Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, professor of theology at Chicago Theological Seminary, has found a new avenue for attacking Sarah Palin; the Bible. She writes in the often ridiculous “On Faith” blog that Palin can not be trusted to run the country because she believes that the Bible is the word of God.
“Wives be subject to your husbands, as unto the Lord.” So says the Christian scriptures in Ephesians, 5:22. What I would like to know, first of all, is who is going to have the final authority as Vice-President if Sarah Palin is elected, Palin or her husband? In fact, I think the first order of business with Palin is to ask her to give the same kind of speech that was demanded of John F. Kennedy re his Catholicism. Kennedy said he would obey the Constitution over the Pope. Will Palin obey the Constitution over her husband?
So, by electing Sarah Palin we’re essentially electing her husband. I like the theory. She’s like a Christian Manchurian candidate.
So here’s the scene from the White House in 2012. Sarah Palin is President. Cue the evil sounding music. A dark and stormy night.
Palin’s husband: Push the red button, Sarah.
Sarah: But that will start a nuclear war and we wouldn’t want…
Palin’s husband: I am your husband and you are subject to me so get pushin’ baby.
Sarah: Well, if it says it in the Bible I guess I have to.
The missiles launch. Pull back and show an ominous close-up of the Bible.
September 8, 2008 at 2:29 pm
But why wait until 2012? According to the pundits McCain will die shortly after taking office so you’d really be voting Palin (or, in this tack her husband) for president. That aside, proof texting is always comical when it’s this transparent. I’d think they’d want to try a little harder than that, but they apparently don’t have a very high opinion of their readership.
September 8, 2008 at 3:29 pm
And why have they not demanded the same promises from Biden? It seems as though they already know that he’s not actually a real Catholic… Interesting…
September 8, 2008 at 4:30 pm
What they fail to realize is that Sarah Palin, just like all politicians, is using her claim as a Christian as a political ploy. In claiming that she rejects the views of her church, like this one and the claims about Israel, she is very similar to Obama, Biden, and Pelosi. They are all CINO’s—Christian’s in name only.
September 8, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Excellent find Matthew!
I never thought the end of days would be this entertaining!
September 8, 2008 at 5:25 pm
That’s why we’re here.
September 8, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Wow, Marie Duchesne, that’s quite a sweeping statement!
Do you know Sarah Palin? Have you ever had a conversation with her about her faith? Have you ever even read an interview where she offered the details of her faith-life?
Yet, you assert here that Sarah “claims” to be a Christian “as a political ploy.” That’s real Christ-like of you.
Your statement tells us all much more about who you are than it does about who Sarah Palin is.
Kate
September 8, 2008 at 6:59 pm
By the way the Catholic voice of the Faith Blog at the Washington Post basically called Palin a slut
http://opinionatedcatholic.blogspot.com/2008/09/catholic-voice-of-washington-post.html
September 8, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Uh, Kate, It is no big secret that Politicians notoriously claim their Christian faith for political gain. I don’t have to read an article about Sarah Palin’s faith. I was a Pentecostal for a short while. She’s been their for 30 years. It is no doubt that it has shaped her world view. I don’t doubt her “spirituality” or her pro-life position. But these two alone do not identity a Christian. When one claims to be a Christian and is using that to garner some sympathy or support, you darn better believe I’m gonna check into it. Politicians who stay in a Church but “don’t hold their Churches views” are either lying or pandering. Perhaps, in your view, it is not Christian like to question a person religious faith or their intentions. In my view, it’s sound judgment.
September 8, 2008 at 8:06 pm
I don’t believe she’s in a Pentecostal Church. I believe she’s non-demoninational.
September 8, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Rita,
Sarah Palin attended Wasilla Assembly of God from the time she was a small child until 2002. She was re-baptized there at age 12. When in Juneau, the Palin’s attend Juneau Christian Center, another Pentecostal Church. You are welcome to check both Churches websites. They both have statements regarding Gov Palin. JCC claims she attends occasionally, or something to that matter. So you be the judge. Maybe she’s just a cafeteria Pentecostal–and only believes the parts of her church that suit her needs.
September 8, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Marie,
I’m a big believer in judging actions, but judging intentions or “heart” is decidedly out-of-bounds, for a Christian. Unless, of course you ARE Christ…Prudence also counts for mere humans.
As an aside, seems to me that the media is pushing her Christian faith way more than SHE is. Unless the simple facts that her Trisomy baby actually lives or that her daughter is not going to have an abortion marks her as pushing her Christian faith on the voters–but some principaled atheists might make those decisions…
You wrote: “What they fail to realize is that Sarah Palin, just like all politicians, is using her claim as a Christian as a political ploy.”
Hmm… “What they fail to realize is that Lieberman, just like all Jews…”
Or:”What they fail to realize is that Al Shrpton, just like all Blacks…
Or: “St. Matthew, just like all tax collectors…?”
Just saying, again, your statements say more about you than Sarah Palin.
Kate
September 9, 2008 at 3:15 am
And, as we all know, Nancy Pelosi and Cranky Old Biden are tools of the Vatican, occasionally sneaking down to their basements to oil their guns and take their secret orders from The Wicked Old Pope via short-wave radio.
— Mack, evil, wicked, godless, satanic, homosexuality-promoting, America-bashing, condom-distributing, blah, blah, blah public-school teacher.
September 9, 2008 at 5:46 am
Great post, thanks for the chuckles.
September 9, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Kate,
Sadly what you fail to realize, along with many others, is that politicians do indeed like to wear their religious faith on their sleeves if it serves political purpose. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. Whether you want to except it or not Sarah Palin is being USED as a political pawn within the Republican party. If you vote this ticket, after all, you will be voting for John McCain as president. If my memory serves, the VP has NO political clout or maybe Republicans this year are hoping to change that. Sarah Palin’s Christianity is being used to attract the Republican base who all but deserted John McCain because they question his support of values they hold dear. I point out this inconsistently to try to keep the lemmings from jumping off the cliff. I am a very traditional Catholic. While Sarah Palin has very admirable qualities and should be applauded for her anti-abortion stance, I personally believe she is dangerous to the very core of Christianity. How could that be you ask? Christianity has long been the protector of traditional family values. Slowly feminism, of the pro-life kind, has crept into the Christian church with praise. We’ll just have to sit back and weep as more children are abandoned to day care, more teenagers become involved in sex and drugs, and finally where women are shunned further for embracing their womanhood by foregoing career to nurture their families. The only value women will have is the ones “that have it all.”
September 9, 2008 at 7:23 pm
/If you vote this ticket, after all, you will be voting for John McCain as president. If my memory serves, the VP has NO political clout or maybe Republicans this year are hoping to change that./
Let’s not start THAT again! 😉
September 10, 2008 at 1:32 am
Thanks for the civics lesson, Maria.
Again, what you said says WAY more about YOU than Palin and McCain.
Peace,
Kate
September 10, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Kate,
And what do my words actually say about me? That I am skeptic? That I don’t trust politicians? That I actually care about why I’m voting and who I’m voting for? I could care less about John McCain’s or Sarah Palin’s religious beliefs. I just want to know how if in any way those beliefs will affect them running the country that I live in. I don’t think that is unreasonable. What I do know is that Christians, regardless of their background, LOVE to vote for other Christians. The Republicans KNOW it and will use whatever political tool is at their disposal to make it happen. That’s gullibility. I don’t like being pandered to and that’s IS what is happening. John McCain and Sarah Palin have two things in common—she’s has as fiery temper and she’s a Neo-con. Two things that don’t impress me very much at all.
September 10, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Well, Maria, since you asked, your posts say to me that you can justify anything. ANYTHING.
Many have pointed out the Truth that one can’t defend human rights for humans who are never given the chance to actually LIVE.
You briefly “applaud” Sarah Palin for her “anti-abortion stance”—and then go into a long assertion that Sarah Palin is “dangerous to the very core of Christianity” (DANGEROUS!).
You seem to have the morals upside down here–gas prices, war, clothing the naked and feeding the hungry, the vital role of traditional families in the preservation of civilization, itself…none of these very important issues even approach the moral gravity of the slaughter of babies in the womb. We have no core of Christianity, no motherhood, no families at all, if human beings are being snuffed out before they have a chance to take a breath. What is really dangerous to the core of Christianity is ABORTION!
Frankly, Maria, the people who grasp the gravity of abortion (and that does not include all Catholics) tend to have their moral judgement properly aligned. These voters tend to get behind ANY politician who not only speechifies about the pro-life message, but actually LIVES the pro-life message.
If you can justify your clear disdain for a pro-life, pro-Judeo-Christian morality politician (whose actions in her personal and professional life reveal a morality far more Catholic than Ted Kennedy’s, Nancy Pelosi’s and John Biden’s “morality” put together) largely on the grounds that
a) she is a mother, and that
b)all Christian politicians are not REAL Christinans (based upon some highly subjective formulation of your own about what a Real Christian is),
I think you can justify just about anything–
As an aside, I seem to remember reading about one man who angrily turned tables over in a temple. Now that’s a fiery temper! Might he be capable of impressing you?
Peace,
Kate
September 11, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Kate,
I am so enjoying this discussion. It would be nice to end it quickly, as I believe it is taking a lot of space on this board. I read your response carefully and searched my own posts for accuracy and tone.
1) You claim that my post “say” to you that I can justify anything. I’m not certain how my posts can be interpreted that way, but I’ll go with that. To justify means to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable. Since my original post was regarding Gov. Palin’s Christianity and another post relates that Christianity to attracting voters, I am not certain that I am indeed justifying anything. It is, in fact, personally reasonable for any voter to questions a candidates religious beliefs in regard to their world view. In fact, it seems to me that Republicans are actually using Gov. Palin to justify their reasons FOR voting for John McCain, who just a month ago, they despised. I do not have to justify why I am not voting for McCain–there is clear evidence to explain that.
2) Yes. Sarah Palin is very dangerous for Christianity. The core of Christianity. Let’s see what the Catechism says: “The FAMILY is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. AUTHORITY, STABILITY, and a life of relationships with the family constitute the FOUNDATIONS for FREEDOM, SECURITY, and FRATERNITY within society. The family is the community in which, from CHILDHOOD, one can learn MORAL VALUES, BEGIN TO HONOR GOD, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society.” Gov. Palin and her family, as hard as it may sound, represent a breakdown in the family–the family which is central to society. Without the family, there is no society–only individuals living own their own, fending for themselves.
3) While abortion is an intrinsic moral evil and a scourge on society, the act in and of itself will not destroy society. It never has. Children are created in the womb when men and women have sex. Unwanted babies are being murdered because our SOCIETY made up of persons has FAILED to hold firm of the core Christian value of family. Contraception opened the way for fruitless sex, women to avoid motherhood, men to use women as sex objects–in other words, for men and women both to forfeit their responsibilities as persons. Abortion is merely a horrible symptom of this attitude. To say that abortion itself is the core of the breakdown of Christianity is false.
4) Actually voters rally around politicians who are anti-abortion. Pro-life involves so much more than this. Many anti-abortion politicians fully support embryonic stem cell research, economic programs that hurt those in poverty, refuse to recognize that contraception also kills babies, support policies that encourage unrestricted use of torture, unjustly administer punishment–I could go on. A true pro-life politician is far more than anti-abortion. He are she considers all aspects of human life and seeks to improve it.
5) I have never suggested that I have disdain for Sarah Palin. She clearly loves her family and her career. I simply make observations that Christians are quite intent on “justifying” themselves. Yes, she is a mother of 5 children–one of whom is an infant and another who is a pregnant teenager. From a mother’s perspective, it is quite reasonable to ask why a mother, under these circumstances, wishes to leave her children for political gain. The Republicans “justify” reasonable question by claiming–“She has a husband who helps.” “She only wants to serve the common good.” “Women can do it all.” These, Kate, are justifications–not reasoned proof that Gov. Palin is qualified for this position.
6) I have did not say that politicians are not real Christians. I have never concluded to know if a person truly believes in the saving power of Jesus. I made a claim that politicians, of all sorts, use their Christianity for political clout. It is a fair statement, one which can be JUSTIFIED. I simply suggested that the Republican party is using Sarah Palin as a means to get Christian votes—and it’s working.
7) I am quite familiar with Jesus’s anger in the temple. It must be incredibly important because it’s listed in all 4 of the Gospels. There are a few scriptures that Christians, of all sorts, can recognize–but rarely know the context. This one regarding Jesus’s anger and “Judge not, least you be judged.” Interesting that you bring this up, because I find it eerily appropriate. It’s a long scripture so let me paraphrase: Jesus arrived at Jerusalem during Passover. He went to the temple to pray and found merchants selling all types of things–including money changes. He grew angry, not because they were doing there jobs, but because they were using the temple to boost their sells. Jesus’s responds “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” John 2:16. Yes it’s very impressive AND THE VERY REASON I HATE POLITICIANS USING THEIR CHRISTIANITY FOR POLITICAL GAIN. Jesus was clearly offended—and so should you be.
8) You assume that I am a liberal or voting for Obama. In fact, I am neither. I find the Democrats and Republicans equally disgusting, dishonest, and bad for the United States. Not all people who question the Republican stronghold on Christians are liberals, Kate. And we don’t think abortion is anymore acceptable than you do. Personally, I believe all Catholics should be Independents and only vote for candidates that make efforts to address life, solidarity, and peace. If that happened, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
September 11, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Dear Maria,
I,too, have enjoyed this discussion. Here’s what I think, for what it’s worth:
You are WAY smarter than I. The depth of your political wisdom could never be measured by me! Your love of God and His Church is great. I humbly submit to your intellectual superiority and aplogize for questioning you here. I offer my deepest thanks to you for investing so much time to educate me. I look forward to learning more from you here.
With gratitude,
Kate