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.