Those on the left, or merely those who aren't evangelical Christians, are struggling to make sense of the religious life of Sarah Palin. To many, she seems a frightening harbinger of a fundamentalist takeover. Saturday's New York Times piece about Palin's deep faith and Bible-focused church will be chewed over for evidence of her extremism. Conservatives, meanwhile, will seize on the scrutiny -- including liberal overreactions -- as evidence that the left and the mainstream media are anti-Christian.
The Palin candidacy does pose real church-state questions, as well as many opportunities for hysterical overreaction. As a service to my panicky friends on the left and my Sarah-smitten friends on the right (who may not understand why she frightens some), here's a guide to what is and isn't scary, or at least questionable about Palin's mixing of faith and politics:
Not Scary - Palin asked members of the church to pray "that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan." This has been cited by Obama backers that Palin justifies the war as being part of God's plan. I read it as meaning the opposite - that people should pray that the war IS part of God's plan. This is a totally appropriate desire for a Christian -- and for a Christian politician. All Christian politicians should aspire to do God's will. Where it gets problematic is when they feel God is directing them to take particular steps or claim divine endorsement for their actions.
Scary - She told a group of young church leaders to pray for a gas pipeline because it was God's will. "God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gasline built. So pray for that." Saying a particular public policy is God's will is far over the line, considerably beyond anything that George W. Bush ever said. It means the advocate is impervious to argument, and critics are going against God's will.
Not Scary - "She asked [her pastor] for a biblical example of people who were great leaders and was the secret of their leadership." Since the Times put it in the second paragraph of their piece, they must have felt this was ominous. It's not. Using the Bible for ethical guidance or wisdom is a standard -- and I would argue noble -- use of faith.
Scary - She suggested that her work as governor would be hampered "if the people of Alaska's heart isn't right with God." This means that those who aren't Bible-believing Christians hinder the work of the state, harming their fellow citizens and the public interest.
Not Scary (Probably) - "The churches that Sarah has attended all believe in a literal translation of the Bible," says John Kinkaid, a friend. "Her principal ethical and moral beliefs stem from this." Very few Christian follow the literal meaning of the whole Bible. Conservative Bible-believing Christians tend to focus on the passages related to life and marriage; liberals tend to focus on those related to poverty. It's worth probing this more but it's not by itself either good or bad.
Scary (Probably) - As governor, she signed a Christian Heritage Week. It didn't actually declare the U.S. to be an officially Christian nation but it plucked Founding Fathers quotes way out of context to misleadingly imply they were devout Christians. In many other cases, this same technique has been used to promote the argument that America was created to be a Christian nation, and separation of church and state is a myth.
Maybe Scary, Maybe Not - "God has sent me, from underneath the umbrella of this church, throughout the state." It depends how literally she means this. It's one thing to think God has a plan for you, or that all people are part of God's plan; many people believe such things, including Barack Obama, whose campaign literature bore the headline "Called to Bring Change," and read, "We do what we do because God is with us."
But if she feels God has enjoined her to take specific steps - like attacking Obama or drilling for oil in Alaska - as opposed to guiding her in general public service, then many Americans will come to distrust her and feel she's inappropriately using faith as a political weapon. Of course, those who think God really IS guiding her policies and speeches, will just love her even more.
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is that saraha palin in swim suit ? if not why is it there?........
As a mother, a Christian, a family practice doctor, and an independent, I can say that I would never vote for a ticket with Palin on it. In the primaries, I initially said that the one Republican I could vote for would be McCain, and I supported him for president in 2000. However he is not the McCain he was then and he has changed his position on almost everything that set him apart from the rest of the Republican party and revealed that he will change his views on any issue if that will get him elected. McCain lost the 2000 primaries to Bush because he cried out against the agents of intolerance on the right and left extremes. Now, he has bowed before them, and his pick of Palin for VP shows just how far he is willing to stoop before the radical right-wing 'religion-crats'. Palin is one of the agents of intolerance that McCain said in 2000 that we shouldn't pander to. Now he knows he needs to get the "base" excited - the same "base" that got Bush elected 2 times (well - once really...).
While I would never personally have an abortion no matter the circumstances, anyone that thinks that women have no right to an abortion even in the case of rape or incest is a horrible person without empathy or charity.
Anyone that thinks that my child should be taught creation in school and believes in a less than 7000 year old world doesn't understand the Bible let alone the Constitution or its founders at all and has no place leading the country. Separation of church and state is important and our schools need to teach our children science not religion - that is my job to teach my children as I see fit and not the governments. I believe God is a scientist as an all-powerful all-knowing being and created the world using the laws of science, not just finger-snapping. Science and religion are just 2 different ways to explore the same quest we have for truth. But this is my view, and it shouldn't be taught in schools because that is my faith and that is what I will teach my children at home and church where it should be taught and not in school where science should be taught. If we start teaching Creationism in school, which Christian belief do we teach - mine, or Palin's, or whatever the teacher happens to believe? Do we teach about other religious beliefs as well or do we discriminate and only teach Christian's faith? Part of faith is that it is a belief in things which are hoped for, but not seen. What is not seen, cannot be proven empirically, has no place in our schools. It is only welcome in the home and church as personal faith. Politically, it only has place in dictatorships and theocracies, like most of the Middle East. Palin's view on teaching creationism in school is no different than Muslim's efforts to restrict freedom of thought in their counties. Palin is as much an agent of intolerance and a radical right religion crusader as is Iran's President. If she is elected with McCain, the world will view us as a country as supporting these views that there is no separation of church and state. The only difference between Ahmadinejad and Palin is that one happens to believe in Allah and the other in Christ - but politically they are willing to use their beliefs to destroy their country's freedoms to conform with their faith. We need a leader that has faith, but understands that in order for them to have the free exercise of it, they must grant that to everyone else and not infringe on their rights by preaching in public schools to our children.
As a Christian, as a mother, I appeal to all other Christian mothers out there: understand your religion a little better. Understand that your freedom of religion is dependent on your willingness to let others have their freedom as well, and the minute you start down the path to eroding the separation of church and state, you start down the path that will destroy that freedom eventually for yourself and your family. Be women of faith, but also be women who understand you can only be women of faith because of the freedom we have in this country to not have government teaching our children someone else's religious beliefs in our public schools.
Please, please don't vote for McCain and Palin.
Not to bright Steve. Predestination and plan are the same thing. One is just a metaphor for the other. Now only three things are possible. One is that God plans all events that come to pass and they actually do come to pass. Another is that He Plans all events and they do not come to pass and He is impotent or very stupid. The third is that He has no plan and has no idea of what He is doing. I'll stick with He predestinates all things that come to pass and let the chips fall where they may.
To suggest that WAR could possibly be part of God's plan or to "hope" that is is, is insane.
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