Pales In Comparison

Obam-icans On The Rise (and finally on the Right)

Republicans are stampeding to the Obama campaign with endorsements galore.  Former Massachusetts Governor and author William Weld is the latest endorsement in what's become a long line of folks falling in line behind Colin Powell and Susan Eisenhower.
Joining the tribe of Obamicans most recently are Christopher Buckley, Scott McClellan, Arne Carlson, CC Goldwater and her sibling, and the aforementioned Bill Weld, who will make his announcement today in Manchester, NH.

While at least one of these smell a little like CYA (ahem, Mr. McClellan), many more are heartfelt rejections of the Christianist, uber-right wing lunacy that has swept through the Republican Party.  No where is the idiocy more on display than the continued delusion that Sarah Palin is fit for the nomination or anywhere near ready to be President.  For the Christianist, that delusion continues because "With God All Things Are Possible"; "all things work together for those Who Love the Lord" and the Lord will take care of His Own Sarah Palin. 
The return of Fundamentalism in the US (often called the Third Great Awakening by those who accept and believe), starting with Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and now continued by Mark Driscoll (who hides his fundamentalism and misogyny in hip clothes, cool music, and profane language) has ended intelligent discourse, the belief that ideas matter, an acceptance of those with other beliefs, an ability to think for one's self and reject false prophets and most importantly for the rest of us, it has dangerously influenced the Republican Party, who now legislate their beliefs into our lives. 

Sarah Palin spoke recently of the "prayer warriors" (her words, not mine) whose intercession she feels: 

"....we hear along the rope lines that people are interceding for us and praying for us; it's our reminder to do the same, to put this all in God's hands, to seek his perfect will for this nation and to, of course, seek his wisdom and guidance in putting this nation back on the right track."

Amen, Sister Sarah.  I believe that God in Heaven will put this nation back on the right track with an overwhelming Obama victory and a veto proof majority in Congress and a rejection of this budding theocracy. 

Be Afraid. Be Very, Very Afraid

Salon has a must read article on Sarah Palin's radical theology.  The background and discussion of Sarah Palin's faith in this article, provides a window into why this woman scares me so much and why I wrote earlier that her Religion (not her faith) made her a very, very frightening Vice Presidential candidate:

Bess is unnerved by the prospect of Palin -- a woman whose mind is given to dogmatic certitude -- standing one step away from the Oval Office. "It's truly frightening that someone like Sarah has risen to the national level," Bess said. "Like all religious fundamentalists -- Christian, Jewish, Muslim -- she is a dualist. They view life as an ongoing struggle to the finish between good and evil. Their mind-set is that you do not do business with evil -- you destroy it. Talking with the enemy is not part of their plan. That puts someone like Obama on the side of evil.

There may be people of faith who read this and say 'yes, but this is God's will, she is God's servant ; God will never allow this woman to do evil, she will do good'.  To that I reply, "Uh.Huh.  And there are a lot of Fundamental Muslims who are saying the same thing about Osama Bin Laden"--and that is not a flip response. 

Fundamentalism, be it Muslim or Christian is unyielding and that's what makes it so dangerous.  Belief that it is white or black with no room for gray is fine, as long as you're a farmer or working at McDonald's and your influence is limited to saving a couple of lost souls, but it is not acceptable for someone who has to deal with an increasingly complicated global economy and world.  As Bess says:

"Forget all this chatter about whether or not she knows what the Bush doctrine is. That's trivial. The real disturbing thing about Sarah is her mind-set. It's her underlying belief system that will influence how she responds in an international crisis, if she's ever in that position, and has the full might of the U.S. military in her hands. She gave some indication of that thinking in her ABC interview, when she suggested how willing she would be to go to war with Russia.

"Alaskans liked that certitude when she was dealing with corrupt politicians and the oil industry -- and there is something admirable about it. But when you're dealing with a complex and dangerous world as commander in chief, that's a different story."

Some will say that we are a Christian nation, founded on Christian principles...yader, yader, blar, blar, blar (as we say in Maine), this is much ado about nothing.  Inflammatory gossip from the left, they'll say, fear-mongering.  To that I'd say pshaw.  We can't be afraid enough.

It is the absolute certainty with which a Sarah Palin ignores scientific evidence that says homosexuality is not a choice or that says despite all evidence to the contrary the earth is 6,000 years old.  It's the absolute belief in an apocalyptic end-times as being God's will. 

This absolute certainty is what will enable her to launch a nuclear warhead, with little to no introspection....but even if it never comes to that, a Sarah Palin Presidency will change science education, contraceptive rights, gay rights, all in the name of her Religion. 

Evangelical David Kuo on Palin Abandoning Her Faith

Ouch. Now the Evangelicals are taking her to task....although I'll bet Kuo will take it on the chin for writing this.

Aw, Jeez

An ABC (again) investigative report on Palin's book "banning." It looks to me that had Sarah Palin seen any opportunity to ban these books, she would have. She's shrewd politician; she's not going to break the law when the law is unambiguous. 
Interestingly enough, embedded early in the middle of the report is the Pastor at Palin's Assembly of God Church in Wasilla (the church that she attended until a few years ago) slamming gay rights laws as a way of homosexual to assuage their guilty conscience for sinning.   

What's Wrong With Sarah Palin

That's not a question.

Rick Davis, Campaign Manager for John McCain has said that this election will not be about the issues.  I'm willing to play along, so this first blog post will be about Sarah Palin's religion, and why her religion makes her, to me, the scariest candidate ever nominated for national office.

In Sarah Palin John McCain has picked a running mate who supports teaching creationism in schools. In October of 2006, the Anchorage Daily News reported that Palin said the following about creationism at a debate:

"Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information....Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides."

To be fair, she has done nothing as governor of Alaska to enforce this statement.  But the statement is extreme.

She does not support teaching the theory of Intelligent Design (which is in effect, Creationism, but is at least repackaged to make it slightly less faith based and more scientific--and abandons the earth is 6,000 years old claim of Creationists) in schools.   She supports the Biblical Story of Creationism, which means teaching Genesis 1; which includes the belief that the earth is 6,000 years old and that God made it in 6, 24 hour days.  This is the definition of creationism and one that her church strongly endorses.  It is derived from a literal interpretation of the Bible--as is all of the Assemblies of God doctrine.    Can you vote for someone who thinks this?   I want my President and Vice President to be smarter than I, and a 6,000 year-old earth isn’t credible any more.  And my God isn’t so limited that His Greatness is diminished by Evolution.  I prefer to think 'how cool-- God created a system (evolution) that works so well'. 

Now, at the risk of me appearing to be totally off the deep-end, let's consider her Religion (not her faith--her religion):  First off, I offer my credentials on this matter, partially so you understand why I feel so strongly about this and also so that you know that I know what I'm talking about.   I come from the same background. My family is born again.  I used to self identify as a born-again/Evangelical Christian, but no I no longer self-identify that way. Why?  Primarily due to the Christian assault on gay rights and the fight over evolution in our schools.  The church that I was raised in is not a Pentecostal  (e.g. rolling in the aisles, speaking in tongues, spirit-filled) denomination, but my parents believe in the gifts of the spirit and have friends who are spirit-filled.  My family believes in the prophecies of the book of Revelation, although they do not necessarily subscribe to Rapture theology (think Left Behind by Tim LeHaye) or what is called End Times theology. I know these folks (in the case of my family, I love these folks) and that’s why choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate, in my judgment, disqualifies John McCain as a candidate.  The fact that his campaign appears to be downplaying her religious background says that they know she espouses some extreme views (at least extreme to people of other faiths and many moderate Christians)   So….back to Palin:

Palin is a born-again, prophecy believing dominionist* with an apocalyptic,  theological viewpoint.  She sees the war in Iraq as part of God's plan to bring about the apocalypse, and reads the Bible from a fundamental (literal) viewpoint.

Plainly speaking, she believes that certain events point to the last days of this earth and the return of Christ to begin His Millennial Rule.  Many of those who subscribe to the end-times viewpoint have no fear of a war or nuclear war in the Middle East (as it’s prophesied that the end will begin in the Middle East) and many hope to hasten the end so that Christ may begin his reign.  Part of the Far Christian Right’s dismissal of global warming is simply due to the fact that they don’t think we’ll be around long enough on this earth (having been Raptured) for it all to matter.

According to CNN today:

Palin's former pastor says he has no doubt her religious beliefs will influence her decision making when it comes to government policy.

The article goes on to point out:

Her campaign says she doesn't mix her faith with government business. But Palin did ask her audience to pray for a $30 billion natural gas pipeline she is on a mission to build in Alaska. In the video Palin says, "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas pipeline built. So pray for that ... I can do my job there in developing my natural resources. But all of that doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart is not good with God.”

Palin now attends the Wasilla Bible Church. She was there on August 17, just days before entering the national spotlight. David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. Brickner said, "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."

You cannot separate Sarah Palin from her religion; it's guaranteed by her faith that she will govern by what she interprets to be God's will.  Not what you and I believe is God's will. Not what Muslims or Hindus or other "false religions"** believe is God's will. What she interprets as God's will. 

Now, even if she does hunt moose and will lower your taxes, do you really want someone who believes that we're living in the end times to be one heart beat away from that Red Button? 

* A dominionist believes that "true Christian citizenship" involves an active engagement in society to "take dominion over all things as agents of God."

** I don't believe they're false, but most born-again Christians do.