Palin Hears Voices
Monday September 8, 2008
Categories: Election '08
Religious conviction is a delicate matter. Many of the greatest reformers this world has ever known, Christ, Moses, and Muhammad, not to mention more recent figures like Martin Luther King and Desmond Tutu, all heard God's voice, pushing them along,...
Filed Under: Barack Obama, God, holy war, jeremiah wright, John McCain, religion, republican, Sarah Palin
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About Progressive Revival
Diana Butler Bass and Paul Raushenbush both stand firmly within the Mainline Protestant tradition and, along with guest bloggers of all religious backgrounds are dedicated to the revival of religious progressivism and its influence in American politics.
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Diana Butler BassDiana Butler Bass is a commentator and scholar in American religion. She is the author of seven books including A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story (HarperOne, 2009).
» Posts by Diana Butler Bass
Paul RaushenbushModerator of the Progressive Revival blog and the Associate Dean of Religious Life at Princeton University.
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hey hey hey---people who hear God voice or voice(s) still can vote and make good choices--the only thing is that they need other godly people to vet those voices and etc to see if it is god or not!
I am a Charismatic Christian, I have heard the voice of God, I have been used to heal the lame and to utter spiritual tongues. I have been empowered with spiritual knowledge and have seen miracles worked. I have never heard God tell me that War is Holy.
I am no better that any one else, I claim no great authority over anyone, yet I can say without a single doubt that war is not of Christ Jesus. He came as the Prince of Peace to bring peace to the hearts of Man. Any one who professes that God is calling us to bear arm against any one else in His Name is wrong.
For this reason, more than any other reason, I fear what will happen if John McCain is elected and dies in office. Even though I am a man of peace, I served my country in the Air Force during the Vietnam era. It was the most painful experience of my life because I feared the zealots of the time. Even more so today, I fear the return of the Religious Zealots to lead us into the paths of condemnation because of the desire to send us off to fight for the cause of Satan in the Name of the God of Peace.
Satan wins when he can get ethnic differences to clash. Just as he has done for centuries. Catholics against Islam, Protestants against Catholics, Buddhists against Catholics, Islamic against Christians and Jews. When will it end? Only God knows but I will have no part of it.
While there are many causes to justify military intervention, God is not one of them. We are more justified in defending the rights and lives of Darfur than the invading of Iraq. And as evil as Hussein was, he allowed Mother Teresa to set up a mission in Iraq. Now as we destroyed Iraq, persecution of Christians has begun in Iraq where it was not before.
As an instrument of God's power and Grace, I implore you not tread with caution when using God's Word to justify your actions. Did Jesus not say to love our enemies? That Love was like pouring heaping coal upon their heads? Show them the mercy of Jesus and they will confounded.
Gov. Palin is just a smoke screen - a diversion - to get the focus off John McCain, whom America thinks is boring, old, and pretty much in line with what George Bush has been doing during his 2 terms in office.
It was a savvy move on one hand in that because she is so charismatic, because she is so down-to-earth, and because she is so pro-life, and because she is so outwardly religious, the religious right have suddenly stood up and gotten active again in the conversation (remember they sat down when Huckabee bowed out).
But the GOP's strategy may actually backfire, as while they will certainly garner the religious right's votes, a lot of mainstream, undecided America may just find Gov. Palin's politics a bit too "out there" and "extreme." She's big on guns, she wants to overturn Roe v. Wade, she thinks raped women should not be allowed to get legal abortions, she thinks it's okay for the government to ban library books that they deem "objectionable," she wants creationism taught in public schools alongside evolution, and she's a member of a charismatic church, which by its definition includes such fringe elements of Christianity as speaking in tongues, healing, and anointing, not to mention lots of dancing and running around the room during worship. I'm not saying any of that stuff is wrong, but just that many Americans will not understand it and they will wonder if she's really all that stable.
Add to that the scandal she's currently involved in, and her performance at the GOP where many feel she crossed the line by denigrating Obama's public service record and taking on a tone of mockery and contempt, and that she also has been caught in a few lies (like the one about the "Bridge to Nowhere")... I don't know if in the long run she will actually help her party.
But again, everyone acts like it's Obama v. Palin - and that right there tells you that at least part of the GOP strategy is working.
You nailed it, Warren. Palin is a diversion. It is working, and may indeed work on 11/4. Sarah is indeed a rock star right now. She's more popular than both presidential candidates. She's obviously a tough, brave woman of integrity. It will be interesting to see how she does toe-to-toe with Joe Biden in their debate, and how she does once her handlers lift the media cone of silence and actually let her answer questions, and there are plenty, in a debate and in interviews, where she has to think on her feet and won't have a teleprompter. I am troubled by the McCain campaign's cynicism in picking someone who is younger and less experienced than Obama, when his youth and lack of experience was one of the main reasons why they said Obama isn't ready to lead. It also troubles me that Palin has gone to ground for three weeks to prepare for the campaign. What does she need to learn, and will three weeks be enough? What are the McCain people afraid she would say if the media were given access to her?
I hope--hope--that before long the "bloom will come off the rose" and enough people will tire of only liking Palin for her chutzpa and charm and realize, first, that if they vote for McCain/Palin they are truly voting for John McCain for president and ask themselves if that's what they really want, and secondly, demand more of the person who would be "a heartbeat away from the presidency" than good looks and clever quips.
I wrote something similar in response to another posting, so sorry for repeating myself, but I was talking to some friends about this over the weekend, and wonder what others think: If people are not excited about John McCain (I am not), but really like Sarah and her social conservatism (I do) and think that a few more years of governing experience would give her time to develop her other views, experience, and governing philosophy so that she would be qualified to run for President (I think she could be in 4 years), shouldn't they choose *not* vote for John McCain? Whichever candidate wins this time around is not going to be able to fix the economy quickly enough to win a second term; if it's McCain, Sarah will share the blame. So I'd rather let this one go to Obama, and have Sarah as President for two terms 2012-2020. Perhaps a bad choice of metaphor, but -- lose the battle, win the war.
The religious person adopts a belief, and then try to find facts that reinforce that belief. That is exactly the thought process of a G. Bush. In his conviction, his mind ignored all the facts that should have him think and pause.
His conviction was so strong, because he credited his thoughts not to his own brain, but to voices, and specifically the voice of God.
This is a delusional thought process. It leads to very biased and totally unadapted response to events, because the events are never perceived for what they are.
They become contextualized to the bias of the faith.
Aids is to punish gays, the Iraq war if for God.
Gas pipes are God's plan ...
It is all very very sad. Religious America is utterly backwards in its psychology. It hasn't been able to reinterpret faith in the context of everything else. It is utterly petrified of trying to explain and examine it's though process.
And for that reason it's doomed to failure.
Here's the catch, Sally: Where would Palin get the experience she lacks? Four more years as governor of Alaska? I'm not a fan of either McCain or Palin, though I meant the good things I said about her in my previous comment, and four years of a McCain administration is something I don't like to envision, but if you want Palin to get president-prep experience, four years in Washington as McCain's veep would be a much better training ground than four years in Alaska. Forgive me, but what you say sounds very cynical to me. Besides, it's quite premature to predict a one-term presidency for Obama were he to win in November. And if McCain wins, and his health holds up, I would bet a great deal of money he would run for a second term in '12.
Yes, four more years as governor of Alaksa - with a more prominent voice and, possibly, a more prominent role, especially with respect to energy policy (her greatest substantive strength) - would set up very well as a presidential candidate. I agree that four years as VP would be better training, but as you said McCain would likely run again if he wins. So, for those of us who would like Palin as President, that leaves either running against Obama (as the incumbent) in 2012 or running from VP position in 2020 after 16 straight years of a Republican presidency. Given those scenarios, I think the chances of winning in 2012 are much much better. I understand it's cynical, but I wouldn't have voted for McCain without her, and I certainly don't want his victory be the reason that she misses her moment.
Just curious, Sally, but what is it about Gov. Palin that makes you so excited about her, and would lead you to the... well... I guess there's no other word than *presumptive* idea that she would be an excellent 2 term president? I'm not trying to be a jerk - and I'm not being sarcastic. I'd just really like to hear from someone who is high on this person just what is the attraction. Any insight into your thinking process would be helpful for me in understanding this phenomenon.
I guess I was unclear/too brief: I don't presume that she would be an excellent 2 term president, and I don't think that she is ready now. As I said in my first post, I like her social conservatism, but I think she needs more time "to develop her other views, experience and governing philosophy." It's possible that she wouldn't develop, or would not develop in a way that I think is suited to a President, but I think she's an innately talented politician with a real sense of purpose, an ability to connect with people, a spine of steel, and the potential to grow (mature) into someone who can articulate and act upon a set of principles that stem from religious beliefs (with which I agree) but which are bounded (as they should be) by democratic constitutional limitations (e.g., as evidenced by the legislation re benefits to same-sex partners). There are things I have read about her that I don't like (including how she reportedly treats those who disagree with her) - and I thought she was overly viscious in her speech - but I think she has tremendous potential, and that four years would allow us to see whether that develops into the Presidential pick that I can imagine being excited about -- and that I would want for two terms. As for the current election, I can't bring myself to vote for either.
Thanks for the elucidation, Sally. I really wasn't trying to put you, personally, on the spot but rather just trying to see this whole thing through someone else's eyes - specifically someone who sees something "different" in Palin.
I actually disagree with you there. I've dug around on the Internet and read story after story, and found clips of some of her speeches and read about 50 articles about her behavior and policy since becoming Governor, and I see in her just another politician. She appears to change positions on issues when it becomes politically expedient, has said contradictory things at different times that makes one question what her real positions are, and has openly lied (or shall I say "emphasized the good" and "deemphasized the bad") on a number of occasions about her tenure as Governor so far. For example, in her RNC speech she patted herself on the back about rejecting the "bridge to nowhere" project, but conveniently left out a couple of important details. First, she was gung-ho about the project initially, and only abandoned it when it became politically unpopular. And second, she did not return the money earmarked for this project - she used it for other items. And, as you say, her "vicious" speech the other night didn't give me a very good impression of her, especially since she's trying to stand on the moral high ground in matters of faith and religion.
Maybe you're right, and this country certainly needs young, fresh leaders who can step out from under their party's umbrellas and deal with real issues that affect real people. And I certainly think it's time we had a woman president. But all the evidence I've gathered so far makes me think that Gov. Palin is just a pretender - just another ruthless, grasping politician who will sell anything in order to gain office.
These are critical and sensitive questions well posed. Reading this I am reminded of Bob Dylan's critique of those who use and abuse the "God on our side" motif. Professor Safi has penetrated Palin's veil of "religiology" -- religious discourse twisted into political pretzels -- and has gently reminded us to look for the genuine faith -- or at least ask what kind of distorted faith is this that Palin professes. Omid Safi's contribution sounds the clarion call for the true faith of "feed my sheep." The societies that Jesus and Muhammad advocated promoted economic, social and political equality. Whatever "religiologies" are being advanced to justify the barbarism of the wars in Iraq and Palestine -- whether "right" or not -- should not in any way be even remotely confused with the teachings of Jesus and Muhammad. Suggested reading: John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg, "The Last Week" (2006). Read especially the final chapter comparing America to Rome and Babylon.
I think you're misinterpreting what she said. The word "that" in the middle of the quote makes all the difference. There's a big difference between "they are doing God's will" and "pray that they are doing God's will."
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