(RePost from July 2011)
One of my fundamental intentions for this blog is to focus on lasting, eternal truths and principles found in the Logos for our grid to understand our lives lived out in family, sacred community and civil spheres, and not on the distracting, fleeting, disconnected news and/or events of the world.
That's why I'm posting this topic concerning the biblical principles of women as civil rulers and not stumble around with the merits or short-comings of Michele Bachmann, Hillary Clinton, or Sarah Palin.
Orthodox, historic Christians have maintained the biblical belief that a man, and not a woman, should be the covenantal "head" of a particular family, and too, that a man, not a woman, should be the head(s) of any local congregation. But when it comes to civil or government matters, well!, we're all a little bit muddled.
This idea of women as leaders in our civil institutions is becoming more and more of an issue especially with 2012 fast approaching and the "all-merciful" State "blessing" us once again by allowing us to chose our next President (may IT live forever!).
Christians need to consider and understand this issue fully from the Scriptures, and the best explanation I've found on this topic (and one I fully agree with) is in a concise, clear essay by William Einwetcher, pastor of Immanuel Free Reformed Church in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.
Please, if you have the opportunity, set aside some time and read it through slowly and with a discerning, teachable mind.
Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate
by William Einwechter, July 8, 2004
With more and more women entering the political sphere and running for political office, the conscientious, biblically oriented Christian is confronted with the question of whether or not he should give his support and vote to a woman. This question becomes more pressing for many when the “best candidate,” i.e., the most conservative, pro-life candidate in a particular race is a woman. A number of years ago, we in Pennsylvania were confronted with this issue when an articulate, pro-life, politically conservative woman (who was also a wife and mother) ran for governor of our state. Many Christians enthusiastically supported her. But not all of us were confident that this was the right or consistent thing to do. The following essay grew out of the concern over her candidacy, and seeks to address the larger questions of the acceptability of women magistrates and the Christian’s responsibility before God in regard to supporting a woman for political office.
In approaching this matter, we need to first understand that these questions can only be answered from Scripture. Mere human opinion or reason is not sufficient for the Christian. The Word of God is the only infallible, authoritative standard for directing us into the paths of righteousness. Only the Bible has the power to equip us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:15-17). The duty of every true follower of Jesus Christ is to obey His commandments (John 14:15), and, in fact, the sign that we are really His disciples is that we continue in obedience to His Word (John 8:31; 1 John 2:3-5).
So then, if we are to be faithful to Christ, we must search the Scriptures to see what the Lord says in regards to the issue of women civil rulers, and whether it is permissible for Christians to support a woman for the office of civil magistrate.
Second, we should recognize that the issue here is not the character or ability of the woman seeking the office; nor is it her spiritual condition, her views on the issues, or even if she is the “best” available candidate. The point in question is this: does the Word of God give us the liberty to place a woman into a political office where she will in some sense bear rule over us in the civil sphere? Or, to state it more precisely: is it biblically proper for a woman to hold political office, and thus rule over men? Has God ordained women to be civil leaders, or has He reserved this authority for men only?
I believe that the Bible gives a definitive answer to this question:...
