A Bit Of A Different Take On The Sarah Palin Phenomenon

Judges 4:9   So she said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

(image right taken from http://kodiakkonfidential.blogspot.com/2007/12/sarah-in-vogue.html - no it's not a real issue of Vogue but it is real cute)

My brother elder, J. D. Wetterling (read it HERE) joins me and many others across the Evangelical Christian conservative spectrum in our country in breathing an extended "It's about time!" exclaim of enthusiastic support for Mrs. Palin's speech the other night.  She articulated our thoughts very well and our prayers are for her strength, courage, wisdom and wit as she now faces the dedicated animosity of the opposing powers.  She is a threat to all that they stand for and I expect to see an attempt to dismantle her from stem to stern.

I believe the Scriptures teach that men are supposed to be the ones who lead and take covenant headship authority across the spectrum of human social endeavors.  That which is true for marriage and for the Church would seem to hold for the wider political structures also.   But it is undeniable that God used Deborah to "judge" Iisrael in her day and when Barak was called to go forth and fight the Lord's enemies, he insisted that she go with him or he would not go at all.  In the well known passage quoted above, Deborah interprets the whole situation very clearly.  She would go but because Barak abdicated his distinct position as covenant leader of the Lord's people, he would not get the glory, nor the resulting political influence which would come from taking Sisera himself.

There are a whole bunch of details and circumstances that surround this passage which give structure to its understanding.  The bottom line to me is this:  Deborah was raised up because the men of Israel had been spiritually emasculated and lacked the intestinal fortitude and Godly piety to fulfill the office to which they had been called.  If there had been another Joshua there would not been a need for Deborah.

Here is where I think there is a bridge to our modern circumstance.  God has raised up a hockey mom to what may be the most important job in the world (if God decides it is time for such to be the case) and we Evangelicals are ecstatic.  Why are we not repenting?  Why has it become necessary for a political party to be so pushed to the wall that it had to go to a first term governor of the state of Alaska... a political unknown ... to find a suitable running mate for the presidential candidate?  If there had been a Ronald Reagan out there do you really think that Sarah would be where she is?

I am glad that Mrs. Palin is on the ticket. In my opinion the better ticket might be the reverse.  What this country needs is leadership not bureaucratic expertise and Mr. McCain falls well short in the "inspiring" category.  He is an excellent Senator and though I differ with him on many questions, I do not doubt his essential integrity.  Mrs. Palin is inspiring and she is right.  That's a powerful combination.  Perhaps we had better take a lesson from the whole book of Judges and realize just how near we are to repeating its fundamental premise.  When a nation departs from "serving the Lord" (here I intend the idea of honoring Him in its basic institutions, building its laws in general conformity to His, etc.) then it cannot expect prosperity in economy or external relations.  It can expect wars and rumors of wars along with declining moral stamina and the associated rise in perversion.  When God departs from a society He gives them over to their sin and gives them for the most part the leaders they deserve.  Along the way He raises up a voice of reason, a call to moral uprightness, and the response of the community governs the manner they are subsequently treated by the Divine Hand. 

Men, Covenant Heads of Households, of the Church and of the State, should view Mrs. Palin as a wake up call.  I pray for her success and I pray that we can learn the lesson God may very well be teaching.

Comments

[Arch Van Devender]

Michael
Thanks for a thoughtful comment. The idea of "not trying to legislate morality" is problematic at best. All legislation and all government regulations fall under one of two headings: "prudence" or "morality." The law dictating that we drive on the right side of the road is a matter of prudence (there is no inherent moral nature to it). The law dictating that we are not to embezzle money from our employer is a matter of morality. The idea of an essentially morally neutral "social contract" forming the foundation for human society is inherently flawed in this regard. Thus "legislating morality" is what government does (at least in part) which means that there will always be someone having someone else' morality shoved down their throat.

Nor can a person plead that the morality which is encoded into law must not be based on religious precepts because there are no religiously neutral moral precepts - by definition. The only manner in which a moral precept could be understood as neutral is if the position is taken that morality is divorced from religion which is only possible by denying the entire idea of God - that is a religious (anti-religious) statement.

So... it is not a matter of not shoving religion down anyone's throat - it is a matter of which religious view governs the morality behind the laws which are then shoved down a person's throat.

If you wish to interact on this at greater length simply let me know and we can trade posts back and forth.

Thanks again

[michael]

what mrs. Palin believes or doesn't believe is really none of our business as long as she doesn't try to legislate morality. This nation may have been founded by christians but it has evolved as have the beliefs and actions of christians and so called Christians. If you believe in god you must see that god is an infinitely tolerant being given the overwhelming evidence of the earth's multitude of diverse beings and beliefs. It is the humans that are intolerant of each other's differences not the god that they profess to be speaking for. I thought the basic tenet of Christianity was to live your life like Christ and make decisions based on what you believe he would have done in the same circumstance. I am not a christian scholar or an historian but my opinion is that Jesus always did the right thing and did not judge or fault people for their beliefs or actions. He may have dissapproved and counseled them to try to make them better but he never forced them to do anything they did not want to do. My fear regarding mrs. Palin is that she is like so many other people who call themselves Christians but do not live up to the standards while at the same time want to force others to practice what they preach.

[Arch Van Devender]

It's pretty hard to find a Christian who is not also a sinner. That whole business Jesus taught about removing the plank from our own eye before we complain about the speck in our brother's or sister's eye is to the point. As far as I know Sarah has not lied about her past life nor about the circumstances of her daughter, unlike a former president.

As far as the value of human life goes - that's a much larger discussion - especially since you contrast/compare her stance on abortion with her support of the war and willingness to hunt animals. Common sense recognizes a vast difference between the two sides - abortion and the other two issues - and so does Christianity.

[Rain]

As a christian mother, whp has raised several children who did "not" find themselves pregnant at 17, nor did I eleope and get married when I was pregnant...instead I waited as the bible teaches.

What good is the bible if the person representing Christians is interpreting it in her own imoral fashion??

Pro-life, than are the boys fighting in Iraq, have the same dignity of life?? What about the animals she hunts?

[Arch Van Devender]

I think you are correct in this. However, ever since Truman found himself suddenly pushed into the oval office with virtually no background in what had been going on, the VP position has been systematically elevated to the kind of relationship you see happening. McCain, by his very nature as a coalition builder, will probably make it even more prominent for Mrs. Palin - however he will not be breaking new ground just doing the same thing more extensively.

Thanks for the comment.

[karenabcde]

P.S.
This pick will forever change the nature of the Vice-presidency.
After this administration the VP will never be the same.

[karenabcde]

I would bet my house that McCain will have her as almost a co-president. He appears thrilled to pieces to have someone who will support him. He will want to make decisions with her input and he will be looking forward to leaving us his legacy upon his departure. The legacy may not be in much that he achieves, but that he brought her into the fold so she can take over and be our president at some point. He realizes this now. It makes him look brilliant.