r e f l e c t . . . k c o l i v e b r a n c h

I was recently in a conversation where it was asserted that evangelical Christians have become so rigid and myopic in their political views that they can’t be swayed from the Republican Party anymore. According to early exit polls, that opinion might need some rethinking.

If you know evangelical Christians, or happen to be one, you know the primary concern is salvation through Jesus Christ. You also know that the political implications can include pro-life stances in terms of abortion, but also in terms of poverty, human rights, war and capital punishment. Most importantly, their faith does include a desire for high standards of integrity and morality from its leaders. So perhaps it’s no surprise that along with the weariness of President Bush’s foreign policies, another dominant reason for Democratic success this year was scandal. 

Mary Sanchez on SOA

The assassinations of six Jesuits and two housekeepers at the University of Central America in November, 1989 sparked the first protest vigil at the School of the Americas, where some of the assassins and planners were trained. Seventeen years later, SOA Watch expects 20,000 people to descend upon the gates of Ft. Benning, GA to protest what has since been renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. The event takes place Nov. 17-19.

Last year, after the fact, Mary Sanchez wrote an excellent column connecting SOA Watch protests and the life and death of Oscar Romero. As a reminder of why so many Kansas Citians attend, read her column here.

— Michael Humphrey

Return to www.kcolivebranch.org

If you vote in Missouri on Nov. 7, you will help decide the nation’s most-watched ballot measure — Amendment 2: Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. If paid advertisements have been your only source of information, then you are experiencing the fog of war. It is cloning, it’s not cloning. Yikes.

For those interested in a balanced, faith-based, view of the topic, National Catholic Reporter offers both an in-depth cover story and an editorial. You won’t finish the pieces knowing how Jesus would vote, but you will notice the fog has thinned a bit.

Jacob’s Well gets national pub

Recently, Jason Byassee, Christian Century assistant editor, headed to Midtown’s own Jacob’s Well, “hoping that it could help me understand a phenomenon that remains elusive—the Emergent church.” Read here what he found.

David Kuo’s “Tempting Faith”

David Kuo, former deputy of the Bush administration’s faith-based initiative office, has been a media regular lately as he promotes his book. But few interviewers did a better job than “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer’s” Ray Suarez. Read, listen or watch here.

— Michael Humphrey

Return to kcolivebranch.org

Mr. Roberts, editor of the National Catholic Reporter, delivered this speech to Kansans for Faithful Citizenship on Sept. 23, 2006.

If you’ve encountered the same kind of wisdom I did while growing up, then you’ve heard that if you want to remain a respected member of polite society you don’t bring up religion or politics. I leave you to draw your own conclusions about someone who would accept an invitation to speak of both at the same time.