» Washington Post: In Speech on Faith, Romney Vows to Serve 'No One Cause' (Dan Balz)
» NY Times: Romney, Eye on Evangelicals, Defends His Faith (Michael Luo)
» Boston Globe: Romney vows a balance on religion (Michael Levenson)
» First Person: Romney Discusses His Faith (video)

Part of the reason why I've withheld politics on this blog is that I view it as something very separate from faith. For too often, I've met more than a few folks who would even go so far as to suggest that while they may not be considered "church-going," they vote a certain way or cling to a few political beliefs, so that sorta makes up for it. And then, I go to any number of Christian blogs only to find a political blog by any other name. To at least me, it's tiring and pointless.

Besides, I work around a lot of political clients. I'm pretty actively engaged in that area, blog about it even. But I try not to confuse the political with what it means to believe in Christ. There's by no means a perfect separation - I tend to agree with Joel Hunter's view that we should have a worldview inspired by and informed by our faith. But I also adhere to Greg Boyd's view that the worlds aren't the same and should not be confused as such.

There's obviously a lot of ground to explore between those two points and numerous authors have spilt a great deal of ink exploring it. Between now and about March or so, my own reading list is flooded with that ink. And with Mitt Romney's speech, the point now becomes worth talking about in both the political as well as faith-filled realms. I've only given the speech one pass-through, so I'll wait till the weekend to comment on it. The news links above give some breakdown on the topic. If you want a few opinionated takes, Michael Gerson and EJ Dionne offer theirs. While those two view it from different political angles, I at least claim a bit of respect for both writers. Christianity Today's Collin Hansen also offers his thoughts.

So, all that to basically say: More this weekend. I feel rotten whenever I don't get in much blogging time after my Monday & Tuesday video ritual. But the workday is picking up some steam and I'm once more facing some big projects with short timelines. It's a good thing I love what I do ... otherwise, I'd complain.

On a sidenote - and something of a complaint, I managed to start two different books this week: Francis Collin's "The Language of God" - an average sized book; and Taylor Branch's "Parting the Waters" - a HUGE first book of a HUGE 3-part trilogy on the civil rights years. I managed to make my way through about 1/3rd of Collins' book in mostly one sitting in church last weekend. But I've only been able to make my way through less than 50 pages or so of Branch's. I think I just need to get used to lugging around a hefty book for my so-called casual reading habit.