Sarah Palin |
With Sarah Palin preparing to debut her new book, "Going Rogue," on the Oprah Winfrey show, the best-selling authors of a new book about Oprah have some advice to the former Alaska governor on what to expect and how to handle it.
Renowned Christian apologist Josh McDowell and Dave Sterrett, co-authors of "'O' God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah's Spirituality," observe that as many Americans leave churches and give up on organized religion, they're turning to Oprah as their spiritual leader. They contend the "splintered belief" of Oprah and the advice of the colorful teachers she promotes are among today's most relevant issues.
McDowell and Sterrett say they would like to hear Oprah ask Palin about some of the foundations for her political convictions.
"Maybe," they write, "Oprah will also ask Sarah, 'Who are some individuals (either dead or living) that you look to for inspiration as a model for principles and political theory?'"
The authors say that in addition to wanting to know why Palin believes the U.S. government should become smaller, they would like to hear Oprah ask the former Alaska governor and Republic vice-presidential candidate, "If you had been in office as vice-president, would you lead as a pragmatist, who would adjust your principles and values to opinion polls and "whatever is working", or would you stick to your convictions and principles, regardless of the results?"
The authors also say "it would be revealing to hear the ladies' contrasting views on women and abortion."
They would like to see Palin ask Oprah some questions as well, such as, "Why do Hollywood and media elites overwhelmingly endorse and support 'left-leaning' candidates?"
Maybe the topic could be brought up, they write, "Should women be conservative?"
Palin also should ask Oprah, they say, "Why do you believe women should be liberal?"
They suggest Oprah "could touch on why many liberal elites were vehemently opposed to the idea of Sarah leading in a government role."
"In response," they say, they "would like to hear Sarah's reasons for why she believes women should be conservative."
They note that Oprah has said she is more into "spirituality" than religion, because religion includes "doctrines and beliefs."
"If through Barack Obama, government's role is expanding, and most liberals believe government and religion should be separate, does Oprah believe that religion should be shrinking in America?" they want to know.
Another discussion that might be illuminating, they say, would be, "What is the government's basis for making laws? Is morality ever absolute and rooted in God's nature?"
The authors say they have respect for Oprah as a person, but they take issue with her "moral relativism."
They hope Palin, "like Martin Luther King Jr. will share that morality is ultimately dependent on God, rather than individuals or cultures."
They write: "Martin Luther King Jr. once said, 'Some things in this universe are absolute. The God of the universe has made it so. And so long as we adopt this relative attitude toward right and wrong, we're revolting against the very laws of God himself.'"
They hope Palin "will continue to take a stand that the basis of morality is the nature and character of God, the Creator, that human life begins at conception and that every person is created in the image of God."
McDowell has authored or co-authored 118 books, including "More Than a Carpenter," which has sold 15 million copies in 85 languages. His book "New Evidence That Demands a Verdict" was named one of the 20th century's top 40 books and one of the 13 most influential books of the last 50 years on Christian thought by World magazine.