Jim looks forward to our first openly atheist president. Given the rhetoric, I can understand why (even Luther said he would rather "be ruled by a wise Turk than a foolish Christian." I think we could easily substitute "atheist" for "Turk." In Luther's Germany, to be a Turk was as bad as it could get).

I think we have probably already had at least one atheist president, who went along with American civil religion (which calls itself Christianity, even when it doesn't look much like Jesus) in order to get elected. This, of course, is difficult to prove, but given a politicians' willingness to say what is necessary in order to get elected, it seems likely.

And, for most of our history, a show of faith has been necessary to get elected in a country where the majority of people make a show of faith.

That, of course, is changing. With each generation, the number of Christians, and the number of Theists, is declining. If these trends continue, we (I consider my self both) will be in the minority very soon. According to some counts, we are already (although not among voters, which is key to this post).

So based on that, the USA may be electing its last Christian president this election cycle. If the president serves 8 years, this is quite likely (especially if young people start voting).

There is a possible mitigating factor, however. More and more Latinos and Latinas are growing as a percentage in this country, and will eventually become a majority. This demographic, while far from monolithic, is far more likely to be Roman Catholic.

Either way, it looks unlikely that Protestants and Evangelicals will remain a force in politics. This will be quite an adjustment for those who are used to running the world. Democracy is a kick in the pants, sometimes.

It may be, that Theists hang on for a while and we have another Roman Catholic president. It depends on whether young Latinos and Latinas keep the faith and/or vote.

My guess? Jim, your wish will come true. We will have an openly atheist president within 20 years. (Provided the nation holds on that long, but that's another post and another time)

And I don't think it will be bad for the Christian church, either. We're better off without power.

A good speech here:

Essex corners' newest place Is open. They are next to Urban Roots and are kind of a "back of the house" operation for Dolci on Elmwood.

I didn't get any gelato because I had eaten sweets all morning, but (e:janelle) got a coffee and I had a slice of white pizza. Both were very good, and affordable. The people were nice, too.

At the same time, Urban Roots was celebrating their one year anniversary and was full of life (human and plant, both.)

I think the day that everyone feared is finally arriving: gentrification. The place was just packed with preppy, cute, white people. Of course, there were still signs of the stagnation that has been in that section of town for a long time, too, but my sensors say that things are underway.

I think it can be done right, however. People are working to keep affordable housing available no matter what. Property values are going to climb a little bit, but that is necessary to provide an economic incentive to make it a nice place to live.

Anyway, go get a gelato or a slice of pizza. I promise you won't inflate property values too much, (at least not until the city/state start taking care of their properties) and you will be satisfied with your choice.

It's our weekly meeting of "house church."

If anybody wants to stop in, tonight is a good night. There will be a few other new people, and root beer floats, too.

Agenda:

7-7:30. Float making/hanging out/getting to know one another

7:30-8:15. Reading a piece of scripture and talking about how it might shape us.

8:15-8:30 Praying for one another.

It's open to everybody. Nobody has to do anything that they do not want to. No particular belief is necessary.

At 8:30, provided we end on time, we might walk to the Village Beer Merchant. There is a free tasting until 9.

My house is 265 Lexington. It's yellow.

$10k is a whole lot to spend on a car from 1998, but this is tempting: