As a three-term Republican senator from Missouri and an Episcopal priest, John Danforth has watched the changes in his party and the church with growing alarm. Now he wants to voice his concerns and call for change. Danforth speaks out clearly against the religious right's conflation of their political agenda with a religious agenda. He castigates the religious right for their focus on wedge issues that drive people apart and that create "tests" for religious orthodoxy. He looks closely at many of the major wedge issues of our day: abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, the Schiavo case, and public displays of religion; and provides a blueprint for moving forward by calling for Christians to look ways in which they can practice their faith day to day so as to inspire a trust and focus on common ground, not fringe issues.--From publisher description.

Are Christians reconcilers or dividers? -- Christian love and practical politics -- A quest for certainty -- A look at the wedge issues -- Public religion -- The case of Terry Schiavo -- Abortion and judicial restraint -- Stem cell research -- Gay marriage -- Family values -- Moving forward together -- The need to speak out and to act -- Blessed are the peacemakers -- American compassion toward a suffering world -- Combating character assassination -- Paul's primer for politics.