The Difference between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden: The Courage of One’s Convictions

South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler said that Sarah Palin’s “primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.” This appears to have generated a firestorm, but conservatives have already observed that Palin’s primary disqualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.

The choice of Sarah Palin has without a doubt revitalized the Christian base of the Republican Party. It was instantly recognized that in Sarah Palin you had someone who did not merely say that she was pro-life, but had put her beliefs into action. The choice to take her son to term, despite knowing he had Downs Syndrome, was proof positive that she meant what she said. The fact that her daughter is also carrying her child to term despite being in circumstances that many proponents of abortion might consider ‘punishing’ shows that the most important values were passed along from parent to child.

It is argued that this is all well and good, because at least they had the choice. Sarah Palin would deprive people of the right to choose altogether. This misses the point. It isn’t a question about choice, but on whether or not the unborn human is an unborn person. If you think it is, then no ‘choice’ is possible.

Simply put, Christian conservatives have rallied to the support of John McCain because his choice of VP, Sarah Palin, not only has convictions but also the courage to carry them out.

Compare this to Obama’s selection of Joe Biden, who according to a September 7th, 2008, New York Times article, said, “I’m prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception.” The article says that Biden “would not impose his personal views on others, and had indeed voted against curtailing abortion rights and against criminalizing abortion.”

This tells us exactly what kind of ‘faith’ Joe Biden means. It is the kind of ‘faith’ mocked by skeptics and atheistic propagandists. It is a ‘faith’ that accepts only on authority, believes the principle to exist merely in the abstract, apart from evidence, or even in spite of evidence. A ‘faith’ like this is the kind of ‘faith’ that one wouldn’t dare act on. With a ‘faith’ like that, it is certainly true that Biden should not impose it on other people. I will go so far as to say that if anyone, Christian or otherwise, has a ‘faith’ like this, they absolutely should not impose it on others.

If we believe that ‘faith’ can be evidence-based or reasonable, we can determine which concept makes the most sense when carried to its logical conclusion.

For example, would Joe Biden take it as a ‘matter of faith’ that Jews are people to? Would he say that it was right to rescue the Jews during World War Two or would he say that he wouldn’t want to impose his personal views on others? If there is life at the moment of conception, it should follow that it is human life, and it should follow from that that it is a person. A person in a stage of development that looks different than persons we’re more accustomed to seeing, but nothing different than that. This ‘personhood’ should extend past birth, encompassing even the lives of the millions of those targeted by Hitler.

I think it is reasonable to ask whether or not Biden really believes what he says he believes regarding life at conception. If we allow, however, that he really does believe it, we are left scratching our heads as to why such a belief matters if it doesn’t extend beyond one’s own personal frame of reference. How would this be distinguishable from pandering, for example? How is this distinguishable from moral relativity? The moral relativist also doesn’t want to extend their personal preferences beyond their own, personal sphere.

The fundamental question is simply this: who or what ultimately determines whether or not a human becomes a person and what kind of value we place on a person versus a non-person? If you believe the answer is God, and you believe that God’s verdict applies also to the unborn, then it might very well be an ‘article of faith’ but it is one that equally applies to any other person, as well.

Between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden we see illustrated two very different approaches to faith and religion. Sarah Palin behaves as though it were actually true. As such, she behaves that way in her private life as well as being willing to ‘impose’ her views on others. For obviously, if something is true, and it is important enough, the moral duty is to at least attempt to persuade people to your position.

This is even more severe than that. As for importance, it is the lives of millions of unborn persons at stake. Not their well-being in general, but their very lives. Not their smoking preferences, or their sexual preferences, or their drinking preferences. Their very lives.

It has been said that people do not vote for the VP but rather the presidential candidate but this year I don’t believe that is the case. The two VPs represent two very different ways of approaching reality itself and therefore reflect on how each presidential candidate views the world. It is up to the voter now to exhibit the courage of their own convictions, as though what they believe is not merely personal preference, but actually true.

Anthony Horvath is the Executive Director of Athanatos Christian Ministries and the chief apologist at Sntjohnny.com. He is the author of the Birth Pangs series.

Exactly!

2 posted on 09/13/2008 12:48:12 PM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)

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3 posted on 09/13/2008 12:48:44 PM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)

Excellent article!

Anthony Horvath concisely sums up the real difference between the liberal view on abortion and the conservative view, as epitomized by Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

4 posted on 09/13/2008 12:56:45 PM PDT by Jim Scott (Never, never, never give up! - Winston Churchill)

When it comes to "the courage of your convictions," Biden has two defects. He lacks courage and he lacks convictions. Other than that, it's a pretty even contest between Biden and Palin. IMHO.

Congressman Billybob

Tenth in the ten-part series, "The Owner's Manual (Part 10) -- The Remaining Amendments"