For weeks now Kossacks tell and re-tell the story of the Kenyan preacher who came to Sarah Palin's church and prayed to the the lord to expel any witches from Sarah. Some Kossacks have even seen the video.
This story has been treated as amazing, amusing, bemusing and just plain funny.
Occasionally a Kossack will link Palin's "witch doctor" to Obama's Rev. Wright and speculate that this is one reason McCain might not want to "go there" during the campaign.
Well, in today's New York Times it turns out that there is more the story. Much more. And a wise McCain adviser might really want to avoid comparing the religious backgrounds of the candidates.
Go below the fold for this one.
Everybody here is familiar with this story.
Bishop Thomas Muthee, the Kenyan preacher shown on the YouTube video anointing her (Palin) as she ran for governor, is celebrated internationally as an effective spiritual warrior who led a prayer movement that drove a witch out of his town in Kenya. The removal of the witch, Bishop Muthee says, resulted in a drop in crime, alcoholism and traffic accidents.
(New York Times, 10/25/08)
Most of us who saw the video of the good Bishop exorcising witches from Sarah Palin thought his prayers were weird or different, but who knew that they were just the tip of the iceberg.
It turns out that Sarah Palin belongs to a version of the Pentecostal Church that believes that demons have zip codes.
Its adherents believe that demonic forces can colonize specific geographic areas and individuals, and that "spiritual warriors" must "battle" them to assert God’s control, using prayer and evangelism. The movement’s fixation on demons, its aggressiveness and its leaders’ claims to exalted spiritual authority have troubled even some Pentecostal Christians.
And this.
Russell P. Spittler, provost emeritus at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., and an eminent scholar of Pentecostalism, said, "Most Christians would accept the view that there are forces and powers in the world that oppose Christian virtues." But, Mr. Spittler added, "Spiritual warfare makes a religion of identifying demons by names and ZIP codes."
This means that Governor Palin may have quite an October surprise for us all when she announces what exactly will happen to those of us who live in the wrong zip codes. With luck, she'll give redemption to bad zip codes if they see the light and vote for her (and McCain) on November 4.
This also casts a whole new light on Blue States vs. Red States. Presumably demons are more likely to live in Blue States and I have to believe that a Palin influenced administration would have views on how the federal government should treat those of us living in demonic Blue States.
This may explain what Governor Palin was talking about with Charlie Gibson when she did that rift about Russia, and Putin and keeping on eye on'em. If the Russians demonic, it matters that Governor Palin can see Russia from her house.
But to the larger question, so what if the Governor has a different brand of religion? Well, there is this vision of a foreign policy influence by the good Governor.
Critics say the goal of the spiritual warfare movement is to create a theocracy. Bruce Wilson, a researcher for Talk2Action, a Web site that tracks religious groups, said: "One of the imperatives of the movement is to achieve worldly power, including political control. Then you can more effectively drive out the demons. The ultimate goal is to purify the earth."
Okay, you got it now? John McCain has picked a political partner who may one day be 'that finger' on the nuclear button who believes that it is her job to "purify the earth."
That is all.