Actually, it seems to be forgotten that Jesus once ran for President, and the result was a fiasco. Since the first plank of his platform was "Love your enemies," he had no choice but to seek the nomination of both parties at the same time, promising to merge the two into one. Republicans and Democrats were brought up short by the idea. Jesus called it a win-win situation for them, given the enormous savings in campaign costs. Pollsters were bothered by Jesus's claim that he knew how the election would turn out in advance. It seems that his Father, who has a finger in everything, had tipped him off.

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The Question: E-mail: Blessing or Curse?

It would be glib to say that every blessing brings a hidden curse and every curse a hidden blessing. But I saw that since the beginning of the Iraq war, cell phones in that country skyrocketed from 850,000 to 1.6 million in a single year's time, 2004 to 2005. The real battle for the Middle East could be between the imams and the iPod. the hope being that exposure to technology will cause a new generation of moderate, progressive Muslims to evolve beyond ancient tribalism into expanded globalism. If that were to happen, e-mails would be a blessing indeed.

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The Question: What does the Eliot Spitzer scandal say about our public and private morality? Should he have resigned?

In the barely concealed glee that accompanied Gov. Spitzer's downfall, there's been a consistent theme: hypocrites deserve what they get. There was plenty of fuel for such a judgment, since Spitzer signed into law the nation's toughest penalties against men who solicit prostitutes. He was a zealous moral policeman, now ensnared in his own traps. But we shouldn't miss the prime issue here, which can be stated as a question: How much good have the moral police ever done? A predictable number of hellfire preachers have turned out to be Elmer Gantry, and some sheep-faced politicians who made a show of public piety pursued private sexual shenanigans. The spectacle is sad, laughable, unstoppable, and as old as the id.

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The Question: How should Barack Obama have responded to inflammatory remarks made by his former pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright? Are you responsible for what your spiritual leader says from the pulpit?

In the aftermath of Obama's major speech on race, one expects the affair of Rev. Wright to fade away. But one major theme of the speech was that moving beyond the racial divide can't be accomplished in a single election. It was a stretch to hold Obama culpable for a preacher's tiresome anti-white rants. Under normal circumstances nobody would call him on it, any more than Nixon would have been held responsible for Billy Graham's social views. But strategists in the Clinton camp and troublemakers on talk radio never thought of this as a moral issue. Rather, it was a political trap. They were playing on widespread doubt that Obama's integrity and idealism are too good to be true. Not so much for him as for us. He challenges us to follow our better angels, and we wind up worrying about our hidden demons.

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The Resurrection is a second-hand miracle, and for that reason a bit disappointing. Spirituality is about first-hand experience, while organized religion is forced to begin with the second-hand. How strange that the literal fact of the Resurrection remains controversial. This country was founded in the Age of Enlightenment, when a new, more rational religion -- the kind typified by Thomas Jefferson -- was supposed to replace archaic superstition and church dogma. Spiritually, throwing out the bishops was as American as throwing out the King politically. The revolution took hold, and now as children of the Enlightenment, our society is overwhelmingly secular and scientific. But this didn't heal an aching wound, the longing for redemption that the Resurrection symbolizes. For the Resurrection to be real, it must be the key to salvation.

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The Question: Which "ism" is more entrenched in America, sexism or racism? Which should religion address?

Before the question can be answered, the air needs clearing. Sexism and racism are rooted in unevolved consciousness, and both will be solved when consciousness rises. They aren't going to be solved from the pulpit, however. Catholicism will retain its traditional sexism, both spoken and implicit. Southern Baptists will remain covertly or overtly bigoted in racial matters. Protestantism in general will likely keep a genteel distance away from social action. I can't see choosing between racism and sexism to begin with -- both are throwbacks to an outworn attitude that promoted white males to special privilege in God's creation. Religion was one of the chief bulwarks of this world view, so turning to it for a remedy seems ironic. I'd put much more trust in the growing spiritual movement outside the church.

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