Sarah Palin is resigning from the governorship of Alaska. I have listened to the pundits of the American scene, and I believe they are not getting the story correct. Their speculations lack insight and are unfair to Alaska's governor.
Sarah and I have known one another for over a dozen years. We have known one another as public figures. She was mayor of Wasilla and I was a high profile clergyperson. On another level, Sarah was a basketball mom in a league in which I was coaching. I would never describe us as friends, but we were always friendly. In a variety of situations we have been adversaries but I never perceived her as an enemy. I always understood Sarah as a person of integrity, who was devout in her faith, and with whom I had significant disagreements.
In the 2008 election campaign, reporters from all over the world descended on the Matanuska Valley, the area in which both Sarah and I live. Because Sarah and I had been adversaries in struggles that were public, reporters sought me out. Over and over I expressed the opinion that Sarah Palin could not be understood apart from her Evangelical faith.
I, too, am an Evangelical. I am an Evangelical by birth and by church affiliation. Almost all of my college and graduate school education was in the Evangelical tradition.
In the Evangelical tradition, the personal relationship between a believer and God is of prime importance. While the relationship between a believer and God is nurtured and disciplined by involvement in a church, there is nothing so powerful as an intensely personal relationship with God. Speaking for myself, I have made decision after decision based on my understanding of my relationship with God. I freely identify that relationship as non-rational. This non-rational relationship is disciplined by reason, by the counsel of friends and by the lessons of history. However, these other factors never trump my personal relationship with God.
Sarah Palin is a part of a Fundamentalist wing of the Evangelical tradition. I have absolutely no reason to doubt the sincerity of her faith convictions.
Some weeks ago I wrote a column about an Old Testament character named Abraham. I made the statement "Of all the people who have ever lived on earth, there is none more influential than Abraham." In this founding myth of Jews, Christians and Muslims, God talks to Abraham and Abraham talks to God. Among 21st-century Evangelicals, we still believe that God talks to us and that we need to be talking to God.
In the story, Abraham is described as a "wandering Aramean." He was a nomad. God told Abraham that great nations would be born out of the Abraham progeny. We are told that Abraham believed God. Then comes a profound statement "Abraham went out not knowing where he was going."
In 1951, when I said "yes" to the call of God, I had no idea where my path would lead. I knew that I was faced with seven years of rigorous educational training. Beyond that I had no idea where I would go or what exactly I was to do.
When I left a family business in Fairbury, Illinois, I left, not knowing where I was going. Twice I have resigned from positions with no idea about where I was going or what I was going to do. Each time I did so with a confidence that the God who called me would have a place for me.
Sarah Palin and I share a common religious heritage. It is rooted in the Abraham experience Sarah Palin believes that God has special things for her to do. She is leaving the governorship of Alaska and does not know where she is going. Why can't we accept her statement at face value?
The speculations about why Sarah resigned are running rampant. "She cannot stand the heat of high public office." "She is mentally unstable." "She is motivated by wealth." "She is being investigated by the FBI and will soon be indicted." "She is a quitter." "She is planning on running for Lisa Murkowski's Senate seat." Each speculation assumes some unworthy or dishonorable motivation.
I choose not to put integrity question marks over her decisions.
Rather, I understand her as a devout Fundamentalist Evangelical Christian who is highly motivated to do the will of God as she understands it. Sarah is willing to step out into the unchartered courses of the American political scene. She dares to believe that God has a special calling for her. Sarah is a bright and capable person. She has the ability to be a significant force in the world of American politics.
I do not want Sarah Palin to become the president of the United States. I do not want her political convictions to become the law of our land. I do want her to be treated fairly and to be understood as the deeply religious person she is.
The Rev. Howard Bess is an American Baptist minister who lives in retirement in Palmer, Alaska.