QUESTION: “What do you think of having Hillary Clinton as President of the United States?”  

“There is a lot of discussion and news relating to the issue of Hillary Clinton as president.  Some are very favorable to this, saying that it is finally time for the United States to have a woman in this important position.  Others are against this, saying that a woman should not be in this position.  What do you think?  What does the Bible say?”  

ANSWER  

Obviously, what I think about this is of little consequence.  The real issue is that which Paul raised: “What does the Scripture say?” (Romans 4:3a).  God, through His Word, must be our final authority in all matters, including the issue of the presidency.  We must not go to educational institutions, entertainment celebrities, politicians, sociologists, or religious leaders for the answer.

Over the years, women have occupied leading roles in Great Britain, India, Pakistan, and other nations.  This fact is not decisive, but it does reveal that women, under certain circumstances, have the ability to lead on a national level.  Thus, it is not whether a woman can lead or whether a woman can command the loyalty of a certain element of voting public, but what God thinks about this question.  There are several points that we should bear in mind on this issue.

First, the issue is not Hillary Clinton.  Many oppose her because of the unethical and immoral influence that Bill Clinton had when he occupied the White House for eight years.  They would say—and rightly so—that Hillary holds the same liberal and immoral views as Bill, her husband.  But the issue goes beyond Hillary as a person.  The basic question is whether a woman should assume the office of the presidency.

Second, it is clear that God restricts a woman’s role in society.  Some would say that the Biblical restrictions only relate to the home and the church.  They would admit that a woman is not to have authority over her husband and should not have authority in a religious context.  Yet, they would allow nearly unrestricted female participation in other places of society. Therefore, a woman could be the president of a company, a manager over men, or a teacher over men, with no problem at all.  They could have authority in education, business, government, and all other fields of endeavor.  This would want many liberal, feminist, and even religious leaders would contend.

Third, Scripture does say that a woman is to be submissive in the marriage, while the husband is the head over her (Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Peter 3:1-7; Titus 2:4-5).  It further says that the woman is not to teach over a man (1 Timothy 2:11-12) or speak in the assembly of saints (1 Corinthians 14:33-37); she is to be submissive in this context (cf. both of these scriptures).  Let’s hold to this truth before even considering the wider question. 

Fourth, this issue goes beyond the home and the church.  The woman is to take a subordinate position in regard to man in general, not merely in the home and church.  Paul makes this clear: “Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:3).  This is based on such fundamental principles as the man’s priority in creation (v. 8) and the fact that the “man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake” (v. 9).  (In 1 Timothy 2:11-15, Paul roots his teaching about women in two basic principles—that of the priority of man in creation and the priority of woman in deception.)  The apostle goes on to say that there is a mutual interdependence between the man and the woman (vv. 11-12), but male authority does prevail (v. 3).  This would lead us to conclude that a woman is not to be the “head” or authority in society in general and not merely in the marriage, the home, and the body of Christ.

We must emphasize that these facts do not suggest that a woman cannot be capable, educated, intelligent, and wise.  Indeed, many women have more wisdom than their husband does, may have more intelligence than he does, and may have more skills than he possesses.  At the same time, we must strongly denounce the feminist position that a woman can exercise authority over men and occupy positions of leadership.  This would include the presidency of the United States and other national governments.  It is much wiser to heed the God who created male and female than to put our confidence in public opinion or the polls.

Richard Hollerman