The Day After Yesterday: A Biblical Response to the 2008 Election

Today, we usher in a new age in America. Barack Obama has won the Presidency in what appears to be an electoral landslide.

I’m not going to sugarcoat anything here. This election, Americans voted into office a man who supports abortion on demand, to the degree that a baby born alive during such a procedure should be allowed to die. A man who does not believe Americans should be able to keep what they earn, preferring instead to give it to people who are already paid to sit on their butts. A man who wants to force people to buy insurance they can’t afford, simply because he believes (though this is a good and right belief) all children should be insured. A man who wants to de-fund our military and undermine the work they have already done in the Middle East. A man who will actually drive our national debt up. A man who was able to lead so many people nationwide, hearing and Deaf, into a false sense of hope.

Yes, that’s right, false hope. Most of those false hopes aren’t even of his own making, but are the direct result of a media run amuck. I was told today of a Deaf person who said they voted for Obama “because the news captioned him when he was on and didn’t caption McCain!” Many Deaf in my own city said they were supporting Obama simply on the strength of a letter his campaign sent to the National Association of the Deaf, whereas McCain did not even bother to send a letter. It was said this single letter was proof that “Obama supports Deaf.” Whether that’s true or not is easily verifiable, but hopefully you get the idea.

We can’t ignore the component of color and the significance of this moment. Though Obama is bi-racial, his self-identification as black means we have elected the first ever black president. I don’t know about you, but that means we just saw history made. This is a huge, huge development! Just over 40 years ago black people in America were a deeply oppressed minority, subject to Jim Crow and rampant discrimination. Now our President-Elect is a black man! What a gigantic leap of progress we have made as a people. May God be glorified that color is ever increasingly less important in judging a person’s character and qualifications. Barack Obama is, quite simply, created in the image of God, and that’s all we ever need to consider.

But we must consider another aspect of this election that, in my opinion, is becoming quite sinister and damning of our national, spiritual and individual character. We must consider our response to this election.

The reaction from many Democrats , Obama supporters, and left-leaning Christians has been predictable: gloating, elitism, utter disrespect and disregard for anyone who had a different opinion and vote about who should lead this country. It is almost as if they’re saying, “Anyone who would not vote for Obama is backwards, cannot think for themselves, bigoted, standing in the way of progress, and ought to move to Iran.” Yes, seriously, I’ve even heard a supporter suggest that evangelicals who don’t support Obama should move to Iran! There has been a rash of name-calling, insults, and other not-so-kind slights of character by the victors since about midnight, after an Obama victory became obvious. This kind of thinking is typical of the vocal component of the political/theological left and of some Democrats.

But the reaction from some Republicans, McCain supporters, and conservative Christians has been less than stellar. They aren’t getting off scot-free, here! Some have reacted as if The Day After Tomorrow has taken place in real-life (hence the pic opening this post). There is fear that Hell has frozen over. There is talk that moral values in America are about to experience a rapid plunge, if not an outright demise. There is rhetoric that, with this election, America is abandoning freedom for socialism. And from the less kind among these folks, there is just as much name-calling, insults, and not-so-kind slights of character towards “Obamamaniacs” and Democrats.

None of these reactions from these groups are appropriate. I tend to say, quite tongue in cheek, that the first group proves Total Depravity, and the second group proves they don’t really believe God’s in control. But all this aside, how should believers respond biblically to what happened in the 2008 election?

1. Stick to your Scriptural convictions.
Don’t give up on your firmly held beliefs. The Bible clearly says that only those who endure to the end will be saved (Matt. 10:22, 24:13; Mark 13:13; 1 Corinthians 13:7; 2 Corinthians 1:6; Hebrews 12:7). 2 Timothy 2:12 summarizes the position of Scripture here by stating that “if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us.” (ESV) If we endure this time when our nation has seemingly approved of tossing what God calls good out the window, and live righteously and justly, we will further confirm our place in the kingdom of God. And we shouldn’t endure only an Obama presidency, we must endure all things for the sake of the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:12; 2 Timothy 2:10). Go beyond enduring this new President. Endure those who ridicule you and your support of someone other than Obama. Endure those who call evil good. Endure all things so that some might be saved.

Eric Redmond, writing over at Justin Taylor’s blog (go read the whole thing), says “it is not virtuous to side with the majority because one does not wish to stand out among friends, or because one is unwilling to examine all information on an issue, or because one wants to dispense dislikes toward current leadership, in spite of righteous reasons to vote against the majority—in fact, under some circumstances, it can be a horrendous evil.” While he is speaking of how one should vote in this quote, it is equally true of how we should react to the results. Don’t abandon Scriptural convictions in the face of moral decline.

2. Be obedient to Scripture.
Remember what I wrote yesterday? Scripture is clear that we are to live in submission to our government (Romans 13:1). This means we are required to obey the laws we have elected Obama to enforce; we are required by God to pray for him (1 Timothy 2:1-2); and we are required to honor him (Romans 13:7; 1 Peter 2:13-18). Be obedient to the Bible’s commands to submit to authority.

3. Live redemptively in this new age.
If you take a serious look at the Scriptures we’ve used here in this post, there is an underlying theme that runs through the entire concept presented here. Have you noticed it yet? Here’s a hint: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) You see that? There is no law against living out #1 and #2. If you follow these first two encouragements, you ought to be displaying the fruit of the Spirit. And if you are displaying the fruit of the Spirit, who can bring accusation against you? Who can ridicule you without looking utterly stupid and foolish? Who can call you backward, bigoted, rigid, and stupid without looking like a bigot themselves? Who can say you “need to move to Iran” without making him/herself look like an intolerant idiot?

Indeed, if we are living out our obedience to God and manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, any idiot can look at you and say, “We need more Americans like that!”

And when you’ve done that, you have made absolutely sure that the only stumbling block in front of you is the Gospel itself. They have no reason to be offended by you except for the Gospel. And God has promised through his Word that some will hear and believe that Gospel.

You see, even this election result is under God’s express control, and even the election of a blasphemer to the highest office in the land can bring God glory. So what will you do? Will you work to bring God glory by how you live under an Obama presidency? Will you work to bring glory to God by how you relate to our President-Elect? Will you work to make the Gospel the only offense “Obamamaniacs” have against you? Let’s pray.

Lord, we come to you humbled by your sovereign control over all things. You have allowed Barack Obama to be voted into office. It is obvious to all that he is your man for this time. We humbly and joyfully submit to your will for America and our government. Humbly, because you alone are responsible for the authority we voted to give Obama. Joyfully, because your will has been done, and it was a history-making, barrier-shattering will; and because you are doing a new thing in our lives with this new President.

We beg of you to create in us clean hearts, O God; and to renew steadfast spirits within us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation, and take not your Holy Spirit from us. Empower your people, O Lord, to endure all things until the end, no matter how impossible we may think it is nor how evil we may believe it to be. Empower us to honor you by our conduct towards our government. Let us glorify you by submitting to Barack Obama. Let us lift up your name by lifting Obama up to you in prayer. Let us shine your light on America and the world by our obedience to the laws Obama has been selected to uphold.

Make us more like your Son Jesus Christ day by day. Make us to display the fruit of your Holy Spirit, that none may have reason to accuse us. Make us nothing before your Gospel of salvation, that our only offense may be that Gospel alone.

Finally, Lord, we beg of you to glorify yourself in this day. Glorify yourself in Barack Obama. Glorify yourself in Joe Biden. Glorify yourself in the midst of all that has happened and will happen. Glorify your name in all the earth!

In the most high and holy name of your Son Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

On the Eve of An Election

As the 2008 Election comes to maturity this week, it is appropriate that we take a few moments to seriously consider this opportunity. Many of us will head to the polls tomorrow. Many of us will vote for John McCain. Many of us will vote for Barack Obama.

I am convinced that this election presents us with the worst choices we have ever faced. On the Republican side of things, we are faced with essentially the status quo, with a few changes that reflect that John McCain is most definitely not President Bush. On the Democratic side, we are faced with negative change, and a candidate who has consistently refused to be clear about what he really believes, talking out of both sides of his mouth.

Obama is most definitely (politically speaking) an Antichrist. He is a far, far-left Democrat, though he is not, thankfully, an extremist. He has no new ideas. All of his ideas have historically failed. He is a flat-out supporter of abortion on demand, no matter his rhetoric about wanting to reduce the number of abortions (a flat-out lie any way you slice it). He has repeatedly stated his first order of business if he gains the White House is to sign a bill into law that essentially eliminates all restrictions on abortion. His economic plan will actually put this country further in debt, a prospect which I have no desire to foist upon my daughter. He thinks children in school should be required to think homosexuality is okay. I have no intention of calling what God calls evil good, nor do I intend to teach my daughter to do the same. Further, he wants to take my hard-earned money and give it to the welfare recipient who is essentially being paid to make babies and sit on his/her butt. Incredibly, he even thinks it’s cheaper for us to buy insurance for our children. Last I checked, that’s not what Grace’s doctor bills said. He has no qualms about saying what people want to hear in order to get their support. He is even endorsed by terrorists. He doesn’t even want to finish the job in the Middle East! And that’s apparently not enough to make thinking people step back and say, “Wait a minute….”

McCain is most definitely the lesser of these two evils (and I’m getting very, very tired of this terminology). He is essentially the opposite of each of the positions I’ve given above. The only real positives of his platform are, for instance, energy independence by relying on our own resources (drill baby drill); stopping the flow of money to foreign countries that, in his words, “don’t like us very much;” a willingness to tackle the credit crisis head on (even though he hasn’t even articulated how yet); stopping handouts to businesses and corporations through tax incentives; winning in the Middle East; and so on. If not for his selection of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, I would have been tempted to not even bother voting for him. I’d have been tempted to waste my vote by going third party or not voting at all. He has done nothing to instill confidence in me that he has the answers our country needs.

Further, neither candidate has original ideas. They seem to be stealing and copying ideas from each other much the way cell-phone makers are stealing and copying the iPhone concept these days. They seem to be getting in a price war with each other, battling to see who can offer a bigger “tax cut” or some such economic nonsense. This is truly the worst election choice to hit America in a very long time.

So, in the midst of all this nonsense as this election cycle comes to a close, what should we as believers do?

1. Realize that God is firmly in control of the election.
Romans 13:1 says very clearly that no one rules unless God has given him the power to rule, and no one rules now without that power from God (NCV). This means that it is God alone who decides who will become President of these United States, and he will use our votes to make it happen. No matter who wins this election, he is the winner only because God has allowed it to be so. This should humble us who are believers and cause us to think seriously about the people God has allowed to attain public office. It should cause us to seriously pray about our vote and how God would have us use that vote to bring about his purposes.

This is not to say that if it becomes clear that God is going to allow a blasphemer such as Obama (I couldn’t get more obvious about what I think there, could I?) to assume office, that we should cast our vote for that person. What that tells me is we should vote for the candidate who most reflects God’s righteousness and justice, and if that candidate does not win, we should praise God that he has given us the perfect opportunity to proclaim his Gospel in a land that may no longer hunger and thirst for righteousness. In other words, we should become voices crying in the wilderness.

Look at the evil kings of Israel or even the foreign kings that oppressed and enslaved Israel, or even better, the Roman emperors under whom Christ and his followers were persecuted and killed. Even more clearly, Communist China! All of these were allowed to ascend to power by God alone, and those who loved righteousness and justice were to actively work to bring about those qualities in their countries. But notice how that worked – such righteousness and justice was not preached with success, as a rule, until such despotic blasphemers were allowed to rule! When all was well and good, the people ignored God’s command for holy living. Then an evil king came and solidified their unrighteousness. It was not until an unbeliever conquered the nation that the people hearkened to God’s gospel and repented. It may well be that America needs the same thing.

2. Realize that our government is working for God.
Romans 13:6 makes it clear that the government is “God’s public servants” (HCSB) and have given their time to this work. This means we should submit to those who are in public office. Submit to Obama and Biden. Submit to McCain and Palin. Submit to your state and local senators and representatives. Don’t believe me? See Romans 13:1 again – “Everyone must submit to the governing authorities” (HCSB). Romans 13:7 tells us we should “show respect and honor to them all” (NCV).

3. Pray for our government.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 is very, very clear about this – I tell you to pray for all people, asking God for what they need and being thankful to him. Pray for rulers and for all who have authority so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to know the truth.

Why pray for our elected officials? Romans 13:4 says that “government is God’s servant to you for good” (HCSB). Awesome. They are there to do good for us! And one thing that can be said about both candidates this election is that they are trying hard to present an agenda that they are convinced will benefit Americans. No wonder we should pray for them – we need to ask God to keep them on that path, and to show them a more excellent way!

You can’t get clearer than that, can you? Pray for McCain and Palin. Pray for Obama and Biden. Pray for your state and local senators and representatives. The upside to doing this is huge – we will be able to live quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God! And if we are able to live this way, we will do the most we can to spread the Gospel to as many people as possible!

This past Sunday my pastor, Tim Bender preached on “Christians and Government.” In his message, he gave us Six Ways to Direct Your Vote.

1. Vote Biblical principles over Party.
Do you agree with everything the party promotes? Does the party follow biblical principles? Don’t be fooled by a platform that looks and sounds good, but directly goes against the Bible!

2. Vote Biblical principles over Pork.
Do you want to waste federal money just to help your area? Do you want to do the most good for the most people or are you just out for your local economy? Don’t be fooled by promises to help just your area!

3. Vote Biblical principles over Pocketbook.
Are you out to fatten your bank account? Or are you out to see that people who actually need help get the help they need? Remember, Scripture says money is a root of all kinds of evil. Don’t be fooled by money!

4. Vote Biblical Principles Over Person.
Are you voting for a relative, a co-worker, a friend? You have no special interest in that person that would be served by voting for them? You may know that person much better than the voters! What if this person is a chronic liar? Would you still vote for him/her simply because of your relationship? Don’t be fooled by your relationship to a person!

5. Vote Biblical Principles Over Popularity.
Are you voting for someone just because they are your idol, they’re good-looking, they’re cool, they’re awesome? Don’t be fooled by how popular a candidate is!

6. Vote Biblical Principles Over Political Speech.
Does the candidate’s personal life and political record match up? Do they really believe what they are saying? Are they “walking the talk?” Or are they just “singin’ and dancin’;” that is, saying what they need in order to get your vote? Don’t be fooled by what a person says; check their record!

When You Vote Tomorrow
Having said all that (I’m at 1600 words!), when you vote tomorrow, I only ask that you do one thing before you enter the booth and pull the lever. Ask yourself if the people you are planning to vote for give God the most glory. If not, please, please, PLEASE re-think your vote and vote for someone else! Also, please do not waste your vote by voting for a third party candidate who has no chance of winning. That shows at worst a detachment from the reality of the situation, and at best a lack of common sense. How different could this nation have been if all those third-party votes actually went to one of the two candidates who actually had a chance to win!

I will not waste my vote on a third-party candidate, no matter how tempting it is to do so. I will not waste my vote by not voting. I will honor God by backing a candidate who has a direct chance to win, and of those who do, I will vote for the one who I am convinced by Scripture and conscience is the most God-honoring choice among them. Therefore, I am convinced for personal, common-sense, and Scriptural reasons that the most God-honoring choice this election is John McCain. If he wins, to God be the glory. If he does not, to God be the glory. The Gospel will have a greater platform to be proclaimed no matter who wins, and in the end that is all that really matters!

Just A Few More Hyperventilations

Jay Nordlinger at National Review writes a post about the liberal and feminist hyperventilations over Sarah Palin. He says these episodes (which, in my view, are disgusting) show that America is a sick country. Proving what I previously wrote, he shares:

Then there is continuing amazement over the sheer hatred that Palin has aroused: “I am almost 60 and come from Massachusetts. In all my years, I have never seen anything like this, and don’t want to see it ever again. I have a friend who is both feminist and left-leaning. I asked her why they hate Palin so much. She said, ‘Because she’s had it all: family, career. And she did it without a man like Bill Clinton helping her. She did it on her own.’”

I have said it before: Hillary Clinton’s husband was president of the United States. Sarah Palin’s works the night shift in an oil field. Who is the feminist hero? Bien sûr.

I can see how you might disagree with Governor Palin — she’s a conservative, after all. I can see how you might find her unprepared even for the vice-presidency. But hate? Hate a woman who rose from a modest background to be governor of her state? Who is obviously a warm, civic-minded, talented mother of five?

Hate?

It must be abortion, religion, and culture. If she were pro-choice, went to a mainline church (only on Christmas and Easter), and didn’t hunt, she’d be okay. At least less attacked. But then, she wouldn’t be herself, would she?

I consider myself a very patriotic person, and I have been teased or damned all my life for my pro-American views — particularly in academic settings. But, I’m sorry, this is, in many ways, a sick country.

Read the whole thing.

HT: Tim Challies

More Hyperventilating About Sarah Palin

Denny Burk, new dean of Boyce College, the undergrad institution of my alma mater Southern Seminary, has written an excellent answer to one of the hyperventilating media types concerning “hypocrisy” surrounding evangelicals and Sarah Palin. It can be read with its comments here. It is also too good to simply say “follow the link,” so I’m going to reproduce the entire post here. Please read what follows carefully, thoughtfully, and prayerfully.

Responding to David Gushee

I mentioned on Monday that David Gushee penned an opinion piece for USA Today in which he criticizes conservative evangelicals who support Sarah Palin’s candidacy. He writes:

“It is an uncomfortable fact that many of the theologically conservative Christians who have endorsed Palin’s nomination would not be willing to endorse her or any other woman for service as pastor of their church. Women cannot serve as pastors in groups such as the Churches of Christ, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Presbyterian Church in America, most non-denominational Bible churches, and an influential advocacy group called the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW).”

I belong to two of the groups that Gushee lists as transgressors on the gender question: the SBC and CBMW. I know, therefore, a little bit about the biblical and theological basis for the complementarianism represented in these organizations (though I am not claiming to speak for either one of them). With that in mind, allow me to respond briefly to the series of questions that he puts forth in his article. His questions are in bold, and my response follows each one.

Is it now your view that God can call a woman to serve as president of the United States? Are you prepared to renounce publicly any further claim that God’s plan is for men rather than women to exercise leadership in society, the workplace and public life?

Before answering this one, we’ll have to clear away a flaw in the premise of the question. Gushee asks what our view is “now” as though the Complementarian position has somehow changed to accommodate the candidacy of Sarah Palin. Nothing could be further from the truth. For reasons to be explained below, mainstream Complementarians haven’t changed their views at all. Gushee may express his disagreement with Complementarian views and may even highlight what he thinks its flaws are, but he cannot credibly imply that Complementarians are shifting the biblical and theological rationale for their position. Anyone who has been following this debate and the literature over the last thirty years or so knows that this charge is false on its face.

In answer to Gushee’s question, then, we should take note that Complementarians argue for their view of male headship with respect to two realms: the church and the home. Complementarian conviction does not exclude the possibility of women holding positions of secular authority (including President of the United States).

Complementarians are merely following the New Testament in this focus. John Piper and Wayne Grudem have summed up as clearly as anyone the reason for this, “As we move out from the church and the home we move further from what is fairly clear and explicit [in the New Testament] to what is more ambiguous and inferential.” Perhaps the best summary of Complementarian conviction on this point is the Danvers Statement, and it limits the application of “male headship” to “the family” and “the covenant community.” The Danvers Statement does not make “male headship” a condition for leadership in the secular realm. That is why Wayne Grudem can say the following in his book Evangelical Feminism & Biblical Truth (p. 140):

“In the Old Testament, the civil government over the people of Israel was also the religious government over God’s people. . . Therefore we cannot assume that the general pattern of restricting civil government leadership over the people of God to men would also apply to the New Testament age, where the civil government is separate from the government of the church. The positive examples of women involved in civil leadership over nations other than Israel (such as Esther and the Queen of Sheba) should prevent us from arguing that it is wrong for women to hold a governing office.”

All of the Complementarian writings that I have quoted above were published well before Palin’s candidacy. The Complementarian position is long-standing and predates the current election cycle.

Do you acknowledge having become full-fledged egalitarians in this sphere at least?

No. We simply do not require secular rulers to live up to the qualifications of our ecclesiastical rulers. But this stance is not merely a question of gender. Many men who run for President, for instance, do not “manage their household well” as is required of pastors in 1 Timothy 3:4. So not only is Sarah Palin not qualified to serve as a pastor, but neither would be John McCain, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, or any number of other male Presidents that we’ve had. But that doesn’t necessarily make them unfit for secular office.

Would Palin be acceptable as vice president because she would still be under the ultimate authority of McCain as president, like the structure of authority that occurs in some of your churches?

No. The reason that some Complementarians may find Palin “acceptable” is spelled out in my answer to the first question.

Have you fully come to grips with the fact that if after his election McCain were to die, Palin would be in authority over every male in the USA as president?

Yes.

If you agree that God can call a woman to serve as president, does this have any implications for your views on women’s leadership in church life?

It is fallacious and unbiblical to argue that what is allowed in the secular sphere must also be allowed in the church. For instance, Romans 13 says that the secular Roman authority was ordained by God. The secular authority in question was the Roman Emperor Nero, who is widely known as a tyrant and a murderer (who even had his own mother executed). On Gushee’s reasoning, then, should we conclude that tyrants and murderers can be pastors simply because God-ordained secular rulers like Nero happened to be such? Hardly. This is not a biblical way to address the issue.

Would you be willing to vote for a qualified woman to serve as pastor of your church? If not, why not?

No. How can a woman be “qualified” to do a work that the New Testament explicitly says she is not to do? “I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet” (1 Timothy 2:12).

Do you believe that Palin is under the authority of her husband as head of the family? If so, would this authority spill over into her role as vice president?

Yes. See the following texts:

Ephesians 5:22-24 “22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”

1 Peter 3:1-2 “In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2 as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.”

My question to Gushee would be this. Don’t you agree with Paul and Peter that wives should be following the leadership of their husbands?

Do you believe that women carry primary responsibility for the care of children in the home? If so, does this affect your support for Palin? If not, are you willing to change your position and instead argue for flexibility in the distribution of child care responsibilities according to the needs of the family?

I have already answered the first question in a previous post. To reiterate, Complementarians do believe that God has given mothers a special responsibility that centers on the raising of children and caring for the home. This is unambiguous in the New Testament. For instance,

Titus 2:4-5 “The young women [are] to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored.”

With respect to the latter question, no Complementarian that I know of has ever argued against “the distribution of child care responsibilities according to the needs of the family.” In fact, we have been arguing that in our culture the failure of fathers to be faithful fathers may be the most pressing burden upon families today. When there is disorder and dysfunction in the home, that responsibility falls on Dad, not Mom.

Much more can and should be said on all of these questions, but I hope this at least begins to show how Complementarians have been answering these questions over the years. I am glad Gushee is joining the conversation. I’m sure there will be more to come.

Hyperventilating Hypocrisy

Or, “The Loony Liberalfeminists”

This week has been a little odd. I’ve done all of my walking at work, since we were hit with a big change in the weather that has left me knocked out with sinus. It’s funny, I thought the whole reason I took up running was to combat days like these. But while competing with Grace for the Biggest Baby award in our home, I’ve had lots of time to observe the election. Particularly the hysteria surrounding John McCain’s vice-presidential pick, Sarah Palin. What follows are my rudimentary thoughts after a week. WARNING: Sarcasm and tongue-in-cheekiness flows freely throughout this post. Read at your own risk.

On Palin:
I like this woman. And that decidedly cannot be said of any female politicians I’ve had the misfortune to see in the news (think Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, etc.). And it’s difficult for me to think highly of the even fewer female politicians I’ve actually met (think Shirley Duer, Anne Northup, and a few other TN state and local politicians). But Palin takes the cake. She’s a smart, tough, common-sense type who would fit in nicely in Tennessee. By all appearances, she is a Christian, and actually lives like one. And she’s a babe. You certainly can’t say that of the majority of female politicians.

She’s a mom! A real, honest to goodness mom! Not one of those fakes like Pelosi and Clinton. I was heavily involved in internet apologetics a few years back, and on that forum the topic of Hillary for President came up. I made the young atheist liberals quite a-tizzy by suggesting that women in positions of political power were a horrible idea, until the virus that is feminism had been cast out of our women. I further infuriated them by suggesting that a real mother, even a homeschool mom or soccer mom, could do a better job as President than 90% of the charlatans in Washington today. I really set them off by suggesting Hillary was nothing more than a feminist puppet and that a homeschool mom could run circles around her politically. And judging by the reactions in the past week, I was right.

On the Reaction to Palin:
This week (and the week before) has been a study in why I hate politics and pay very little attention to it. The liberals and feminists (they aren’t necessarily one and the same, as my above subtitle might suggest, though you wouldn’t be too far off to assume so) have attacked her with a rancor that would make Sith Lords wince.

They have done things that one wouldn’t wish on one’s own enemies. They have questioned the maternity of her own child, Trig Palin. They subjected her teenage daughter to the worst scrutiny one could, taking what we would otherwise call “baby fat” (no pun intended) from a two-year old picture and over-analyzing it to the point that the liberals declared her the mother of Trig Palin. Never mind that they got their timelines off by a pretty large margin. They excoriated Palin by suggesting that because said teenage daughter actually did become pregnant this year that she was an unfit mother and therefore unfit to run the country. And, to get even more ridiculous, they are blatantly questioning her womanhood by suggesting that her and her daughter’s decision to keep their babies (Trig has Down’s Syndrome) is “proof” that Sarah Palin is a hypocrite! One columnist even went so far as to suggest Palin is “pretending” to be a woman!

If you can’t see the intense and vast irony of that last paragraph, and especially that last sentence, you are obviously so brainwashed by feminism that you can’t think straight.

Let me spell it out for you: Sarah Palin has reached the exact position feminism has been angling towards for decades. She has a family which she cares for herself. She works full-time in an very demanding job for which she is paid as well as or better than other men. She has a chance to be the next President of the United States. She has it all. Not only that, she’s doing it her way.

Yet all we hear from the liberal media and feminists of every corner of America is how “unfeminist” and “unwomanly” and “hypocritical” she is. Why? Because she made her own choices — sexual, reproductive, and vocational. Wait a minute, isn’t that what feminists and liberals champion? Why are they absolutely hyperventilating at the thought of the very end result of their “reforms” becoming Vice-President? Shouldn’t they be cheering?

I find it funny that many of the hatchet jobs on her in the media are being done by old, out of shape, ugly feminist types. It seems they’re ticked off because the beauty queen not only can still wear her bikini, but that she’s not a bimbo. She’s a power-suit wearing baby factory with the heartthrob husband and gorgeous kids, high-powered, high-paying job; and they’re positively jealous.

I pray that my own daughter grows up to become the target of such hyperventilating hypocrisy by liberals and feminists for the choices she makes in her life. If so, it means God has allowed me to succeed in raising a child who seeks His pleasure first. I don’t know if Sarah Palin seeks first God’s kingdom, but she’s got my vote.