Hugh Hewitt: Do you think the mainstream media and the left understands your religious faith, Governor Palin?
Sarah Palin: I think that there’s a lot of mocking of my personal faith, and my personal faith is very, very simple. I don’t belong to any church. I do have a strong belief in God, and I believe that I’m a heck of a lot better off putting my life in God’s hands, and saying hey, you know, guide me.
What else do we have but guidance that we would seek from a Creator? That’s about as simple as it gets with my faith, and I think that there is a lot of mocking of that. And you know, so bet it, though I do have respect for those who have differing views than I do on faith, on religion. I’m not going to mock them, and I would hope that they would kind of I guess give me the same courtesy through this of not mocking a person’s faith, but maybe perhaps even trying to understand a little bit of it.
She’s got Christian Teflon. Because Christians feel mocked, they will love her more if she’s attacked, especially if they feel her faith is being ridiculed. In truth, the mockery has not focused on her desire to seek “guidance” from “a Creator,” but rather a few other matters, some quite legitimate.
But her faith is more mainstream than critics on the left proclaim. Trying to live one’s life according to “God’s will” is a common (and, mostly, noble) aspiration for millions of Americans, as it was for the Founding Fathers. Her decision to join a non-denominational Bible-based church fits one of the most significant evangelical trends, a helpful desire to get to the roots of Christ’s message rather than get bogged down in ancient doctrinal disputes. You can make fun her attendance at a Pentecostal church but do so at your peril: it’s one of the fastest growing denominations in American and one that includes the religious outreach director for Barack Obama and CEO of the Democratic convention.
For a fair-minded summary of Palin’s faith, see Terry Eastland’s run-down at The Weekly Standard.
posted October 2, 2008 at 11:16 am
She is only teflon if they win and the electoral map is looking like that is becoming less and less likely.
I would imagine an Obama Justice Department would have a field day with her because no one in office is squeaky clean and they would enjoy a good, old-fashioned, Joseph Stalin show trial.
posted October 3, 2008 at 8:32 pm
she clearly was raised in and attended a neo-pentacostal church her entire life. I wish i could believe she is a mainstream Christian, but it bothers me (worries me) that this ‘mainstream’ ‘don’t belong to a church’ claim seems to be rather new, and i would like not to believe it is less than genuine, and politically calculated by her handlers …. but my faith tells me to be very wary when a politician speaks of his or her faith during a campaign. And when it seems that most of what we ‘know’ about her is what the politicos want us to ‘believe’ about her, for example, she’s middle class (except that she and her husband are estimated to have $1.3 million in assets, in a state where most residents are subsistence level economically).
Teflon? to men maybe, but the polls say not to women. wink, wink?
posted October 4, 2008 at 9:00 pm
I do not know if we need the Anti-Christ or whom we need but, we do need someone, who is sane, fair and knowledgeable. Hugh Hewitt and probably many others were and are asking the wrong questions when they are asking about faith. Interviewers can have enough problems asking about real things like the economy, education, racial integration, war and peace etc. Politicians and public officials should only be asked whether or not they are believers or not without asking about any details because they are the very individuals who must lead, meaning they have to find real answers to real problems. Even people, who belong to the same religious group often disagree, therefore, when different denominations have to interact, the most one can expect is mutual respect, not concessions. Spiritual experiences are inherently personal, which means they can neither be explained in real terms nor transferred to outsiders. When dealing with mockery, one is confronted by a different problem. To ask someone not to talk about their personal and spiritual experiences in public, is perfectly legimate. Those discussions can best take place in private or within religious congregations. People, who mock other people, surely give themselves away; they put their ignorance and insecurity on display. People, who are threatened by a different opinion, either cannot comprehend the concept of diversity or are insecure in their own minds, or fail on both counts. Upon hearing a wrong, unpleasant or objectionable opinion, expressing one’s own opinion – preferably coupled with a sound explanation – would be the most sensible, most rational and most fair response. No mockery. No rage. No hysteria.
posted October 31, 2008 at 6:32 am
You know there are plenty of left wing people who believe in God.
It’s ignorant to put us all in the same basket.
It’s not her faith that’s the problem, it’s her ignorance.
And ignorant people are about the only one’s left who believe in her.
I believe in God and I find her a hypocrite. She is faking it, she not telling the truth about many things, she’s totally out of her depth and dizzy on the power of it. She’s flattered, she likes playing the power pussy, she’s very old testement, whereas Obama to me is like Jesus. He’s the real messiah in the picture. Sarah has proven she will exploit her power (troopergate, earmarks, travelling expenses that she didn’t take or took her family to. The reason why non christians are so cynical about christians is that there are so many hypocrites amongst us. It is the Christian in me that wants Obama as world leader. Palin and PSTD McCain will blow the joint up.
End of days End of days…..No Thanks.