Church run state,  please name an example of a peaceful,  graceful,  non- opressive&
nbsp; one in the past. nbsp;  And if you think that democracy will guide your Church- run state to peacefulness and prevent it from being opressive,  please remember that the winds of politics shift often,
 and that eventually the majority will be offensive to you. nbsp;  Yes,  we are a mainly Christian nation,  and yes,  our founding fathers were Christians.
nbsp;  But our founding fathers fled a Church- run state. nbsp;  They had the wisdom to not make a different Church- run state.
nbsp;  They decided,  that we,  as individuals,  families, nbsp;
and sects could believe whatever or whomever we& nbsp; chose,  wherever or however we wanted,  and that no one should feel that it is proper,  nor should it be allowed,
 to prevent anyone else from doing the same. nbsp;  And if we as Christians want to convert someone to& nbsp; Christianity,  it is OUR job,
 not the government's. nbsp;  It is not the government's nor any man's job to enforce the law of God,  it is God's. nbsp;  It seems to have worked so far,
 and by definition you will always have the right to believe the Absolute Truth,  you will always have the right to do your duty as a Christian,  and you will always have a mission field instead of a battlefield,  right in your own neighborhood. nbsp;  The Republican party has done a brilliant job of convincing you that you must be a Republican if you are to be a Christian.
nbsp;  Most of the people who sell that to you don't believe it themselves. nbsp;  It's an anything- for- a-
vote world,  and I don't claim that Democrats historically have taken& nbsp; much higher& nbsp; ground,
 except that we won't try to tell you that Jesus Christ was and is a registered& nbsp; Democrat who votes straight ticket every time the polls open. nbsp;  So puh- leeeeez,
 be a Republican if you wish,  and disagree with me if you want to be wrong,  but don't tell me that you're any closer to Jesus because of your particular beliefs on how mortal,  feet- of- clay man should run a government,
 unless you really want to explain that when it comes time for us to reckon with the Lord.
