Palin identifies herself only as Christian in her biography on the National Governors’ Association Web site. In an Aug. 14 interview with Time magazine, she once again described herself as Christian. When pressed, she said she attended a “nondenominational Bible church.”
“I was baptized Catholic as a newborn and then my family started going to nondenominational churches throughout our life,” she said. She did not mention her longtime association with the Assemblies of God, which claims nearly 3 million members and is one of the biggest Pentecostal groups in the U.S.
Grant Wacker, an expert in Pentecostalism at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., said he can understand why. He said the McCain campaign likely doesn’t want Palin associated with the best-known Pentecostal to ever hold public office, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, an active member of the Assemblies of God.
“Though Pentecostals are diverse and rapidly mainstreaming themselves, the public still perceives them as sectarian and uncompromising, and those traits will not help Palin’s image,” Wacker said.
So she’s “sectarian” and “uncompromising?” Gee, that sounds pretty good to me!
David Handy+
Unashamed of being a sectarian, Christ-against-culture, uncompromisingly orthodox Anglican
I am not sure I would want it known that I still attend an Episcopal church.
Her biography was so obscure that it’s taken some time for the reality of her background to sink in around my own Pentecostal church. But it is now.
Unlike Sen Obama, who remained at his black liberation theology church and with his wildly unpatriotic obscene pastor until political considerations forced his move, she took her family and left the Assemblies 6 years ago, about the time she became mayor and well before she became governor. Sounds like a sincere move to non-denomination, as opposed to Obama’s questionable sincerity in his political move from his long-time church. Is this another indication of her being a genuine person as opposed to the empty suit of BHO?
As important an issue as Hillary’s fashion consciousness, I must say. Palin’s actions speak for her belief system and its concern for the least among us. Just as Obama’s belief system for the same group is revealed by his action of voting for abortion. Wright-ite or AoG or Bible Church or Vietnam-POW-chaplain by exposure … deeds reveal the Truth.
So what. There were times when people asked me what church I belonged to, I would do the same exact thing so that I didn’t have to go through a diatribe to explain WHAT and WHO the Episocpal Church was. Thankfully, I don’t have that conundrum anymore.
Her fearless nature is at least partially if not fully explained by her desire to do God’s will. One underestimates her drive and intellect at their peril, it would appear. The Lord does work in mysterious ways – perhaps McCain’s stint in an Episcopalian high school before this church imploded has had a late-in-life impact —why, even Rush was calling him John McBrilliant. The comments about speaking in tongues, etc, etc are right out of the Bible and Pentacostal believers take the Bible at its word. Last week on C-Span the Republican acceptance speeches of Dewey, Ike, Goldwater, & Ford were resurrected – all praising God and asking His blessing on the US.