Bear with me as I think out loud...

I have been politically involved from a young age - not going door to door, but I follow those up for election, read the propositions, vote, stay involved, etc. I am not apathetic towards government. I am finding myself more and more perplexed by the "state of the state" and am not sure what there is to be done about it.

I am a Christian and know that my faith infuses all that I think and do, but I guess what I am trying to figure out is at what point (in a free society like ours) does one's personal faith affect the faith/lack of faith of others? This is a great puzzler for me as I am not sure what my responsibility as a Christian is with regards to moral issues in the public square. There are certain things I hold to be biblically immoral, but I am honestly asking how this plays out in a country that has freedom of religion? What is my responsibility and where do I have to draw the line? Does my moral compass determine what is right for others because I know the Bible to be God's inspired word? At what point does "freedom of religion" turn to "forced into my religion?"

I have no desire to return to the times of a state-run church or to the Spanish Inquisition where those who did not "tow the line" were eliminated. I have read enough history to know that I don't want to live faith by force. How does that play out in our world? How do we maintain a moral world when everyone's morality is different?

When it comes to answering questions like:

"Government should not censor any speech, press, media, or internet." and I have to answer "Yes, Maybe, No" which do I choose? As a freedom-loving American, I don't want my own thoughts and freedoms of faith in jeopardy, but there *are* inappropriate pictures on the internet, there are other horrifying things there too--and not just on the internet. Of course I don't want them available - so I do embrace censorship to some degree. There *are* appropriate things to censor. So who gets to decide what is censorable and where does our faith fit into it?

I was very interested to see the groundswell of support for Huckabee when he first came on the election scene. It seemed like he was embraced with fervor because he had all the right buzz words. His record didn't vouch so highly for him. (At least in my opinion.) I am not a person who believes that this country will be saved by politics or even by the actions of God's people. My Savior is not of this world. This does not remove our responsibility to be involved though--we have to be in a free nation or we have no say at all. Just how far though, do we go as Christians? What is our God-given, biblical calling, in the political arena? I am not talking about leaving our faith at the door of the election box--no way! I am trying to process the phrase, "You cannot legislate your morality." Do we draw lines? If so, what lines and when?

I would love to hear your thoughts. I am obviously mulling this around in my mind. I want to honor God in all that I do--to obey all His commands for me, and to glorify Him in all that I do. How do we do that politically?