9.18.2008
Update: Palin's Anti-Pagan Coreligionists
Since I first posted about Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin's troubling co-religionists, the mainstream press and several major blogs have homed in on the blessing Palin received from the African Bishop Thomas Muthee.
"Palin describes the visit of Pastor Thomas Muthee to the Wasilla Assembly of God in 2005. "As I was mayor and Pastor Muthee was here and he was praying over me, and you know how he speaks and he's so bold. And he was praying 'Lord make a way, Lord make a way,'" Palin remarked. “And I'm thinking, this guy’s really bold, he doesn't even know what I'm going to do, he doesn’t know what my plans are," she continued. "And he’s praying not 'oh Lord if it be your will may she become governor,' no, he just prayed for it. He said, 'Lord make a way and let her do this next step. And that’s exactly what happened.'" “So, again, very very powerful, coming from this church,” she added."
Muthee is feted by fellow Christians in America and in Africa for driving out the "spirit of witchcraft" that resided in the village of Kiambu, Kenya. Now it seems this wasn't purely spiritual warfare on the part of Muthee, but involved stirring up mobs and driving a local fortune-teller out of town.
"According to the Christian Science Monitor, six months of fervent prayer and research identified the source of the witchcraft as a local woman called Mama Jane, who ran a “divination” centre called the Emmanuel Clinic ... after Pastor Muthee declared Mama Jane a witch, the townspeople became suspicious and began to turn on her, demanding that she be stoned. Public outrage eventually led the police to raid her home, where they fired gunshots, killing a pet python which they believed to be a demon. After Mama Jane was questioned by police – and released – she decided it was time to leave town, the account says."
As I pointed out previously, this isn't some isolated third-world preacher, Muthee has toured America, received mainstream press coverage, and gave 10 consecutive sermons at Wasilla Assembly of God (Palin's former church). He is a strong proponent of the spiritual warfare tactics endorsed by "Third Wave" Christian churches. Knowing that she was willingly blessed by an anti-witch fanatic, someone who has helped stir up the kind of mobs responsible for the horrific deaths of innocent men and women in Kenya, makes me reiterate my previous closing statement on this matter.
"What Pagans need to know, especially those who are considering voting Republican, is if Palin condemns or rejects the spiritual warfare teachings of the Third Wave movement. A movement that essentially espouses malicious Christian magic. Pagans have seen first hand that the religious opinions of Presidents have been used in the past by government agencies to deny us our legal rights. What would happen if our vice president thought we should be supernaturally eradicated?"
Does Palin still credit Muthee (via the power of "Jesus") with "making a way" to power for her? Does she know and approve of Muthee's spiritual war against "witches"? I think it would be important to know these things before election day.
Labels: Africa, Alaska, Christianity, Presidential election, Republican Party, Sarah Palin, Third Wave, Thomas Muthee, Witch Killings, Witchcraft
Comments:
I know this is a late response; sorry about that! Something I haven't seen in media related to the Palin/AoG story is this: Teen Challenge (start at Wikipedia) is a faith-based funding recipient, spun off from the Assembly of God. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, among others, have noted that one aspect of this Jesus Boot Camp Rehab outfit is that it "completes" Jews. That means converts them to Christianity, in the course of helping with their substance abuse issues, with tax-payer dollars. It's another face of the intolerant, Christo-centric Assembly of God that Palin is steeped in.
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I know this is a late response; sorry about that! Something I haven't seen in media related to the Palin/AoG story is this: Teen Challenge (start at Wikipedia) is a faith-based funding recipient, spun off from the Assembly of God. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, among others, have noted that one aspect of this Jesus Boot Camp Rehab outfit is that it "completes" Jews. That means converts them to Christianity, in the course of helping with their substance abuse issues, with tax-payer dollars. It's another face of the intolerant, Christo-centric Assembly of God that Palin is steeped in.
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