Does the Bible prohibit a woman from serving as Vice President? Good question! Click here to read the first post on the subject by David Kotter of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW). The next three paragraphs are my summary of David's four part series.
There is no explicit biblical prohibition against a woman serving as a political leader. So we shouldn't forbid a woman from public office using an argument based on the Bible's silence. The Bible is NOT silent about women's role in the church, however - a woman is clearly prohibited from serving as the pastor or elder in a local church. The silence of the Bible on one topic compared with its forthcoming specificity on another tells us mayors, governors, and presidents are not the same as pastors. A woman may serve as the former even though she may not as the latter.
David raises a related question. Even though a woman may serve as Vice-President, is it wise for her to do so? This is one of those questions that don't have a "one-size-fits-all" answer. Sarah Palin seems to have put a lot on her plate - more than what others would choose for themselves. But her plate is hers to fill. She and her husband should do what they are convinced before God is the right thing for them and their family. Taking advantage of godly counsel will assist them to travel the path of wisdom. But the choice voters face is not about whether they agree with the Palin's decision. The voter's choice concerns Sarah Palin's suitability to serve in the office.
One more thing - Sarah Palin does not have to lose her identity as a woman to be a good Vice-President. She need not become a man. But men and women ARE different. So we are (possibly) about to experience something new and unfamiliar - a woman who leads us as Vice-President. It may take some getting used to.
I think David Kotter's series is good stuff and worth your time - if you go to the first post there are links to the next three. I would put a little nuance on his explanation of a "high view of the church." It is possible for someone to draw a skewed conclusion from his remarks in part 2 where he suggests that, from God's perspective, pastors are more important than presidents. Someone could get the impression that being a pastor is the only truly important job, a job which women are denied. It would be more biblically accurate (and a source of some biblically warranted encouragement) to say that serving in one's appointed role in the church, whether as pastor (men only) or as something else (men and women) is to be involved in the one thing which Jesus is building. That's worth doing!
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