Looking Deeper into Palin's Beliefs (I know ya'll are sick of miz P but this is serious stuff)

[Shallah Kali]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ralph-white/looking-deeper-into-palin_b_145886.html

As the Republican Party attempts to regroup and begins to splinter between the moderate and far right wings, progressive thinkers will have to be conscious of any tendency to smugness. No need to worry, some say. If Palin's crowd comes out on top of the power struggle they will be so extreme and irrelevant that they will attract insufficient numbers to ever pose a significant threat again. They can be gleefully consigned to history there to be viewed occasionally as a bizarre relic of a disturbed and wacky time in the country's political journey.

However, things will not necessarily be that simple. As the organizer of a large conference after the 2004 presidential election on The Real Agenda of the Religious Far Right, I am concerned that things may not unfold so smoothly. We know from the 1930's that a global depression can provide the most fertile ground for the rise of extremist politics. The militant nationalisms of that time would never have retained their grip on power without the economic desperation of the population and their longing for charismatic leadership that would restore the power and wealth of the nation and assign blame to the groups responsible for unemployment, idle factories, dropping incomes, diminished national pride, hopelessness and futility.

That is why Obama's first priority must be the economic well being of both the United States and the world. If we were to be faced with decline and poverty, the door would open to dark, nationalist forces that would undoubtedly take a religious form. And what would that form be? The conference in New York in spring 2005 examined a phenomenon known as Dominionism -- the belief that godly Christians are now mandated by the Lord to take political power to purify America, return it to its Christian origins, and create a biblical society with biblical laws for biblical crimes. The End Times would be upon us, the Book of Revelation would provide the geopolitical road map, and the spiritual war with secularists, Muslims and others would be conducted ruthlessly.

Well educated people and progressives do themselves a disservice if they dismiss this worldview as simply idiotic, unthinkable, and confined to a lunatic fringe. Sarah Palin's rise shows there is still an appetite in America for charismatic leadership devoid of political substance; for a pretty face, a down home manner, and a torrent of ugly, distorted political attacks delivered with a sexy vibe - the heels on and the gloves off.

snip

It's time to educate ourselves more about The New Apostolic Reformation and the spiritual warfare to which Palin's Assemblies of God Church appears to subscribe. When the prayer warriors of this movement delight in the burning of a Transcendental Meditation Center and the persecution of African 'witches' as perceived results of their spiritual efforts, we should all be concerned. We can learn more from web sites like talk2action.org that are engaged in thorough investigations of the disturbing belief systems prevalent in Dominionist churches. Journalists need to ask Sarah Palin directly about her religious beliefs regarding spiritual warfare, the End Times, even the appearance of the Anti-Christ.

It's well known that certain fundamentalist circles suspect that Obama is 'The One,' a forerunner of the Beast foretold in the Book of Revelation. Check out the views of Hal Lindsey, author of the fundamentalist classic, The Late, Great Planet Earth. Could that suspicion lie behind their unwavering attempts to 'expose' his links to terrorists, his sympathy for Islam, his phenomenal charisma that, they feel, can only be explained by diabolical forces that stand behind him? No doubt Sarah Palin thinks of herself as a good mom, a nice person, a follower of Jesus, and a devoted public servant. But death threats against Obama immediately spiked when her inflammatory, lipsticked rhetoric began to work its influence on the minds of unthinking people.

It is easy to dismiss the threat a theocrat like Palin poses if you don't remember all the damage the religious right and their kind has done from gleefully supporting a war on Iraq, supporting everything W has done because he was their chosen one, constantly trying to repeal women's reproductive rights and prevent any recognition of human rights for gays and on and on. Not all of them are inchoherent wackjobs like Palin. Some are kindly appearing, charming even, until you find out good ole boy Huckabee thinks gays aren't any different from necrophiles and thinks the constitution needs to be replaced with biblical law. I am not saying we need to be paranoid about these people just pay attention, use caution and spread word when someone steathlier with their end timer beliefs runs for office.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. She is just your average Dominionist/Christian Reconstructionist.

If you think that article is scary...read this...and then google them for even more stomach turning information...like how influential these fanatics are.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm

Specific beliefs include
A rejection of Antinomianism: the belief that salvation is obtained totally through faith and not through performing good works and living a moral life

Presuppositionalism: the acceptance on faith that the Bible is true. They do not attempt to prove that God exists or that the Bible is true.

Inerrancy: the belief that the Bible, as originally written, is totally free of error.

Postmillennialism: the belief that Christ will not return to earth until much of the world has converted to Christianity. This will not take place for some considerable time; it will not be a painless transition. Most Fundamentalists and other Evangelists hold to a different view. They are Premillenialists and believe that all (or almost all) of the preconditions of Christ's return have been met. They expect Jesus' second coming to occur very soon.

The 613 laws contained in the Hebrew Scriptures' Mosaic Code can be divided into two classes: moral and ceremonial. Christians are not required to follow the ceremonial laws, because Jesus has liberated them from that responsibility. However, all persons must follow those moral laws which were not specifically modified or cancelled by further revelation --generally in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament). In contrast:
Non-reconstructionist Christians generally divide these laws into three classes: moral, civil and ceremonial law, and generally believe that most Old Testament laws are no longer binding on Christians.

Jews generally believe that the Mosaic Code is binding only on Jews.

The moral laws given by God to the ancient Israelites reflect of God's character, which is unchangeable. Most of the laws are intended for all nations, cultures, societies, religions and all eras, including the present time. However, there are a few laws, in such areas as personal safety and sanitation, which are no longer applicable because of changes in architecture and sewage disposal. These do not need to be obeyed.

The primacy of the Hebrew Scriptures, relative to the Christian Scriptures (New Testament). All of the Hebrew Scriptures' non-ceremonial laws are still in force, unless they have been specifically rescinded or modified by verses in the Christian Scriptures. "Only if we find an explicit abandonment of an Old Testament law in the New Testament, because of the historic fulfillment of the Old Testament shadow, can we legitimately abandon a detail of the Mosaic law." 3 This is largely supported by their interpretation of Matthew 5:17:

"Do you think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (NIV)

Civil laws must be changed to match the Bible's moral rules. That is, anything that is immoral (by their standards) is also to be criminalized.

The only valid legislation, social theory, spiritual beliefs, economic theory are those derived from the Bible
In every aspect of life, there are only two options: God-centered or man-centered; Theonomy or autonomy. Their political goal is to ban the latter, everywhere. Each individual, family, church, government and society must be reconstructed to eliminate sin. Each Christian has the responsibility to contribute to this conversion.

They oppose inter-faith, inter-racial, and same-sex marriages. R.J. Rushdoony wrote about opposition to:
"inter-religious, inter-racial, and inter-cultural marriages, in that they normally go against the very community which marriage is designed to establish." 4

Rushdoony's condemnation of inter-racial marriage appears to have been his own and unrelated to the biblical text. It was not shared by other Reconstructionists.

Reconstructionists regard the Gods and Goddesses of all other religions to be "the devil," and their teachings to be false. They would attempt to replace all religions with their version of Christianity. For example, David Chilton wrote about Judaism:
"The god of Judaism is the devil. The Jew will not be recognized by God as one of His chosen people until he abandons his demonic religion and returns to the faith of his fathers--the faith which embraces Jesus Christ and His Gospel." 5

Practices:

If they gained control of the US or Canadian federal government, there would be many changes:
The use of the death penalty would be greatly expanded, when the Hebrew Scriptures' laws are reapplied. People will be executed for adultery, blasphemy, heresy, homosexual behavior, idolatry, prostitution, evil sorcery (some translations say Witchcraft), etc. The Bible requires those found guilty of these "crimes" to be either stoned to death or burned alive. Reconstructionists are divided on the execution method to be used.

A church or congregation which does not accept the Mosaic Law has another god before them, and is thus guilty of idolatry. That would be punishable by death. That would include all non-Christian religious organizations. At the present time, non-Christians total two-thirds of the human race.

The status of women would be reduced to almost that of a slave as described in the Hebrew Scriptures. A woman would initially be considered the property of her father; after marriage, she would be considered the property of her husband.

It would be logical to assume that the institution of slavery would be reintroduced, and regulated according to Biblical laws. Fathers could sell their daughters into slavery. Female slaves would retain that status for life. Slave owners would be allowed to physically abuse them, as long as the slaves lived for at least a day before dying of the beating. 9

Polygyny and the keeping of concubines were permitted in the Old Testament. However, Reconstructionists generally believe in marriage between one man and one woman only. Any other sexual expression would be a capital crime. Those found guilty of engaging in same-sex, pre-marital or extra-marital sex would be executed.

The Old Testament "Jubilee Year" system would be celebrated once more. Every 50 years, the control of all land reverted to its original owners. In theory, this would require every part of North American land to be returned to the original Aboriginal owners (or perhaps to those persons of Aboriginal descent who are now Christians). Hawaii would be given back to the native Hawaiians.

Governments would all have balanced budgets.

Income taxes would be eliminated.

The prison system would be eliminated. A system of just restitution would be established for some crimes. The death penalty would be practiced for many other crimes. There would be little need for warehousing of convicted criminals.

Legal abortions would be banished; those found to be responsible for abortions would be charged with murder and executed.

[silverojo]

2. Can we just execute THEM before they come after us? - n/t

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

5. I think it's worth emphasizing who they consider to be Christian:

themselves and allied churches. Mainstream Protestants would be heretics, while Catholics and Orthodox Christians would be idolaters. Likewise, Mormons would be followers of a false prophet.

We cannot be complacent. We must remain vigilant against them.

[Shallah Kali]

9. I wish a reporter would ask them if the other church's marriages are illegitimate like gay marriages

since they don't consider the other churches or religions legitimate doesn't it make the rest of the world full of couples living in sin when you get down the nitty gritty?

[TankLV]

22. Well - morons, I mean mormons DO follow an IDIOT or "false prophet"...!!!

Hard to argue with that one!!!

It's just that the rest of these "true believers" are IDIOTS also!!!

[Hekate]

3. KnR. Dominionism/Christian Reconstructionism is (or should be) a perennial topic here at DU...

I learned about it here, and then did my own research, which scared the bejaysus out of me. These people are batshit crazy, power-hungry, well-financed, mean as a snake, and able to plan over decades.

We're liberals. We want to move on. We like to forgive and forget. That's a bad idea with the Dominionists.

The topic needs to be resurrected (sorry :eyes:) here from time to time in order to educate the newbies or those who missed it the first time around.

A good site for info is Theocracy Watch.

Hekate

[BrklynLiberal]

4. I agree with you 150%. They are very dangerous and not to be underestimated.

They already have true-believers in positions of power, -some say on the Supreme Court- and as you said, they are very well financed.

Their money is involved in the electronic voting machines.


Theocracy watch is an excellent place to find out about them...
http://www.theocracywatch.org/dominionism.htm

as is religioustolerance.org
http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm

[Shallah Kali]

7. "We're liberals. We want to move on. We like to forgive and forget. That's a bad idea with the Domin

ionist"

This is exactly why I posted this. The religious right in all it's various groupings will never give up, never give in, and as long as they have a big enough voting bloc they can mobilize and tap for $$$$$$ there will be politicans willing to go along with them to get into power. Focus on the Family might be firing some of it's people but you had better believe there will always be some wiling to send their last dollar to save America from fearsome things like 'godless liberals' and the horrors of loving glbt couples committing monogamy.

[pnwmom]

6. You're right. We need to be vigilant. Recommended. n/t

[thread-bear]

21. church and state

I come from an "evangelical" family,my father,uncles,brothers and various family members are and were ministers. They withdrew from the Southern Baptists years ago. My father had complete faith in God and loved everybody. I am completely against the merge of church and state,whether it is Christian,Jewish,Muslim,or otherwise. I believe the two greatest and oldest evils in the world are theocracy's and racism. Don't judge us all alike,the people I grew up with were truly "God's gentle people". I have suffered a lot from my opposition to the war,and dominion-ism at work. Don't forget the war was not just a evangelical idea,but had the support of PNAC and other neo-cons. Sarah Palin scares me.too. I believe in the Constitution,Bill of Rights,and the teachings of Christ. I also support your right to disagree.

[Shallah Kali]

8. I feel like Mad-Eye Moody "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!!!!" but anyhow here are some links

Theocracy Watch http://www.theocracywatch.org

Dominionist Hell: It's not just for Sundays anymore - the diary of a fundamentalist Christian escapee - http://dogemperor.dailykos.com

Talk To Action
http://www.talk2action.org

Right Wing Watch by People for the American Way http://www.rightwingwatch.org

American's United for Separation of Church & State http://www.au.org

Dark Christianity - community for fundamentalist walkways and escapees http://community.livejournal.com/dark_christian

Cult News - mix of news articles on various cults http://www.cultnews.net

SPLCenter.org: 'Arming' for Armageddon : Militant Joel's Army Followers Seek Theocracy
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=964

first half of "Soldiers of Christ: Inside America's Most Powerful Megachurch," a feature by Revealer editor Jeff Sharlet in the May, 2005 issue of Harper's
http://www.therevealer.org/archives/timely_001945.php

[RedLetterRev]

10. I've been talking about these

nuts for almost 30 years now, watching in some amount of horror as they've gotten more numerous and more powerful. Hate radio and tacit encouragement from the GOP has had a lot to do with their rise. Now, in large part, they are the GOP.

They've grabbed the microphones and difficult to stand in a crowd and try to shout over the ones who've got control of the PA. They can yell over you. We should have stopped hate radio a couple of decades back.

Water under the bridge.

Now we're faced with having to wrest it back the hard way.

[juno jones]

11. K&R!

Thank you Shallah.

[D23MIURG23]

12. I don't understand the fixation.

She's crazy. She cost McCain the election. She is gone. The end.

The GOP can run her at their own peril at this point, but I seriously doubt they will. I think she is headed down a path back to well deserved obscurity.

[Shallah Kali]

13. She herself is not the threat. It is the people who back her and who believe like her

The ones who think they need to take over America from politics to banking to schools. They think if they can get rid of homosexuality, birth control, and all the other things they hate and fear they can bring on armageddon. Or some hope to fight Russia to trigger the end times. Do you really want someone like that in control of the US military? Look what the crew of neocons and religious right did to get us to make war on Iraq. My fundy neighbors were overjoyed at the invasion feeling sure that Jesus was on his way any minute!

Don't let your justified contempt for Palin blind you to the damage these people do. while I doubt they will ever fully accomplish their goals of aquiring power it is the damage they do in the process that concerns me. Consider how Palin's few weeks of smears emboldened the nuts to make more and more threats against President-Elect Obama. Look at all the resources the religious right ties up making women's rights groups constantly fight to keep choice - including bloody birth control - legal. Look at the fight for marriage equality, getting glbt included in hate crimes bills, to keep teaching SCIENCE in schools! Look at all the millions wasted on teaching abstinence only education enriching religious groups but leaving America's children pitfully ignorent and more prone to spreading disease and unwanted & unplanned pregnancies! These are the non-corporate owners who fight against measures to reduce global warming because it is a sign of Jesus' return not a sign humanity has fouled up our only home.

The religious right is a big part of the GOP's base. As many mega-rich supports as they have they still need the RR to get enough votes to win or at least make the steal look vaguely good. there are a lot more right wingers than there are millionaire voters after all.

so in the end this is only a bit about Palin and mostly about the groups backing her who will field others like her like they have for decades now.

[morillon]

14. Exactly.

I don't do business with Dominionist-owned companies, and I encourage all my friends and family to stay away, too. There are some great Kos diaries that describe who these companies are and how they operate.

That's not the ONLY thing to do -- not by a long shot -- but at the very minimum I can avoid giving them money.

[Enthusiast]

15. These people are pig-ignorant!

But so were followers of Hitler and other similar movements. I have relatives that believe this end times bullshit. It sickens me that they nearly accept Tim Lahaye's books as valid scripture. Just tell one of them you "believe" in evolution.

[D23MIURG23]

25. I'm well aware of the dangers of the religious Reich, thank you.

Anyone who has payed any attention the last 8 years should be. No one needs Palin as an exemplar of thier dangers after 8 years of W and 12 of "contract on America". There is no reason to author a post about "Palin's beliefs" as opposed to those of the RR generally, except to contribute to obnoxious Palin hysteria.

[Shallah Kali]

26. I have a different opinion as I have seen so many people unaware become informed because of Palin

While you may not have witnessed this I have and so I post articles on the right wing that focus on Palin to catch people's eye curious what is her latest faux pas who might bypass a different piece. I certainly get more hits and more responses on articles I post with Palin in the title than those on others. Most Americans do not know how extreme she and those who promoted her are and yes even a few are here at DU.

Also she is such a good example of the way the right wing machine works and how the religious right trains up their children to be unthinking obedient little authoritiarn loving voters.

Finally the religious right are like a rake in the grass. Some are ready to ignore them thinking Obama's election proved them to be irrelevent. I disagree having seen how as the article in the OP states tough times brings out the extremists some of whom cause great damage before they are stopped and so I thought the article worth posting.

[prostock69]

16. This is what keeps me up at night!

George Bush paved the way for all of the above to happen. She was to be his successor. If they truly believe that Obama is the anti-christ, then they will stop at nothing to bring him down. And the reason this is no talked about in the news or anywhere else is because we are to respect the religious beliefs of others. That is the problem. People need to challenge those who believe in religion with no facts, reason, or evidence to back their beliefs, then they should be questioned heavily and publicly. The best way to do this is to support the American Atheists Organization even if you do believe in God. Their main cause is putting pressure on the government for separation of church and state.

[Shallah Kali]

20. AU.org is another group totally dedicated to the seperation of church & state

http://www.au.org

People for the American Way also has that as part of their mission: http://www.pfaw.org

[CitizenPatriot]

17. great post

You helped me ID why "she" is still an issue with me. I see her as representing things which truly terrify me. And she got close enough that it's not a joke. If she falls on her face, others will follow.

the DoJ is staffed with these folks.

IF anyone has the link to the businesses owned by these domestic/constitutional terrorists, please let me know. I'd like to forward it to everyone I know.

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: it's not a river in Egypt.

[southernyankeebelle]

18. Right on

I have been worried about the same thing. It scares me that people won't pay attention until its to late. Just like in Germany. I worry for my future grandchildren. I pray that Obama can get this country back on the track. People need to be patient. Already republicans are against Obama before he even has been taken the Oat of office. The pray he will fail. They want the Palin bunch in. God help us. They don't seem to get god already made his choice by not putting that wack job Palin in office. Nail all the doors shut.

[GliderGuider]

19. I posted about this when her candidacy was announced

On August 30 I wrote:

Does nobody understand what has happened here?

Sarah Palin is a Dominionist stalking horse. She is the true access point for the power-holders in your nation. Her selection is in keeping with the principles of the Powell Memo and the tenets of Disaster Capitalism, and represents the continuation of the process the power-holders pioneered through the selection of Dick Cheney. Her elevation incorporates all the lessons they have learned in the last 50 years about the vulnerabilities of the American people and how to use those frailties to position themselves at the unassailable heart of power.

Palin's choice is not a fluke, not a miscalculation and certainly not a mistake. It sends a clear and incontrovertible signal to those who can read it. For me, the message is that the corporate elite is preparing a final consolidation of their stranglehold on the American body politic. Palin was carefully chosen to be the sympathetic and malleable instrument of that consolidation.

Palin's selection scares me shitless.

I have seen nothing since then to make me change my mind. This woman may be the most dangerous buffoon America has ever produced.

[judasdisney]

23. Alaska secessionists' fascist connections

http://wfmu.org/listen.m3u?show=29347&archive=46626

One hour mp3: Dave Emory examines the fascist connections of the Alaskan secessionist movement to Palin, including new information about her stint as mayor.

Did you know Palin's backers forged a marriage certificate for her opponent in the mayoral race (Stein) for the purposes of questioning Stein's Christianity and attempting to imply Stein was (shocking) Jewish?

[Shallah Kali]

24. Sarah Palin's radical right-wing mentors & more

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/10/palin_chryson/

Sarah Plain Faith Based Mayor
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/18/palin_iacc/

Sarah Palin, Wasilla, book banning
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/15/bess

Sarah Palin Assemblies of God
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/11/assemblies_of_god/

Mean girl
Sarah Palin has a way of using "old boys" -- then dumping them when they become inconvenient.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/23/palin

Even though Palin knew that Stein is a Protestant Christian, from a Pennsylvania Dutch background, her campaign began circulating the word that she would be "Wasilla's first Christian mayor." Some of Stein's supporters interpreted this as an attempt to portray Stein as Jewish in the heavily evangelical community. Stein himself, an eminently reasonable and reflective man, thinks "they were redefining Christianity to mean born-agains."

The Palin campaign also started another vicious whisper campaign, spreading the word that Stein and his wife -- who had chosen to keep her own last name when they were married -- were not legally wed. Again, Palin knew the truth, Stein said, but chose to muddy the waters. "We actually had to produce our marriage certificate," recalled Stein, whose wife died of breast cancer in 2005 without ever reconciling with Palin.

"I had a hand in creating Sarah, but in the end she blew me out of the water," Stein said, sounding more wearily ironic than bitter. "Sarah's on a mission, she's an opportunist."