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"ere are a lot of reasons that in-depth Bible studies are important
to political leaders. Let me start with the most obvious one, and
that is fellowship itself. You can have fellowship over at the bar or
the g ym and a lot of places, but for people who profess a common
faith in Jesus Christ, the opportunity to fellowship together in His
name while studying His Word is extremely important, especially
for government leaders because there are so many other things
that don't bring us together. ey emphasize where we're different,
particularly in this culture we are living in now, so there is this
incredible benefit of being with brothers and sisters who you grow
to love and who you share intimate things with, who you love but
who hold you accountable, that is invaluable to our political process,
in my view, today.
"But more in particular in the Senate Bible study, we drill down
pretty deep. We spend weeks on a single verse, then on a single
chapter, and several weeks on a specific passage to begin to
understand intellectually. Because we are intellectual people, as
politicians and government officials, we are naturally intellectually
curious. And so, to be able to take that natural intellectual curiosity
and apply it to Scripture with the benefit of good teaching and the
additional benefit of collective wisdom of the participants is very
rich. And it also allows us to drill down on theolog y and doctrine
and application of Scripture rather than laws and regulations
and other things, and there is therapy in that too. Perhaps the
most important thing is at the end of the day we have a source of
encouragement and a source of direction and a source of correction
that is really important to the decisions we make as individuals and
as an institution."
KEVIN CRAMER
U.S. Senator, North Dakota
