Pastor Problems: Palin Edition

Sarah Palin won't specify what she believes in exactly- and normally, I would have absolutely no problem with that. I mean, I'm definitely all for the seperation of church and state. However, when you say that you are guided by your faith, and your faith specifically tells you to "achieve worldly power, especially political control" so that you can "drive out the demons", then we have a bit of a problem.

I'll clarify this a bit. The church in which Sarah Palin was raised, Wasilla Assembly of God, follows a particularly aggressive form of Pentacostalism that advocates "spiritual warfare". So-called spiritual warriors believe that individuals and even entire geographic areas can be effectively possessed by demons, and that they must "battle" them using prayer and evangelism. I would add a quote by the church, however according to the New York Times, its pastors have been told by the McCain campaign "not to speak to the media".

Now, you can't just attack a religion just because they are aggressive evangelists. However, spiritual warfare goes past evangelism, and towards a sort of faith-based megalomania. According to Bruce Wilson, a researcher for Talk2Action, a Web site that tracks religious groups, “One of the imperatives of the movement is to achieve worldly power, including political control. Then you can more effectively drive out the demons. The ultimate goal is to purify the earth.”

To be fair, Palin left the Wasilla Assembly of God six years ago, though she has not joined another church since, and continues to associate with its pastor. More important though is that she is said to, as Governor, have appointed Patrick Donelson, a pastor who helped found a spiritual warfare ministry, to the only seat reserved for members of the clergy on the state’s Suicide Prevention Council.

Mary Glazier, who helped bring together the prayer warrior networks in Alaska, told a prayer conference in June that Palin “became a part of our prayer group out in Wasilla” when she was 24, and that “God began to speak” to her about entering politics.

According to Palin herself, she "can feel...the strength that is provided by our prayer warriors across this nation". Be careful, fellow progressives. Sarah's spiritual army might smite us- watch out for lightning.