Orwell was right to point out that language can corrupt thought. Since thinking and speaking are the central tasks of politics, language can also corrupt governance. When all hot-button issues become the purview of every facet of government, pesky considerations like specialization or separation of powers fall by the wayside.

A day before an ISIS attack killed 13 Marines in Kabul, President Joe Biden declared cybersecurity “the core national security challenge we are facing.” Cybersecurity is critical. But with the Taliban retaking Afghanistan after being routed by the U.S. military two decades ago, calling it the “core” national security challenge of our time was bizarre. Still, Biden’s August comments were an improvement from June, when the president declared climate change the greatest threat to American security.
You would think that the commander in chief responsible for one of the biggest foreign policy blunders in decades would choose his words more carefully. But that’s not how his party tends to operate these days. George Orwell warned of the dangers of imprecise political speech in his seminal essay “Politics and the English Language.” The problem, in Orwell’s telling, is that “political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible.” Political speakers reach for muddled, vague language to sell the public on their indefensible policies. This is bad enough, but it presents a broader issue because “if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”
Orwell’s diagnosis is as true in America today as it was when he wrote those words 75 years ago. And while both political parties are guilty of indulging in bad rhetoric that corrupts policy, Democrats are the more frequent and more serious offenders, largely because linguistic manipulation is central to so many progressive political ideas.
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Even without the draft, congregation leaders already encounter young women considering the military who need counsel since women are now sent into combat.  Still, few congregation leaders with whom I have spoken either know the main points in biblical studies about women and the military, or that everyone who enlists agrees to go into combat.

Provisions to register women for military conscription were included in the original versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2022 that passed in both the House and Senate. The provisions were removed in the committee process that reconciled the two versions, so they were not included in the final NDAA. The Supreme Court is expected to hear a case arguing that excluding women from draft registration is discriminatory. Whether by legislation or litigation, efforts to register women for the draft will continue.
Many Protestant denominations (links below) that take a complementarian position about gender have prepared studies that oppose assigning women to combat and/or conscripting women. In 2002, for example, the Presbyterian Church in America’s (PCA) 30th General Assembly concluded (in part): “This Assembly declares it to be the biblical duty of man to defend woman and therefore condemns the use of women as military combatants, as well as any conscription of women into the Armed Services of the United States” (Minutes, pp. 282-9). In 2014, the Presbyterian and Reformed Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel extended such conclusions by describing the high risk that military women face of being raped by military men.
Six Biblical objections to using women as combatants appear in denomination studies.

The Lord assigned Adam to “keep” the Garden of Eden, where “keep” includes protecting it. Adam failed by standing aside while Eve faced Satan (Genesis 2:15; Genesis 3:1-6).
Husbands are to protect wives (I Peter 3:7) as Christ protects the church (Ephesians 5: 22-3).
Women should not put on the things special for men; the language suggests men’s things for war (Deuteronomy 22:5).
Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord always sent men and never women to attack enemies (e.g., Joshua 1:14; Judges 4:6-7; Nehemiah 4: 14).
In the one instance where Israel’s military leader, Barack, rebelled against the Lord by demanding that a woman, Deborah, accompany him into battle, he is rebuked (Judges 4: 8-9).
A woman can be pregnant even before being aware; military women, then, can take an unborn baby into combat risking its death (Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13).

Some General Assembly minutes include minority arguments that women should be encouraged to volunteer for combat. No recorded denomination discussion, however, has ever supported registering women for military conscription.
Even without the draft, congregation leaders already encounter young women considering the military who need counsel since women are now sent into combat.  Still, few congregation leaders with whom I have spoken either know the main points in biblical studies about women and the military, or that everyone who enlists agrees to go into combat (Enlistment/ Reenlistment Document C 9. a. (4)).
Rather than repeat the extensive explanations, objections, and responses in the denomination studies (links below), I will describe personal experiences over 10 years to disseminate their points. These experiences include conversations with pastors, elders, presbyteries, Stated Clerks, seminary faculty, chaplains and chaplain endorsers, parachurch ROTC group leaders, senior staff of Senators, and Congressional committee members. They also include preparing and distributing a booklet adapting for Christian girls the theological language of denomination studies.
The most common response to draft registration that I receive is that we need not do anything because we can still rely on conscientious objection. Doing so, however, provides a thin hope.
Conscientious objection to being drafted has been possible, but not to registering. Also, conscientious objection policy traditionally recognizes pacifist opposition to war in any form (notably by Anabaptists), but not to Reformed just war views supporting some wars but not others, like wars fought by conscripted women.
Conscientious objection policy today is designed for military people who come to the conviction that they can no longer fight. The acceptable rationale, however, has shifted from religious affiliation to demonstrated, well-articulated personal conviction. A Chaplain Colonel advises me, however, that even chaplains who carefully articulate conscientious objection for exemption from Covid vaccination policy are being declined.
Given current policy, it seems unreasonable to expect 18-year-old women to convince draft boards that they should be exempt from draft registration. As legal adults, the burden to convince is on them personally, not on their parents or pastors. Even with a lawyer’s help, that burden seems especially challenging when a woman’s local church, presbytery/ synod, or denomination shows ambivalence about whether women should agree to combat by enlisting and has not confirmed its opposition to draft registration.
Why now?
When a war lacks sufficient voluntary enlistment to require a draft, draft boards will be overloaded with intermixed genuine and ingenuous appeals for exemption. It would be to our shame to wait until our daughters are involuntarily carrying weapons and our sons are ordered to send them into combat before beginning the slow process of building church consensus and appealing for government exemptions.
What to consider doing?
Parents – consider reading the denomination studies before advising your children and asking your elders to take a stand.
Elders – consider working with your colleagues to create appropriate congregation policy. Perhaps contact Elders in nearby congregations to do likewise, or ask your regional leader (e.g., Stated Clerk, Bishop) to raise the issue in your area.
Regional leaders – consider contacting your congregation leaders to address this issue and contacting regional leaders of other denominations to offer joint support. I have successfully promoted interdenominational cooperation among Bible-believing churches to influence a Senator.
Public Christian leaders (authors, bloggers, publishers, radio/ television hosts, Christian educators, women’s ministry leaders) — consider expanding your vision; take courage; recognizing government sin can be a way to introduce repentance and the Gospel of grace.
What may not be helpful?
Waiting for denomination leaders. For many denominations, studies like the one supporting the PCA’s 2002 resolution await local and regional confirmation that may be delayed until a catastrophe prompts belated, ineffectual action. Silence tells denomination leaders that we do not care. One chaplain who faithfully raised the issue of women and the military for many years wrote to me about our negligence in supporting denomination studies by saying, “Members of our churches love their daughters, they just do not love them in this way.”
We are leaving our children on the edge of adulthood to deal with problematic government decisions to the children themselves without adult guidance, without adult protection. We dare not repeat Adam’s sin by letting our children and young people face the Enemy alone.
Mark Peterson is a member of Redlands Community Church in Homestead, Fla.; he is in the process of moving his church home near to his new residence in central Florida. He was ordained a PCA Deacon in 1984. He is a semi-retired business professor, author, and editor.

Studies
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 2016, pp. 405-408, 449.
Associated Gospel Churches, 2013, fourth Mandated Policy. (AGC is the chaplain endorsing agency for many independent, non-denominational Bible churches)
Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, 2018.
Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 2001, pp. 258-282.
Presbyterian Church in America, 2001, pp. 258-320. Sections 29-53 to 29-57; 2002, pp. 283-290. Sections 30-57 to 30-60.
Reformed Presbyterian Church of the United States, 1996 (no link available)
Reformed Episcopal Church, third (2017) and fourth (2021) Resolutions
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 2004.
Southern Baptist Convention, 1998, 2016.

Researchers found that the changing religious landscape in America, sped up by the pandemic and enforced lockdowns, has led to the challenging times that pastors now face, causing more of them to think of changing churches or leaving the profession altogether.

As American pastors have grown increasingly discontent with their profession, more than half have seriously considered leaving pastoral ministry since 2020 for various reasons, a new study from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research suggests.
In “I’m Exhausted All the Time—Exploring the Factors Contributing to Growing Clergy Discontentment,” released as part of the Institute’s larger project “Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations,” researchers surveyed a nationally representative group of 1,700 religious leaders in the fall of 2023 then compared the findings to responses provided by clergy and their congregations in earlier EPIC surveys.
“The further we are from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the more we observe larger percentages of clergy pondering alternatives to their present congregation, vocation, or both,” the research team led by Scott Thumma, professor of Sociology of Religion at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace and director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, stated in the report.
The data suggests that as of fall 2023, 53% of religious leaders have seriously considered leaving pastoral ministry at least once since 2020. This share is significantly higher than the 37% of pastors who reported in 2021 that they had similar thoughts since 2020.
About 44% of pastors also said they seriously considered leaving their congregations at least once since 2020. This is more than double the 21% of pastors who reported this sentiment in 2021.
“While there is some overlap in these two thoughts, it is not entirely the same group of leaders considering leaving both their current congregation and the ministry profession altogether. About a third of leaders report having both thoughts, a third have considered one or the other (11% consider only leaving their congregation and 20% consider only leaving the profession) and the final third have never considered leaving either,” researchers explained.
The growing discontent among pastors was described in the report as a “disconcerting” reality that implies “clergy are in the midst of a challenging time.”
The average clergyperson was described as a 59-year-old leader who had served in their position for a median of seven years and was 80% more likely to be white and male. Some 75% were employed full time, and 60% of them served solo rather than as part of a team of leaders.
While most pastors reported taking a day off during the week, only a few have taken a sabbatical in the last decade. About a third held paid employment beyond their ministry work, and this was found to be more common among pastors who served part time. Nevertheless, more than a quarter of full-time pastors reported additional employment.
In their efforts to explain the rising discontent among clergy, researchers examined questions of overall health and wellness among the leaders. They found that it did not appear that “a large percentage of clergy have suddenly become unwell or are suffering a dramatic emotional or spiritual disease and then thinking about leaving.”
Researchers found that the changing religious landscape in America, sped up by the pandemic and enforced lockdowns, has led to the challenging times that pastors now face, causing more of them to think of changing churches or leaving the profession altogether.
“The post-pandemic turnover has left our lay leadership depleted; people’s sense of connection and commitment is less than before; it’s hard to get people to do DIY church in the way that we did before; people seem to be more demanding of services. Plus — people’s doubt is at an all-time high. I’m spiritually exhausted from talking people back into faith — am I even doing them a favor?” one pastor in the study said.
Researchers pointed to the decades-long decline in in-person attendance and church membership numbers.
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