Alito...

Yay for confirmation hearings. What else is there to watch on such a gloriously rainy cold day? I really urge you to take advantage of this time to see what your elected representatives are actually doing on the Judicial Committee. I call myself a moderate, tend to be more conservative, but I really enjoyed hearing Sen. Dick Durbin ask Judge Alito questions. They could carry on a conversation with each other and it was an amazing contrast to the embarrassing display of Sen. Kennedy (notice I was commending Durbin: he is a democrat from Illinois)). I have been fascinated about the inability for many on both sides of the isle to not be able to get over Roe and ask other questions probing the minds of our judicial nominees. It is as if the Supreme Court hears no cases other than on abortion. Can there be anything more important? I do not mean to down play the importance of the abortion issue, but so much more is at stake in a judicial nomination than one or two issues.

That is something that tends to get lost in politics today. Things are personal, and I am not trying to say, "Cease having convictions!" But at some point we must realize that the philosophies associated with both abortion and homosexuality do not lay out how to run all aspects of a government. Single or dual issue platforms are not the answer. Just because one candidate matches our position on the two does not mean that he or she is not a fool, unqualified, or corrupt. So often we believe that if we project our morals into the national arena that the world will see the light. Many times we (this makes me responsible as well) fail to realize that even though we champion a cause, we can run over individuals and leave our witness somewhere behind us in the dust.

I have been struggling over "rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar's" and how little and how much Jesus mentioned the politics of the time. I have been thinking about law, etc. again. What is the balance between policy and love? It seems as though Jesus has the pattern of getting angry at the Jews/Church and coming down hard on them, yet gently addressing the gentiles. I am working on the ideas of Christians in politics, government and law, because I am so inspired and awakened by the challenges they presents yet, I am also fearful of how competitive I become and prideful I am. That is what Washington lives on. I have been struggling with the desire to be known and great or to be known only in Christ.