By far, the most nauseating moment in politics this year from anyone not named Donald Trump came earlier this month from Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. She announced her support for Roy Moore’s bid for the former Senate seat of Jeff Sessions–even though she believed there may have been something to the allegations that he molested women and pursued girls young enough to be his daughters.
Lest you think this is snark, watch here.
One has to wonder if Ivey would have been so quick to throw her weight behind Moore if she knew that he helped write a study course that argued for women to be barred from holding office.
ThinkProgress learned that in 2011, then-Alabama chief justice Moore co-authored a course in “Law & Government” under the auspices of Vision Forum, a hyperfundamentalist organization headed by Doug Phillips. Since at least 1999, Moore had served on the “faculty” of Vision Forum’s Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy–a grandiose name for a four-day course centered on the view that there was only one solution for “the challenging ethical questions of the twenty-first century”–the Bible.
During a 2008 session of the “Law & Government” course, William Einwechter, a teaching elder, or minister, at Immanuel Free Reformed Church in Stevens, Pennsylvania, gave a lecture on “What The Bible Says About Female Magistrates.” Listen to some clips here.
Einwechter slammed feminism for having “transformed our culture” for the worse. As he saw it, no one gets feminists in a tizzy more than “the Biblical doctrine of male leadership.” He contended that God’s view of womanhood includes “husband, children, and home”–and nothing at all about serving in government.
“She’s not a warrior. She’s not a judge. She’s a woman. Created by God. Glorious in her place and in her conduct and in her role.”
He went on to say that women were not created to “carry on the role of a man.” That means women should not work outside the home or take any role that could potentially give them leadership over men–including holding office. Instead, in Einwechter’s world, a woman’s proper place is to stay at home and devote herself to her husband and children.
In closing, Einwechter argues that since “it is not God’s revealed will for a woman to serve as a civil magistrate,” they must not vote for a female candidate, no matter how much they may agree with their politics. Believe it or not, this line has actually been advanced in “mainstream” fundie circles. Dave Daubenmire, for instance, suggested that Trump’s degrading comments about women weren’t nearly as bad as the fact there was a woman running for president.
This line of reasoning appears to center on Isaiah 3 in the King James Bible, in which God judges Jerusalem and Judah for allowing women to rule. But earlier translations of that passage suggest that word should actually be “creditors” or “swindlers.” The Hebrew words for “women” and “creditors” have identical consonants, but different vowels.
At that same session, Moore openly praised Vision Forum’s work in a lecture of his own. Listen here.
Moore admitted being “envious” at the work Wilson was doing to train young men “that are going to make a difference in this nation.” Apparently that difference must include sexism based on a mistranslation of the Bible.
Given that Moore has lent his name to this course, it’s only fair to ask–does he believe women should hold office? If he doesn’t, he could potentially find himself in a rather awkward situation if he wins in December. After all, he’d be serving alongside 21 women–including five in his own caucus. And even if he does, what message does it send for an elected official to allow his name to be associated with such blatant sexism?
Regardless of Moore’s views on women in office, the fact his name is on this course at all is yet another reason he has no business in the Senate.
(featured image courtesy Moore’s Facebook)
