Thoughts on Sarah Palin

I’m going to take a bit of a risk here and bring up a rather controversial issue, specifically, what are Christians to think (and do) about the present situation of Sarah Palin being the Republican vice-presidential nominee. In raising this subject, I’m not looking for a debate. I don’t have time for a debate, nor do I feel qualified for one. Rather, I hope to provoke thoughts on this issue that may be helpful in the decision-making process that many conscientious people are going through right now.

I realize that there are a myriad of questions swirling around in peoples’ heads regarding this issue. In this post, I don’t want to deal with all of them. Rather, I’d like to focus on just one, that of whether or not it is right for a woman to be a leader in civil government.

As my friends and family know, I wholeheartedly believe that God has called all women to be home-focused, and that normatively God calls women to be wives and mothers. As I raise my daughter, I will teach her to make home her first priority, encouraging her that this focus is vastly important to the furtherance of the gospel and the kingdom of heaven.

Although I do believe that Scripture admonishes women to make home their first priority, I have not found that it prohibits them from involvement elsewhere. Perhaps I should back up. Women are specifically prohibited from teaching in the church, thereby also prohibiting them from being elders in the church. Also, in the case that a woman’s husband or father is living, she is not to take the role of head of the household. But, other than these things, I cannot find a prohibition on women participating in roles and realms outside of the home.

When a married woman considers whether or not she should put her attentions toward something other than her duties at home, she must be thoughtful of how the activity will impact her family. If it does not bless her husband and children, but rather hinders her from being the wife and mother she is called to be, the extra activity must be forgotten, at least for a time. Her family must take precedence.

I must admit, it is hard for me to think that Sarah Palin - being the mother of five and her youngest having Down’s Syndrome - actually has time to take on the responsibilities required to be vice president. But, I do not know her. Perhaps she and her husband have so ordered their lives that she actually can do both. If I were an elder in her church perhaps I’d have some say in the matter. But I’m not.

In a nutshell, I’m not prepared to say that it is Scripturally wrong for Sarah Palin to be vice president. That said, I will hasten to add that although I do not believe Scripture explicitly prohibits women from holding office in civil government, I do not believe it encourages it either. “The fact that something is lawful and exceptional does not keep it from being exceptional.”

The previous sentence is a quote from one of the posts in Doug Wilson’s blog; if you’d like to read some (MUCH) deeper, more detailed thoughts on this issue I would recommend you pay him a visit. Click here to go directly to his posts on politics. So far, I’ve especially appreciated the posts entitled An Epistemological Pileup and The Creation Order and Sarah. As I have said regarding the other links I’ve included on my blog, please know that I don’t agree with Mr. Wilson on everything; read with discernment and through the lens of truth, namely the Word of God.

Another quick point…although I may be excited about Sarah Palin, she’s still stuck with John McCain, who I’m not so excited about. But that’s another topic for another time.

I do not believe that I or any other human being is infallible and I know that what I have written may (and probably does) contain error. I would welcome any comments, so long as they are gracious. I may or may not respond to them, depending on my family schedule.

Above all, let us remember that God is sovereign. He is not only in control of all events, but actually orchestrating them. He will guide us into truth on this and all other matters. May his name be glorified at this unique time in our nation’s history.