Posted by: T.J. Scott | August 30, 2008

Sarah Palin – Is being Pentecostal really going to hurt her?

It is no big secret that Sarah Palin has Assembly of God roots.  From Google searching, it looks as if she regularly attends an independent church now.  Regardless there is going to be some flurry of discussion on her denominational affiliation.
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People have weird pre-conceived ideas of what it would mean to have a Pentecostal believer as VP.   Some weak-spined Pentecostals might think she needs to deny that she is a practicing Pentecostal so as to not embarrass herself.  However, I believe that should she do this, she would be a sellout.  If one is afraid to be proud of what they believe, do they really believe it at all?
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This is what the liberals want: those who believe strongly in something to be absolute to lay that down for “the common good”.  The only common good to many of them, however, is only the good that makes everything ok, and elimates speech against what is wrong.  They truly believe that Christians should check their convictions at the door when voting or they are fundamental extremists.
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What many liberals (not Obama – I’ll get to that later) will say about Palin is one reason why I REFUSE to be a liberal.  Liberals will say that Palin is a religious nut that is too extreme in her beliefs for the “mainstream.” They will say that Pentecostals are on the “fringe”, yet if you check out US demographics, and add up all of the Pentecostal groups (Church of God, Assemblies of God, Pentecostal, etc) you’ll find there are more of us than there are homosexuals.  While that’s not a comparison I’d like to use much of, I use this because we find that they don’t refer to homosexuals as the fringe, but they protect and treat their activity as normal.  Which is weirder, believing that the Holy Spirit can live inside of you according to the same book that says Jesus died and rose again, or believing it should be normal for two men to have sex?
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See, the liberals (notice I use this term, not Democrat – SOME Democrats as well as SOME Republicans are true Americans – neither liberal or conservative) toot their horns on equality, that no one should be discriminated against for any reason.  However, the liberal mindset is HOSTILE towards the people who walk with God and encourage others to know Him.
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If an American cannot live their religious convictions, be who they believe God says they can be, and be in public office, then this is NOT the land of the free and the home of the brave that our founding fathers dreamed of.  This mentality, that homosexuality and adulterous co-habitation, and the slaughter of children (how they blind themselves to this is flat-out stupid), among other things, should not only be tolerated, but celebrated; yet people who claim to have an experience with the God should be frowned upon is absolutely crazy.
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Even though the liberal media, and many liberal politicians will try to exploit it, I don’t, however, believe this will be a much of a point of discussion in the Obama campaign, as Obama’s church believes in speaking in tongues as well (see http://www.tucc.org/cfab_class_description.htmlsig2=HvVOR69hRyE4zboHQ6YOvQ where they have in their course descriptions that they teach on this practice). So, I don’t think he’ll go there even if he doesn’t practice it.  Besides, Obama is trying to paint the picture that he will represent Evangelicals, so I’m sure he doesn’t want to alienate up to 20 million votes by “going there”.
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Sarah Palin is one of almost a half a BILLION people world-wide who claim to have this experience. World-wide, some studies show that Pentecostals are second only in number to Roman Catholics in numbers in the Christian faith. According to Wikipedia, Pentecostals in the US are 20 million believers strong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecostalism).
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You will find we Pentecostals, along with people of many other denominations, are people who believe that being a Christian is much more than religious affiliation or church attendance.  Being a Christian is who we are, not what we do.  In this society where Christianity has been reduced to a social group, and those who see it differently are “whacko’s”, it’s time we demonstrate Christians believe someone REAL once again, and prove how well someone who is guided by the Holy Spirit can lead this country. If the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding Palin – I WANT her in leadership of this nation.
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The first prayer in congress wasn’t a weak, half-hearted moment of routine as it has become in recent decades.  It was a spontaneous, fervent crying out for God’s help. Yet the leadership we have put into office have become indifferent to even His existence.  GOD HELP US!  I pray Americans will wise up and elect people like Sarah Palin, who have this same desire for God once again, who will get back to leading this country according to His guidance and by the Constitution the framers of this government designed through seeking God.
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Here’s the bottom line:
Evangelical Christians make up a LARGE number of people in America. We are Americans, too.  We have rights to candidates that will stand for our cause.  In a Democracy, we the people vote on who will best represent us when it comes to taxes, national security, and foreign affairs.
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The registered Republicans voted for McCain, and trusted him to pick a running-mate who would help him best represent their hearts for this country, just as the registered Democrats voted for Obama and trusted him and his choice to do the same.  When the general election comes up, we must vote for who best represents your standards for leadership in this country.  For me, and many other Americans, a candidate’s religious views say a lot about who they are and how they will lead.  I want a Christian world-view being considered when decisions are made.  This is how I am best represented.  If Obama and Biden represent that best for me, I’ll vote for them, If McCain/Palin represent me better, I’ll vote for them.
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If we will think along these lines when it comes to voting, instead of party lines, we just might be able to change Washington.  As long as there are staunch Democrats and staunch Republicans, Washington will NEVER change.

Responses

  1. Pentecostalism is not Christianity. It’s a weird amalgamation of Protestantism, Catholicism, New Age divination, voodoo, pop psychology and all sorts of primitive superstitions. Even if their numbers are exploding, what does that mean? So is Islam, Wicca and Mormonism. They are a fringe, religiously, intellectually and culturally.


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