PREFACE

I feel a moral obligation to release what I have written so far. I have completed two out of ten chapters, and the remaining eight are presented in outline format.

When I began work on this book, the political landscape was much different. Bush was high in the polls, many saying they voted for him on “moral” issues. Jerry Falwell was still alive, and the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress.

Since then, much has changed: Hurricane Katrina, displeasure with the ongoing occupation of Iraq, ongoing attacks on the constitution, and the emergence of liberal talk radio. Bush’s approval rating has sunk to about 1 out of 3 surveyed.

Other books, dealing with subject matter similar to this one, have been published, including God’s Politics by Jim Wallis, How the Republicans Stole Christmas by Bill Press, and Our Endangered Values by Jimmy Carter.

I took time out from writing to read those books. In early 2006, I also started getting more and more involved with the Green Party of Minnesota and the various candidates we were running. I also attended some conservative churches to see first-hand who I was writing about, and to meet people with differing perspectives. Before the 2006 election, I wrote an essay, Leap of Faith, which is a summary of the message of this book (See the Epilogue).

I had intended to get back to writing before the 2008 campaign season, but a cleaning project led to genealogy, transcription, and reading projects, and now here we are, approaching another even-numbered year, and I feel that it’s more important to spend time working for the Green Party. In addition, I work a full time day job, and I would like to have more of a social life.

Another consideration is that the common wisdom in politics is to focus on your base and don’t waste a lot of time arguing with people who don’t agree with you. Given that Republican numbers are so low, it may be that they don’t stand much chance of winning anyway. And given that Democratic voters are becoming increasingly frustrated with their own party, I feel that the moral thing to do now may be to reach for the low-hanging fruit, and try to educate people on the differences between the Green Party and the corporate parties. If a critical mass of say 15% can be reached, then perhaps a majority can be reached to bring about genuine political change. Ideally though, I would like to see us joined by both Democrats and Republicans, and that’s why I started this project.

When I’m not working on politics, I would also like to research ecovillages and intentional communities, perhaps before it’s too late.

By releasing what I have written so far, I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. My mother reminded me that since the Bible was written over many years by many authors, categorizing and analyzing verses from throughout it would no doubt be a daunting task. By publishing what I have, I leave the option open to revisit it or not, and to allow the possibility of accepting assistance from others.

So I have written a bunch of timely content interwoven with timeless ancient writings, and I want to share it before 2008. And there is so much more to say. For the sake of all that is Righteous and Holy, we must never vote Republican again.