Paul's letter to the culture

Dear Romans

Blessings to you in the name of my God whom you do not recognize but who recognizes you. I come as a humble servant of God with a meek request regarding your behavior. Perhaps you have heard of or read my previous letter to the church in your midst. Whether yes or no, in summation I encouraged them to walk by faith and to live righteously before their God. It has come to my attention, however, that your cultural practices perhaps may tempt members of the church to forsake their convictions. Thus, I ask that you change certain practices so that the church may have a chance to thrive.

My list of requests is not long or burdensome. I would ask that you forsake - perhaps even outlaw - polygamy, pedophilia, corruption, homosexuality, blood sports, gluttony, backbiting and drunkenness. I have made the same demands of the church but I now recognize they will have a hard time obeying God if they see you living according to a different set of rules.

Now, I want to say up front that I believe you'll have a hard time maintaining these changes. The church obviously is struggling and we have God helping us. Without His assistance, I fear you are doomed to fail. But I'd still like you to try. Who knows, maybe you'll surprise me.

I look forward to meeting with your government representatives when I visit next month. Perhaps we can discuss my letter in further detail. Until then

Faithfully,
Paul

PS - you really should give Jesus a try. He'd make this whole effort so much easier.