Palin and those “scary” Christians
Pentecostals number between 10-30 million in the United States depending on how you define the term and make up one quarter of all Christians worldwide. They are a subset of the larger evangelical movement that numbers about 102 million people in the United States. ABC News recently published this article on the type of churches Sarah Palin has attended at one time or anther.Â
What Does Palin’s Faith Mean For US?Â
As America gets a crash course in Sarah Palin, the question has been raised of how her two decades as a member of the Assemblies of God church in Wasilla has shaped her personality. If elected, Sarah Palin would become the most powerful Pentecostal in U.S. history. So how has this church shaped her as a leader?Â
Shaped her personality? You’ll never hear that asked of Barack Obama after sitting under the spiritual mentorship of the good Rev. Wright for twenty-three years.Â
What is interesting about this is that my father (a minister now for forty years) was an Assemblies of God pastor for seven years and was also a pastor for many years with Church on the Rock International. That is the ‘non-denominational’ church referred to in the article that Sarah Palin now attends. Church on the Rock is an association of churches, not a denomination, so they can technically be spoken of as ‘non-denominational’.Â
My maternal grandfather (a minister, pastor, and preacher for some sixty years) was also an Assemblies of God pastor for many of those years and then later was an ordained minister with the Independent Assemblies of God for about the last twenty-five years of his life. My great-grandfather and step great-grandfather were also Assembly of God pastors. Â
I guess all of that makes Sarah Palin one of “my peopleâ€. I can safely say that I have far more insight into the personal theology, belief system and Christian world view of Governor Sarah Palin than the entire staff of ABC News could ever hope to have. Â
Despite the sensationalism in the ABC article, the Assemblies are actually considered pretty mild and tame for “Pentecostals†and I wouldn’t have the slightest trepidation of putting someone with that belief system in a position of authority. If anything, a few more people who strive to be honest, moral, and forthright and who have humbled themselves before God might be just the thing our increasingly corrupt system of government needs.Â
What ABC is trying to say is that since Sarah Palin is a Bible believing Christian that somehow makes her scary, or dangerous or ‘other’ and therefore she should be rejected in favor of the secularist who attended a radical, black liberation theology church and whose pastor,  and Obama’s spiritual mentor for most of his adult life, is known for his anti-white, anti-American and pro-terrorist stances, rants and raves. This also means that Palin  is probably not a “baby-whacker†or willing to personally officiate at lesbian weddings, obviously making her ‘not a feminist’ and her and her family worthy only of being the subject of unending slander, character assassination and rumormongering.Â
Sounds fair, doesn’t it? I absolutely detest the media. It is sad to see a nation that has now apparently declared secularism to be its national religion while rejecting, ridiculing and mocking the Faith that this nation and its concepts and laws was founded upon. The road is not always an easy one for those who have chosen to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Behind all of the smears of Governor Palin’s religion and Christians in general is the accusation that they are not “open mindedâ€. I believe we should all be “open minded†in all things. But that has nothing to do with swallowing whole anything and everything presented to us without at least exercising a semblance of personal judgment, logic, common sense and principle. Suspending all notions of judgment and right and wrong is not synonymous with ‘tolerance’ or ideological maturity, but merely an amoral, easy way out where there is no right and wrong, only different. There is still a place for morals and values, principle and self-restraint, personal responsibility and self-control, as well as respect for yourself and for God.Â
Refusing to embrace the sudden, faddish redefinition of marriage, utopian socialism or sex education for kindergartners or cheerleading promiscuity and worshipping the creation instead of the Creator is hardly “pushing your religion†on everyone else. It certainly isn’t ‘scary’ and cause enough for the shapers of public opinion to resort to wailing and gnashing of teeth because a possible Pentecostal is running for high office.Â
Not advocating decadence and cultural pollution should not be a cause for suspicion, innuendos or sly media hit pieces but for praise, encouragement and admiration. We should thank those who are worked to preserve principle and decency no matter which way the winds of political popularity or public opinion may be blowing. Believing in Christ and traditional Judeo-Christian values is not a badge of shame, but should be a badge of honor in a world that increasingly calls good evil and evil good. If anything, it is the religion of secularism that is insisting on pushing its own twisted agenda and “values†(or lack thereof) on the American people.
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David Huntwork is a conservative activist and freelance columnist in Northern Colorado, where he lives with his wife and three young daughters. You may view his bio and past columns at http://DavidHuntwork.tripod.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions at Davehuntwork@juno.com .
David Huntwork is a conservative activist and freelance columnist in Northern Colorado where he lives with his wife and three young daughters. He believes in the importance of Faith, Family, and Freedom as the formula of success for a good life and a healthy nation. You can reach him at DaveHuntwork@uno.com. | More from David Huntwork
Stumble It!
September 24th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Mother Theresa opposed abortion, believed in Christ.and was not open minded. Thus she was a shameful scary person and was not to be trusted. Luckily, she couldn’t run for President.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
This article immediately made me think of the people who founded this country and what they had to say.
Here are a few of my favorites:
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.â€
John Adams
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God?â€
Thomas Jefferson
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”
Patrick Henry
Those “scary Christians†were responsible for founding the greatest nation the world has ever known.
What’s “scary†to me is the …“audacity of any dope†… who supports abortion while claiming to be a man of faith in God.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Is this for real. America was founded on religion?
Hey that’s something I never knew.
Why can’t America just work on America? Why does it have to push it’s religion onto the rest of the world?
BTW, the only compliment I give to radical feminists is that they kept an eye on this movement while the world was asleep. And BTW, Bush was the first Pentecostal to gain Presidency.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Julie, yes this nation was founded on “religion” and the freedom to worship GOD as each person say fit. The founding fathers did forbid the central government from establishing a state religion as they had in England but it did allow state sponsored religions. Remember there were state churches such as the Quakers in Pennsylvania. Nothing in the United States Constitution stopped that.
The problem is that many want freedom FROM religion, not OF religion but actually that becomes a religion of itself. Why do few people contest this religion?
Christians have always been told we need to be tolerate…but no one has to be tolerate of Christians. Whenever there is compromise to be made, it has always been the Christians who were told to compromise.
http://www.shatterdmen.com/Tolerance.htm
Look around. You will see places of worship for almost every god. Buddhist temples, Kingdom Halls Jewish synagogues and even Islamic Mosques. can be found in the United States and no one is threaten by the government for worshiping in any of these and other places. I have heard from reliable sources that Islam is being taught in some of our public schools although the name of Jesus Christ can not be used except possibly as a cuss word,
There has been no evidence that Sarah Palin has ever forced her religious believes on anyone as a mayor or as a governor. If she had, this would be the smoking gun so many have flocked to Alaska and have looked under every rock to find.
There are many who proclaim to be a Christian, but most likely do not really know God because if they did, they would not approve of things that GOD tells us is an abomination to HIM such as homosexuality and same sex marriages and abortion, yet those in secular leadership that are indeed Christians have not forced this on others.
I am not Pentecostal or Assembly of God but I do accept Sarah as my sister in Christ because she does not just know about GOD….she has a relationship with Him that she shows with her life. The Bible says that by their fruit we will know that someone belongs to HIM and I see this fruit in Sarah but I do not see it in Obama.
http://www.shatterdmen.com/first_step.htm
September 25th, 2008 at 7:58 am
“Is this for real. America was founded on religion?
Hey that’s something I never knew.
Why can’t America just work on America? Why does it have to push it’s religion onto the rest of the world?
BTW, the only compliment I give to radical feminists is that they kept an eye on this movement while the world was asleep. And BTW, Bush was the first Pentecostal to gain Presidency.”
Julie, why don’t you dust off a brain cell or two before you come here and act all shocked and appalled to find out what used to be taught even in public schools not so long ago?
And it’s not any variation of Christianity that America is trying to push onto the rest of the world, but rather the religion of “democracy”, all while we Christians here in America endure having every other “religion” pushed down our throats.
September 25th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Julie, Neither of the Bushes were Pentecostal. George H. W. Bush is Episcopalian and George W. Bush is Methodist but was formerly Episcopalian.
There have been no Pentecostals presidents as of this time.
http://www.adherents.com/adh_presidents.html
September 25th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Emarel, I would like to be at the level of intelligence as are others like yourself. My upbringing was not the same as yours. Education took a bit longer in the Pacific to be important and there are many alive who are illiterate.
Just one more thing to say then.
Religion once bred their followers but now that families are having less children converting is the key. And there is no better way to convert than explain to the followers that it is God’s work they do and that they’re salvation relies on them converting the nations.
Christianity has done this for centuries and I can tell you that there are some very scary stories on how Pacific men have slaughter others over the teachings of the bible.
Dumbing down people allows leaders to manipulate the people. But as you clever, I can tell you would not be so easily led and neither would your great nation. I have faith in America to care for it’s people when I see so much intelligence in front of my eyes.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Julie said:
Religion once bred their followers but now that families are having less children converting is the key. And there is no better way to convert than explain to the followers that it is God’s work they do and that they’re salvation relies on them converting the nations.
Julie, a much greater problem is that most real Christians do NOT proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Too many are silent Christians. Most of us do not try to force feed anyone but we do present the good news that Christ did die for us because of His love for us. We do NOT do it to gain salvation. My salvation is based upon the finished work of Jesus Christ when HE declared..IT IS FINISHED. This is an accounting term for “Paid in Full” There is NOTHING else I need to do other then to accept this gift. I do tell others about Jesus not to gain salvation, that is eternally secure, nor do I do it to gain brownie points from GOD, I do it to help others know the peace and joy only Jesus can give us.
September 25th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
“Is this for real. America was founded on religion?”
America would not exist if it weren’t for religion.
Specifically: America would not exist without the fact that in some cases, religion was corrupted by men (humanity).
Think: Anglican Church.
Now, what truly confounds the issue is the misunderstanding or the “separation of church and state”.
The “separation” was designed to keep government out of the church business, not to keep the church out of the government business.
That people are confused about this is proof of the effectiveness of decades Liberal Socialist (media) propaganda.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:11 am
Believe in God; do not believe in God. What is the difference? They are both beliefs. America should have freedom to believe and speak.