Some final thoughts, sort of, on the up coming election

This will be my last observation on the whole issue surrounding Mrs. Palin, well until I write on it again.

First, I find it interesting in that in all the conversation about her being qualified as a woman, from a biblical perspective, Mr. McCain has avoided the serious scrutiny he deserves. Yes, at the Saddleback Forum he gave the answers we as Evangelicals wanted to hear but does he have the convictions to back them up? Does his record show that he will stick by the answers he provided at Saddleback when the times get tough? I think the Mrs. Palin question is a very important one but it should not detract from discerning if Mr. McCain is qualified from a biblical perspective. A running mate whether male or female does not necessarily change the presidential candidate and so we do need to scrutinize Mr. McCain as much as we do Mr. Obama.

Next, in the many articles being written about the biblical stance on women serving as “civil magistrates” I find it interesting that men I look up to and in many ways seek council from have differing opinions and answers to the question. I pray that this discourse would remain civil and that the goal should be to find the biblical answer and not to win a debate. There is an answer so let us not take the postmodern approach which tends to see an impasse as saying we cannot know the answer so lets not deal with it or even take the pragmatic approach. I still look up to the men that may disagree with my personal take on this but it should be remembered that at the end of the day we are to be held responsible, before God, for our vote and our decisions not the men that help us make those decisions. Yes they do have to answer to God for their leading but that does not negate my, our, responsibility.

Also, I find it appalling the way some have framed the vote for McCain/Palin or you will be voting for Obama/Biden statement. Some calling those who may not vote or vote third party as cowards or worse. This is not a Christian attitude to take towards ones personal decisions of which the individual has to answer to God not those that try and intimidate someone to their side. At the end of the day when the votes are cast and life goes on, for better or worse, we need to be able to stand before our almighty God and be able to give an answer, a biblical answer, for the way we choose. Some may disagree with that answer and even the vote that is cast but it is not the great number of people that out of, I guess fear, find a need to try and intimidate people to vote as they would like them to vote. Giving a reasoned defense, whether correct or not, is not a problem but when it takes a personal turn is where things seem to fall apart.

So my encouragement is to take all of scripture, I mean all and not those favorite verses we may have, and weigh the candidates by His word. Do not weigh them by the times or by the culture or by who speaks best or any other number of things that seem to be peoples standards but by the inerrant, infallible word of God that in 2 Tim 3:16-17 says all of it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Then when it is time to vote do so by your biblical principles that you have diligently studied and prayed about. I again share this great quote:

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." -- John Quincy Adams

(Updated 9/11/08)
I meant to add one other item last night. There has been much talk about having a women to rule over men is a curse (Is 3:12). Many have simply jumped on the fact that we do have a dearth of men to lead as they should. However, that is not entirely true as there are men who can lead but for pragmatic reasons believers do not vote for them. The usual reasoning is that they cannot win in a general election which in reality is a self fulfilling prophesy since if they are not voted for they definitely will not win. For much too long Christians have been happy with less than the best, I am as guilty of this as anyone, to somehow feel we have someone in office that is “better” than the alternative. So yes we do need to see more men lead, everywhere from the home to the nation, but we as Christians need to be willing to support godly men who lead. So back to the idea of the curse of being led by women, it could be not only a result of having so few men to lead as they should but it could also be a result of believers not being willing to support those men that do step forward to lead as God would have them lead.

Now I understand that this issue of not voting for the most qualified, from a biblical standpoint, itself comes back to men as it is often a lack of leadership by men in the home that leads to families that have no true grounding in the word. So after all I have said maybe it does come back to the curse simply being that there is a lack of godly men to lead their homes and thus radically change our nation for God’s glory. Never the less if there are men that are qualified, by God’s standards, let us vote for them when election time roles around.