robertt8: Thanks for your clarifications & response. But as I learn more about Mrs. Palin's family, especially Bristol (the pregnant daughter), I stand unmoved on the Bible's clear command to the parents to rear their children. Not the church, not the schools, not the government, not society - it is the parents who are to bring up their children in the training & instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6). I must confess that your comments about the WMD's in Iraq set me off. The murderers who killed several thousand innocent Americans did it with four passenger planes, no bombs or nukes involved. The real "WMD" is the human heart - it is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Again, it is clearly government's role to protect its citizens from all attackers, both foreign and domestic; it does not wield the sword in vain (Rom. 13). My son was in a roadside bomb attack outside Baghdad, & he escaped unharmed. But (in an unrelated incident) he lost 2 comrades. Please support our troops!

Tedster1000,
First, I respect your intentions, and honour your son who is serving his country. Thank you.
To clarify, I don't live in a commune. I'm referring to the indiginous culture that exists where I am. The parents aren't supposed to cop out on raising their children, but the importance of extended family (nearly everyone) is huge. Sort of like when Mary and Joseph assumed Jesus was with the rest of the village on his way back from Jerusalem.
The woman in proverbs 31 did work hard. But where do we draw the line on "full time" and "part time"? She must have been out of the kitchen quite a bit. Let's not mix up old and new testaments though - in regards to what we are to do, I think Jesus made it clear he didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. My point is, pro-life should not just include the lives of the unborn. www.robertsessford.com

In response to Robertt8: Today's news reports that Palin's 17-yr.-old daughter is pregnant. This is EXACTLY the problem that goodness & mercy is trying to get across. I won't say that had Palin done her job better as a mom that this wouldn't have happened, but one must certainly give pause to consider it. Your communal ideas on child-rearing are unscriptural, and your application of Pr. 31 is inaccurate. (There is no mention in that passage that the Pr. 31 woman is a full-time member of the work force; it only says that she works hard.) I'm disappointed in your anti-war stance by misapplying the concept of "created in the image of God" (just read Rom. 13 and all the OT passages where God commanded Israel to utterly destroy their enemies). In any case, MY son served in Iraq in the U.S. Army, & I really would appreciate it if you'd support a righteous cause in a righteous battle.