The Christian God has done some pretty controversial and interesting things since, forever.
He (because God can only be a “He” despite God’s characterization in Isaiah 42:14, or a dozen other passages) created the earth, humans, and vegetation in seven days, and then destroyed them as quickly as he created them.
He came down to earth, had a wrestling match with the patriarch of modern monotheism, hit the guy in the hip, and then blessed the guy after the fight.
He sent his only son to earth, even though he knew his son would be on a collision course with death.
In the last decade or so, God has demanded that some extreme and polarizing candidates not only run for political office, but also eventually lose their elections.
And now, God is moving to ensure that a woman will never be the president of the United States.
At least that is what a contingent of ultra-conservative Christians are asserting as Hillary Clinton moves closer to being elected to the nation’s highest office than any other woman in history.
This contingent of conservative Christians use well-known passages and examples in the Bible to assert that not only men are called to lead, but women are not called in the same manner.
Specifically, conservatives point to Eve’s origin as subordinate to Adam; Deborah’s assertion that it was most shameful that she had to step up to lead the Israelites when male leaders faltered; and passages in the Apostle Paul’s letters that assert that the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.
For their part, conservative Christians are consistent. When they see or experience phenomena in our culture they don’t understand, don’t like, or perhaps fear, they proof text, or pull biblical passages out of context to support their fear and opposition.
But, pulling Biblical passages out of context may help construct a conservative religious agenda, but it does little to discern God’s will as it relates to women in leadership.
If we look at the scriptures in their entirety, we see a Christian God who values women and their leadership.
If we look closely at the creation narrative, we see that God created men and women at the same time, equally and in the image of God.
We also see God calling brilliant women like Vashti, Esther, Deborah and others, to lead and save their people, because of their brilliance and temperament, not simply because there wasn’t a man around to lead.
Further, while Apostle Paul made some specific statements about women designed to address specific issues in specific churches, women preached the Gospel and were treated as equals in Paul’s ministry.
And the only people to ever minister to Jesus were women.
We may not know the outcome of this presidential election, but we do know that a complete and thorough reading of the scriptures makes clear that God doesn’t have an issue with women in leadership.
Men do.
