'Reunited States' now available on Amazon Prime

Congress may open with prayer, but it is not a religious body. Yet religion is something that moves so very many, inescapably impacting Congress. Perhaps our attempts to increase civility and boost the best in our democracy should not neglect the role of faith in our lives. Perhaps we can even have faith play a role in uniting us.

Philia, in the sense of “brotherly love,” is one of the loves that is part of the great Christian tradition. Should not this mean Christians should love our political opponents – enough to create a functioning democracy? Then there is Paul’s letter to the Philippians: “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.” And Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” The flesh could be seen as a politics of ego, or holding grudges, or hating opponents, or lying, or even setting up straw men to knock down; serving one another in the context of a legislative body means working with each other to get to “yes” on how best to help others.