Gotta make this short 'cause The Screaming One and The Melancholy One are having a lover's quarrel in the hallway.

I feel sick when professors bring modern politics into Religion class. Like Brother M. did yesterday, usually I love his class, but on Monday he started soliliquizing about how the government has taken away true freedom of religion, making our country Socialist and ripe for destruction, of course. He was saying there should be a law that makes all actions exempt from punishment if they were done as part of someone's religion. Brother M. cited a case when two Native Americans were fired for using peyote in a ritual. I pointed out that some people in this country have created religions based on child molestation, but I was too angry to elaborate further. Even if some sort of clause about "all religious actions are legal as long as they do not infringe on another person's rights" were added to the law he proposed, the child molesting cults would still be able to rape children if the children's parents, also part of the cult, consented, since children have no rights. Yes, I agree that God said that the ideal government would only insure the freedom of conscience, control of property, and protection of life of its citizens, but I also know that we do not live in an ideal country filled with ideal people. The truth is that, left to themselves, a few twisted people would end up sucking everyone's groundwater onto their land, filling everyone's air with their poison, and taking everyone's money with their monopoly.
Don't get me wrong, Brother M. surely has his reasons for holding the political beliefs he does, but I object to him taking any political opinions and applying them in Religion class, declaring, "Thus sayeth the prophets!"
Our church has a set of core values, but it does not dictate how its members apply those values in their political decisions. Several times here I have added one of my opinions to a discussion and had others step back with worried looks. With all honesty, I do not believe that any of my views contradict what I know to be true. Unfortunately, no one likes to be moderate or logical. Making sense does not incite passionate rallies or fervent campaigns.