Palin mixing religion with policy

Taft

NMyTree wrote:

Sounds like a Cult.

Sounds exactly the same as the Islamic approach to law and policy.

There's barely any difference.

Exactly, she sounds like a radical Islamic terrorist, but its "okay" in the minds of the Republicans, because her beliefs are in line with theirs. Disgusting and scary.

Taft

NMyTree wrote:

Sounds like a Cult.

Sounds exactly the same as the Islamic approach to law and policy.

There's barely any difference.

Exactly, she sounds like a radical Islamic terrorist, but its "okay" in the minds of the Republicans, because her beliefs are in line with theirs. Disgusting and scary.

inmytree

Taft wrote:

Exactly, she sounds like a radical Islamic terrorist, but its "okay" in the minds of the Republicans, because her beliefs are in line with theirs. Disgusting and scary.

you can say that again....!

know1

Taft wrote:

Clearly you stopped reading after a few paragraphs, Palin is quoted directly in the article. Typical.

And it's typical for people to not understand what they're reading and to just accept what the headline is saying.

Telling a church to pray for a bill to go through is not exactly mixing religion and policy.

Now if she was trying to get a bill passed legislating a type of religion or the ten commandments somewhere, etc., then there's an issue.

Strangest Tribe

I have never understood this religious fanaticism... Don't Christians preach "turn the other cheek" and "forgiveness" and "love thy neighbor"?

And what was Jesus sermon from the mount all about? His last words before crucifiction?

But today's Christians just continue to ignore the principles of their deity.

Can anyone explain this?

Because to me it's all about whoring out your beliefs, and I can't stand these two-faced religious hijackers.

NMyTree

know1 wrote:

And it's typical for people to not understand what they're reading and to just accept what the headline is saying.

Telling a church to pray for a bill to go through is not exactly mixing religion and policy.

Now if she was trying to get a bill passed legislating a type of religion or the ten commandments somewhere, etc., then there's an issue.

Speaking of people not understanding what they are reading......

I think this is the more significant and revealing quote....

" I can do my job there in developing my natural resources. But all of that doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart is not good with God."

That says it all right there.

brainofjb

catch22 wrote:

because she frightens me and makes me question mccain's judgment and what his values and beliefs truly are.

exactly!!!


the person that they pick as their running mate tells alot about the potential president!

Does Mcain think us women are stupid?????

mammasan

A person's religion is always going to affect their view of the world, it's impossible to separate your beliefs from your ideals and philosophy on certain issues. So I have no problem with a politician who praises God or thanks God for what ever reason. I have a problem when that politician wants to impose their morality or their religion on the public. The issue of same sex marriage is a perfect example. I respect a religious person's beliefs but that doesn't mean that I should live my life by those beliefs. A gay couple has the right to go and obtain a marriage license just like any hetero couple and should not be treated differently simply because of some one's religious beliefs. What if I thought that skantily clad women where vile heathen doing the devil's work. Should ever woman have to dress in conservative attire because of my beliefs.

know1

NMyTree wrote:

Speaking of people not understanding what they are reading......

I think this is the more significant and revealing quote....

" I can do my job there in developing my natural resources. But all of that doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart is not good with God."

That says it all right there.

That has nothing to do with policy.

NMyTree

know1 wrote:

That has nothing to do with policy.

:D

Of course not.

Nor is it a manipulative and (god) imposing concept:rolleyes:

Our hearts must be good with god, in order for this pipeline thing to work.

Nah, not at all:rolleyes:

my2hands

Taft wrote:

Some scary quotes in here:


http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/08/palin.pastor/index.html

WASILLA, Alaska (CNN) -- For more than two decades, current Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a practicing Pentecostal.

Sarah Palin asked church members to pray for $30 billion natural gas pipeline in Alaska.

She belonged to the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. But though she attended the church from her teenage years through to 2002, she hasn't talked much about her religion since joining the Republican ticket.

Palin's former pastor, Tim McGraw, says that like many Pentecostal churches, some members speak in tongues, although he says he's never seen Palin do so. Church member Caroline Spangler told CNN, "When the spirit comes on you, you utter things that nobody else can understand ... only God can understand what is coming out of our mouths."

Some Pentecostals from Assembly of God also believe in "faith healing" and the "end times" -- a violent upheaval that they believe will deliver Jesus Christ's second coming.

"Our basic belief is that God is God and he knows where history is going and he has a purposeful plan and within the middle of that plan we live in an environment in our world where certain events would take place," says McGraw. "Sarah wasn't taught to look for one particular sign -- a cataclysmic sign. She knew as every Christian does ... that God is sovereign and he is in control."

The McCain campaign says the Governor doesn't consider herself Pentecostal.

McGraw says Palin's Pentecostal roots may be being downplayed for a reason: "I think there may be issues of belief that could be misunderstood or played upon by people that don't know."

When asked by CNN about Palin's beliefs, campaign spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton would only say the Republican vice presidential candidate has "deep religious convictions."

For decades she belonged to a church where people spoke in tongues, believed in faith healing and the last days. So, why does Gov. Sarah Palin rarely speak about her religion? But how might her religious beliefs impact policy in Washington if the Republican ticket is successful?

Palin's former pastor says he has no doubt her religious beliefs will influence her decision making when it comes to government policy. Regarding her desire to build an Alaskan pipeline and explore for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, McGraw told CNN, "Sarah knows that in Genesis, God creates the world and it's very good and that we're supposed to be caretakers in terms of not destroying the environment, so there's no way that Sarah is going to exploit or damage the Alaska tundra in the name of getting gas if she doesn't have to."

Six years ago, Palin left Assembly of God to join the non-denominational Wasilla Bible Church. But the Assembly of God says she still returns for special conferences and events, such as the graduation of ministry students in June. Video of a speech she gave at the church just two months before joining the Republican ticket is making the rounds on the Internet.

Speaking of the troops in Iraq, Palin says on the video, ""Pray for our military men and women who are striving do to what is right. Also for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them 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 plan is God's plan."

Her campaign says she doesn't mix her faith with government business. But Palin did ask her audience to pray for $30 billion natural gas pipeline she is on a mission to build in Alaska. In the video Palin says, "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas pipeline built. So pray for that ... I can do my job there in developing my natural resources. But all of that doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart is not good with God."

McGraw, who was her pastor until 1998 and while she was mayor of Wasilla, says Palin attended discipleship classes to strengthen her Pentecostal faith and that he counseled her on how to become a better leader.

"Everyone has a way of viewing the world and Sarah does too and hers would be shaped by the common sense practicality of how she's been shaped by the bible -- which is basically the world view that says God loves people, people can access him and he's given us wisdom for living," says McGraw.

He says Alaska has already seen Palin's faith play out. As governor she passed ethics reform and took on what she's referred to as a "good-ol'-boys network." However, she has said she would not seek to impose her religious views on others.

"I think one of the most obvious ways it plays out is what you've seen -- is being courageous enough to deal with deception and corruption," says McGraw.

Palin now attends the Wasilla Bible Church. She was there on August 17, just days before entering the national spotlight. David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. Brickner said, "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."

The McCain campaign says his comments do not reflect her religious views. Palin's spokeswoman says she is pro-Israel.

Pastor Ed Kalnin, the senior pastor of Palin's former Pentecostal church, has also come under fire for his comments. In 2004, he told church members if they voted for John Kerry for president, they wouldn't get into heaven. He told them, "I question your salvation."

Assembly of God issued a statement online in response which said Kalnin was "joking" when he suggested "Kerry supporters would go to hell," and statement went on to say, "We do acknowledge in hindsight that it was careless, and we do apologize for that. This statement is not written as a defense, but as a clarification."

Palin has done little while in office to advance a social conservative agenda. She told the Associated Press in an interview in 2006 that she would not allow her personal beliefs to dictate public policy.

"I've honestly answered the questions on what my personal views are on things like abortion and a lot of controversial issues," Palin told the Associated Press. "I won't hesitate to answer those questions about what my personal views are, but I am not one to be out there preaching and forcing my views on anyone else."

But in the last week, her religious background and outlook has certainly spurred debate far beyond Alaska.

and we thought it couldnt get any worse then the Bush Administration :rolleyes:

catch22

mammasan wrote:

A person's religion is always going to affect their view of the world, it's impossible to separate your beliefs from your ideals and philosophy on certain issues. So I have no problem with a politician who praises God or thanks God for what ever reason. I have a problem when that politician wants to impose their morality or their religion on the public. The issue of same sex marriage is a perfect example. I respect a religious person's beliefs but that doesn't mean that I should live my life by those beliefs. A gay couple has the right to go and obtain a marriage license just like any hetero couple and should not be treated differently simply because of some one's religious beliefs. What if I thought that skantily clad women where vile heathen doing the devil's work. Should ever woman have to dress in conservative attire because of my beliefs.

i also have a problem with browbeating people based on religion. eg. palin saying you have to be good with god and telling people that jesus or god supports whatever policy she's advancing, even if it is utterly irrelevant. that sits in the grey area perhaps, but i find it distasteful and a little bit frightening. i'm not going to say she's not allowed to do it, but it is a perfectly legitimate reason to oppose someone and is not some anti-christian bias. i would find it distasteful from any religion.

sweetpotato

know1 wrote:

Is this Palin mixing policy with religion or the author and a former pastor ATTEMPTING to paint a picture that she's mixing them?

Biden must just be a saint that walks on water because I haven't seen anything remotely close to attacking his character like we have with Palin.

he seems like a pretty stable sorta guy to me. but don't worry. i'm sure the press will start attacking him as soon as he rips palin a new a$$hole during the VP debate.

>starts popping popcorn and settling in for the show<

mammasan

catch22 wrote:

i also have a problem with browbeating people based on religion. eg. palin saying you have to be good with god and telling people that jesus or god supports whatever policy she's advancing, even if it is utterly irrelevant. that sits in the grey area perhaps, but i find it distasteful and a little bit frightening. i'm not going to say she's not allowed to do it, but it is a perfectly legitimate reason to oppose someone and is not some anti-christian bias. i would find it distasteful from any religion.

I agree with you. As I stated I have no problem with a person's religious beliefs but when you use those beliefs to give your policies some sort of creedance then you have crossed the line in my opinion. We have seen the disasterous results of Bush's God given policy for the last 8 years and while Palin's policies may or may not have the same outcome I honestly don't want to take the chance.

know1

NMyTree wrote:

:D

Of course not.

Nor is it a manipulative and (god) imposing concept:rolleyes:

Our hearts must be good with god, in order for this pipeline thing to work.

Nah, not at all:rolleyes:

But the point is that it said she was mixing it with POLICY.

NMyTree

know1 wrote:

But the point is that it said she was mixing it with POLICY.

It is Palin's policy to impose God into what essetially is a corporate/financial/envorinmental issue and matter.

She had absolutley no ground or right to infuse "hearts must be good with god" into that pipeline issue. God and religion has nothing to do with that pipeline.

Building a pipeline is an environmental, financial and corporate issue; which always turns political.

It is her looney, Christian extremist disposition that dictated she make such an absurd and revealing comment.

If you don't see that as mixing religion.....her god, into the issue, then there's nothing more to say.

You see it your way. I see it my way.

catch22

know1 wrote:

But the point is that it said she was mixing it with POLICY.

and the post was raising the question of how much this has happened or will happen. it's a legitimate concern and the article certainly makes a case for this being a possibility that people may want to think about.

my2hands

if McCain/Palin win in Novemeber...


it is absolute proof that there is no God

know1

NMyTree wrote:

It is Palin's policy to impose God into what essetially is a corporate/financial/envorinmental issue and matter.

She had absolutley no ground or right to infuse "hearts must be good with god" into that pipeline issue. God and religion has nothing to do with that pipeline.

Building a pipeline is an environmental, financial and corporate issue; which always turns political.

It is her looney, Christian extremist disposition that dictated she make such an absurd and revealing comment.

If you don't see that as mixing religion.....her god, into the issue, then there's nothing more to say.

You see it your way. I see it my way.

All she's saying is that if it's not God's will, then the pipeline won't go through (wasn't she addressing a church, anyway?).

It's kind of like saying - if Federer's backhand is working, he'll win the US Open. Or - it's basically her affirming that she believes in God.

It has nothing to do with the issue, policy or the bill.

know1

catch22 wrote:

and the post was raising the question of how much this has happened or will happen. it's a legitimate concern and the article certainly makes a case for this being a possibility that people may want to think about.

Again, I said that if she were trying to pass a bill outlawing a certain religion or endorsing another, then there is a big problem.

If she's standing in front of a religious congregation and affirming her Christian faith by stating that if the bill passes it's because of God's will, then I don't see a problem.