With all of my traveling and speaking engagements in recent weeks, and with all of my writing assignments, my reading time has diminished greatly. I always get a little cranky when I don't read for a couple of days. I feel like I'm not exercising my mind. Yeah, I know a person can find other ways to do it, but for me, reading is the best way.
Several weeks ago, I started reading a book called Christianity and the Constitution written by John Eidsmoe. I haven't made a lot of progress (I'm about 125 pages into it), but so far it's been excellent. In the first chapter, Eidsmoe makes an interesting statement:
"The framers of the American Constitution based their political concepts on the tried and tested ideas of the past. These men were intelligent, well-educated, and widely read. They combined the best ideas they read about to establish a government for the United States.
"Therefore, it is appropriate to ask: What influenced the founders of this nation? Which books did they read? Which thinkers did they respect? To which theological, philosophical, and political systems did they subscribe?"
I like his premise. We're all products of what we've been taught and what we choose to believe. Now, I'm hoping to set some time aside over the next week to read his conclusions.
