false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255646345m/2939516.jpg 2939516 1 <p>&#8220;People who take God seriously will not remain silent about their faith. They will often disagree about doctrine or policy, but they won&#8217;t be quiet. They can&#8217;t be. They&#8217;ll act on what they believe, sometimes at the cost of their reputations and careers. Obviously the common good demands a respect for other people with different beliefs and a willingness to compromise whenever possible. But for Catholics, the common good can never mean muting themselves in public debate on foundational issues of human dignity. Christian faith is always personal but never private. This is why any notion of tolerance that tries to reduce faith to private idiosyncrasy, or a set of opinions that we can indulge at home but need to be quiet about in public, will always fail.&#8221;<br>&#8212;From the Introduction</p><p>Few topics in recent years have ignited as much public debate as the balance between religion and politics. Does religious thought have any place in political discourse? Do religious believers have the right to turn their values into political action? What does it truly mean to have a separation of church and state? The very heart of these important questions is here addressed by one of the leading voices on the topic, Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver. <br>While American society has ample room for believers and nonbelievers alike, Chaput argues, our public life must be considered within the context of its Christian roots. American democracy does not ask its citizens to put aside their deeply held moral and religious beliefs for the sake of public policy. In fact, it <i>requires </i>exactly the opposite. <br>As the nation&#8217;s founders knew very well, people are fallible. The majority of voters, as history has shown again and again, can be uninformed, misinformed, biased, or simply wrong. Thus, to survive, American democracy depends on an engaged citizenry &#8212;people of character, including religious believers, fighting for their beliefs in the public square&#8212;respectfully but vigorously, and without apology. Anything less is bad citizenship and a form of theft from the nation&#8217;s health. Or as the author suggests: Good manners are not an excuse for political cowardice.<br>American Catholics and other persons of goodwill are part of a struggle for our nation&#8217;s future, says Charles J. Chaput. Our choices, including our political choices, matter. Catholics need to take an active, vocal, and morally consistent role in public debate. We can&#8217;t claim to personally believe in the sanctity of the human person, and then act in our public policies as if we don&#8217;t. We can&#8217;t separate our private convictions from our public actions without diminishing both. In the words of the author, &#8220;How we act works backward on our convictions, making them stronger or smothering them under a snowfall of alibis.&#8221;<br>Vivid, provocative, clear, and compelling, <i>Render unto Caesar</i> is a call to American Catholics to serve the highest ideals of their nation by first living their Catholic faith deeply, authentically.</p> 2968943 12 8 2008 Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life total:31|5:14|4:10|3:5|2:2|1:0| 31 129 70 14 0 1 false false Wed Aug 20 07:12:21 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 16:15:59 -0700 2008 definite purchase. Just read this news piece, 'Just three weeks into the publication of “Render Unto Caesar,” Archbishop Charles Chaput’s new book has made the New York Times Best Seller list. The archbishop’s book is currently one place ahead of “Promises to Keep,...more...]]> 0 1 false false Mon Sep 22 06:29:09 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 19:38:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 07:10:25 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 07:29:57 -0700 2009
"The sooner Catholics...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Dec 02 12:23:21 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 02 12:29:07 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 true false Tue Oct 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 07 14:34:10 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 21 21:11:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 10:55:46 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 10:57:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Dec 01 08:59:23 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 09:02:10 -0800 2008
I'd advising anyone to read it, particularly those who have concerns regarding Separation of Church and State as apposed to separation of faith in politics.

I'll probably read this book again.]]> 2 0 false false Sat Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 07:01:24 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 05:07:36 -0700 2009
Part 2...I am having a very hard time getting through this - I am impressed my teenager made it through - of course, he didn't have a choic...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 18 17:52:17 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 17:53:35 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Dec 16 20:10:44 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 08:47:51 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Sun Oct 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 30 22:11:56 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 11:22:25 -0700 2009 Chaput has some good American...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Oct 23 14:21:25 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 11 20:18:19 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 23 14:21:25 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Sep 17 08:44:11 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 17 08:45:06 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Oct 27 11:14:40 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 27 11:14:40 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu Nov 12 17:32:51 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 12 17:32:51 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Sep 22 15:11:48 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 15:11:48 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Aug 31 16:00:29 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 16:00:29 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 21:07:18 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 21:11:23 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 19:18:02 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 05:56:25 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Aug 19 13:04:48 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 13:04:48 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2939516