Sarah Palin is Sounding the Death Knell to ‘Feminism’ As We Know It

From American Thinker by Pamela Meister

I grew up in the wake of the feminist revolution during the 1970s. More and more middle-class women were going out to work while humming the new feminist anthem “I am Woman” by Helen Reddy. Of course, throughout the centuries poor women had often been compelled to work for financial reasons, but they didn’t represent the new “girl power” idea that the bra burners espoused. Toiling to put food on the table isn’t nearly as exciting as working for the cause.

My own mother went back to work when I was in elementary school. She was fortunate that my father was a teacher at the very school my sisters and I attended, and so except for the year before my younger sister was in kindergarten, daycare was not much of an issue. It’s not clear to me whether she went back to work because she had to or whether it was because of a need to “keep up with the Joneses,” but regardless, I don’t recall any kind of zeal on her part to prove herself in a man’s world. She simply did what she had to do at the time.

Growing up, I was under the impression that feminism meant a woman now had a choice: she could pursue a career – provided she met the qualifications for it – or she could stay home with her children. It was all about choice and what was best for the individual.

Boy, was I wrong.

The selection of Sarah Palin for vice president on the John McCain ticket has sent feminists and their supporters into a frantic tizzy. First there was outrage because the media, safe in their liberal cocoon, had no idea that Palin was even under consideration — something conservative blog readers and talk radio listeners had been aware of for several months. And so to punish the “mushroom” (a phrase from the days of the British Regency that means “social upstart”), rumors, condescension and hand wringing replaced honest reporting. The gamut ran from her faking her recent pregnancy to cover up for her oldest daughter to her glasses being “vanity glasses” to her being married to a guy who – gasp – likes to race snowmobiles and is a union member who works with his hands. Even worse, she dares to have five children and enjoy hunting.

No, the latte sipping, self-anointed elite could not let this affront go unanswered.

So the very people who had once championed Geraldine Ferraro’s vice presidential bid and Hillary Clinton’s more recent bid for the presidency closed ranks and suggested that, in addition to her inadequacy for the job based on her prior experience of being mayor of Wasilla (ignoring her current status as Governor of Alaska), we began hearing how, as the mother of five, it would be irresponsible for Sarah Palin to assume the rigorous schedule and duties of vice president. Why, she has a 17-year-old daughter who’s pregnant and is keeping the baby! And her youngest child has Downs syndrome! My gosh, how could any woman, in this day and age, even think about stepping one foot out of the house when she has her family to care for?

Just a few years ago, Lawrence Summers was ousted from his tenure as president of Harvard University for daring to suggest that innate differences in the makeup of men and women could contribute to fewer women than men entering the fields of math and science. (I happen to agree with him.) Yet today, we’re being told that Sarah Palin can’t possibly juggle the demands of family and career. It’s an interesting paradox.

If Sarah Palin needs to stay home with her children, then I suggest Katie Couric be given the pink slip from CBS News on the same grounds. Granted her poor performance should be reason enough, but of course, it’s not her fault — it’s sexism. Couric claims Palin is too inexperienced for the job. The argument could also be made that Couric’s gig as a morning show host did not lend the kind of gravitas needed or give her the necessary experience to host the evening newscast, a horse of a different color. But let’s not go there, lest we be accused of being sexist.

The National Organization of Women even went so far as to declare that Sarah Palin is more like a man than a woman because even though, as a working mother juggling career and family she can speak to many women, her pro-life stance means she cannot speak FOR women.

It just goes to show that feminism is a crock.

Story Continues…

The Economic Problem of Sin

From American Thinker by Bruce Walker

Sin is an unpopular topic. In Hollywood today, unmarried pretty faces procreate and then splash baby pictures on the front of every women’s magazine in America.  No one dares question if the parents of this child have sinned, but, of course, they have.  Indeed, they have sinned in several ways.  They have conceived a child out of wedlock, which is a sin.  They have also provided an example for millions of young women who lack the money to hire nannies and who imagine that their idols would not lead them into miserable lives.  These unwed mothers, their children, and the unwed fathers too have rejected not just the rules of God, which — amazingly! — do not just deliver us from evil but also make our lives happier, healthier, and more successful.

Psychologists and other social experts take the sting out of sin.  If sexually aroused young people make a child, this inconvenient debris can always be snuffed.  If the pregnant mother chooses to have her baby, a host of government programs, from WIC to child support enforcement, will insure that the biological sperm donor is relegated to irrelevance in the life of the child.  The idea that both parents have done something fundamentally wrong is as absent as the idea that people still sin.  Even the word “sin” makes many of us uneasy.  Who are we to say what is right and wrong?  “We” are, indeed, nothing.  Sin is a principle of God, not men.

But put faith aside for a moment.  Take God out of the picture.  What are the consequences of a child growing up with only one parent, a mother, who is dependent upon government largess and coercive child support programs to survive?  Poverty, for one thing, is much more likely in this fatherless home.  The child is more likely to grow up contemptuous of work and of school.  He is more likely to be crippled by drugs, alcohol, depression, and delinquency.  Rather than taking care of society, as we have expected new generations to do, this child is much more likely to need society to take care of him. 

More and more people and politicians have come to couch every issue into economic terms.  This is a flawed viewpoint, but say we accept the premise anyway.  What is the biggest economic problem in America today?  It is simply sin.  Everyone now agrees that the best way to a productive society is to have people emotionally well-adjusted, physically healthy, well educated, temperate drinkers, good and interested parents, strategic financially (e.g. people who save rather than always spend), and who provide for family members and others a private social safety net.

A society that condemns sin and urges people to reject sin produces just that sort of people.  Couples marry before they have children; they raise children in a two family home; they work, stay sober, care for family members and members of their church or synagogue, draw happiness and confidence from religious faith, plan ahead, study (how quickly we forget, in our infatuation with public education, that the idea of literacy was uniquely religious in origin – Jewish boys and Scottish girls and boys were the first children compelled to become literate, and the reasons had entirely to do with religious injunctions.  Sins of omission and sins of commission bring us into a society which must be supported by props of massive social programs, huge public relations campaigns, and an enormous amount of our energy.  And all this does not work.  Pseudo-morality simply makes us feel better for awhile.  When people begin to believe that sin is a myth, then they lose all immunity to the soul disease which will slowly kill them.

Article Continues…

More from the GDW archieves

from June 6, 2006

Put On The New Self

How does (or should) a Christian live? We might say a Christian is “made” by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and we might define a Christian as a child of God who will spend eternity in Heaven. And while these are true statements, it still seems there ought to be something about a Christian that makes them different from the rest of the unbelieving world; “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  

The moment we truly believe in Jesus Christ and accept the forgiveness offered through the sacrifice of His death, we are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and become a “new creation.” But at the very instant of what we call our new birth, there is little recognizable difference between the old creation and the new. The transformation is done on our heart and there needs to be a process where we mature and allow this transformation to consume every area of our life.

Much of the letters written by Paul were devoted to this same subject. He spent most of his ministry preaching the good news of Salvation through faith in Jesus; but most of his writing was to Christians, instructing them on how they should live.
Ephesians 4:22-24

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

These verses are part of a three chapter passage (Ephesians 4-6) which begins with “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1) and includes teaching about unity, love, humility, anger, purity, husbands, wives, parents, children, slaves, masters, and the full armor of God – all teaching about what is meant by the new self! Some find it hard to understand that a Christian must be taught and urged how to live, but Paul understood. In fact, it’s clear in the original language that Paul is saying to put on the new self…and to KEEP putting it on!!

This is perhaps the most important, yet also the most neglected, teaching of the church today. We seem to have lost the understanding that the Christian life is designed to be a radical transformation which lasts all the rest of our days. The call to “come as you are” is also a call to prepare for change.

The new life we’ve been given is not like the old – it’s “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Let’s rise up every day and be determined to put away the old and live according to the new. Let’s show the world that our walk is different – that we walk hand in hand with Jesus – that we have indeed put on the new self.

From June 1, 2006

His Work of Art

Do you ever wake up and wonder if you’re where God wants you?   Do you ever wonder if you’re really following God’s plan for your life? These are normal questions and ought to be asked by every true believer in Jesus Christ. We should desire to follow His plan; and the only way to know is to ask, listen for direction, and obediently follow.

The most important part of God’s plan is that we trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin; “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God wants us all to repent, turn to Jesus and receive His gift of Salvation – He wants us to step from eternal death to eternal life!

But many people receive His gift and then continue life with no real change, no new direction. This should not be! When we receive God’s gift of Salvation, something wonderful occurs; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When we place our life in His hands, He wipes away the ugliness of our sin and begins to grow and mature us into the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:29).  This process of maturing growth is His plan!

Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

When we become a new creation in Christ, we become God’s workmanship. The Greek word for workmanship is “poiema” – it’s where we get the word poem. And though it might be difficult to think of our life as a poem, the idea being presented is that God is creating something beautiful, something almost poetic which touches the heart of God.

It might be easier to switch analogies and think of God as the Master Painter. When we give Him our life, we hand Him our old canvas – a canvas covered with the grotesque ugliness of sin. But by grace the canvas is wiped clean, and the Artist begins to paint a work of art with Jesus as the model. Every stroke of His brush is to make our canvas look more and more like Christ.

Are we where God wants us? Are we following His plan? To help find the answer, we should ask: Is the likeness of Christ beginning to form or is my canvas still filled with ugliness and confusion? Am I allowing Him to paint or am I trying to take the brush at every opportunity?   Do I even trust Him with my canvas?

God really is the Master Painter, and He really does know what He’s doing. If we will allow Him to finish His work, the end result will be better than anything we can imagine!! Let’s give Him our canvas and allow Him to paint. Let’s follow His plan and allow our life to become His work of art.

From May 30, 2006

Hiding Among The Baggage

When Samuel became too old to be an effective judge, the leaders of Israel asked for a new kind of ruler; “Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5). This request was actually an indication of the sad decline of God’s people. By requesting a king, “as all the other nations,” they were rejecting God’s plan and choosing to follow the ways of the world.

God was disappointed with the heart of His children; but He granted their request and told Samuel to anoint Saul as Israel’s first king. Saul was “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites – a head taller than any of the others” (1 Samuel 9:2). Saul’s external appearance was a perfect match for the superficial values of the nation.

When Samuel spoke with Saul, he was quite surprised to hear he had been chosen by God: “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” (1 Samuel 9:21). Saul’s insecurities were so great that when it came time to officially anoint him as king, he was nowhere to be found.

1 Samuel 10:22

“So they inquired further of the Lord, ‘Has the man come here yet?’ And the Lord said, ‘Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage.’”

Although Saul made many mistakes as king, we must not forget he was specifically chosen by God and empowered to do His will. But Saul lived with a great sense of inadequacy and was never able to effectively lead. He continually stepped out of God’s will because his focus remained on his own limitations rather than on the limitless ability of the One who called him to serve.

Each of us who enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are also chosen to do His will – empowered by His Spirit to accomplish everything He desires for our life; “His divine power has given us everything we need” (2 Peter 1:3). Unfortunately, most of us enter this relationship carrying bags from our past which weigh us down and hinder our ability to serve.

What baggage are we still carrying or using to hide from God’s call? There may be sins and failures in our distant (or even very recent) past which make us feel unworthy to serve. We may still carry the pain and mistrust of a broken relationship. We may have even made a sincere attempt to serve but taken a few wrong steps and fallen flat. But NOTHING must keep us from doing His will. Nothing must keep us from following where we know He is leading. Let’s trust Him with all our heart and answer the call today. Let’s keep our eyes on Christ and stop hiding among the baggage.

God’s Daily Word – by Steve Troxel

From August 4, 2006

Rend Our Heart

Every prophet in the Bible proclaimed a message which called the people to repentance. From Moses to John the Baptist, Jesus and the Apostles, the message was consistent: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Repentance is essential to a restored relationship with our Heavenly Father – essential to Salvation. Repentance is a condition of our heart whereby we recognize our sin and, in desperation and sorrow, turn and cry out to God for help.

Joel 2:12-13

“‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.’”

In the Old Testament times it was common for someone to tear (or rend) their clothes when they were expressing great sorrow. For example, when Jacob thought that Joseph had been killed by wild animals, he “tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days” (Genesis 37:34). When the Israelites were beaten when attacking the city of Ai, Joshua “tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord” (Joshua 7:6).

Tearing your clothes was an outward expression of sorrow. But all through Scripture, God makes it abundantly clear that He looks deep into our heart; “These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13). Jesus referenced this exact passage when He confronted the hypocritical worship of the Pharisees (Matthew 15:7-9).

We must never even hint that repentance involves “right” outward behavior. We have no ability to do right in the eyes of God without receiving, by faith, His gift of Salvation and allowing His Spirit to transform us into a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Only through His power can we be set on a path of being “conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Romans 8:29) – only in His strength can we ever do “right.”

God has more grace to forgive than we can possibly imagine; but our loving Father expects – even demands – true repentance. He’s fully aware of the many ways we sin and fall short of His glory; but until WE understand how far we have fallen and genuinely desire to change, we will never appreciate His grace in making us clean – never experience His “times of refreshing.” Let’s seek His forgiveness and walk in closer harmony with our Heavenly Father. Let’s confess our sins and, with repentant sorrow, stand before Him today and rend our heart.
 

From August 7, 2006

Clean From Within

In the message “Rend Our Heart” we saw how God commands us to recognize our sin and tear our heart in sorrowful repentance as we cry out for His gracious and abundant forgiveness. The instant we first place our complete trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are born of the Spirit and released from the bondage of our sinful nature. Sin may still war within us and sometimes cause us to stumble, but it no longer has dominion and control over our lives – we have been set free!

Jesus often taught of this radical transformation in terms of our need for a clean heart.

Mark 7:20-23
“What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”

Our heart pumps life into all the other parts of our body. If our heart is made clean through the forgiveness of Jesus, the rest of our life will also become clean as His life flows through us; “First clean the inside…and then the outside also will be clean” (Matthew 23:26). But if our heart remains soiled by an unrepentant sinful nature, no amount of outside scrubbing and polishing will ever make us clean.

Jesus presented the above list of “evils” for our self evaluation – as an outward test of inward cleanliness. Our lives may be free from the obvious stealing, murder, and adultery; but the rest of the list requires us to look a little deeper. Folly is the lack of good sense. Arrogance is an overbearing confidence. Slander is making false statements against someone. Envy is discontent due to another’s good fortune. Lewdness is indecent language or action. Deceit means to conceal the truth. Malice means to cruelly tease, and greed is excessive desire.

A transformed, “circumcised of the heart” (Romans 2:29), believer in Jesus Christ should never be characterize by this type of behavior. As the Spirit of Jesus makes us into a “new creation”  (2 Corinthians 5:17) and begins to flow through our life, these old sins ought to slow to a trickle and eventually pass away.

Is the cleansing power of Jesus flowing into all areas of our life? Or are there areas we still claim as our own? If we desire to offer our lives as “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1),  then we must allow our sacrifice to be completely cleansed – we must place our heart more fully in His hands. Let’s come before our Heavenly Father, confess our sins, and allow the transforming forgiveness of Jesus to make us clean from within.