Sane evangelical David Kuo notices a fascinating aspect of the latest installment of the Palin farce released last night. It was her sudden abandonment of her faith for political expediency. Her speech at Wasilla was theologically orthodox when it talks of God's will. As David puts it:
There isn’t anything terribly controversial in what Gov. Palin is
saying. This is orthodox Christian theology - the idea that God
controls the outcome of all things. It is true in lives and it is true
in politics. It is only because we live in a time of massive
theological ignorance that clips like these raise an eyebrow. It is the
kind of thing that evangelical Christians say to each other.
And now her response to this:
David notes:
When asked what she meant about saying our leaders were sending our
troops to Iraq on a task “that is from God,” Gov. Palin replied that
she was thinking about Lincoln at the time.
The idea that she was thinking about Abraham Lincoln at the time she
was giving those remarks is laughable. It is the kind of spin that
comes from secular political consultants desperately trying to make
Gov. Palin sound “not too religious.”
Gov. Palin was giving a speech to
a theologically conservative evangelical church filled with Christians
who understood exactly what she was talking about - she was saying she
believed God had ordained the United States to invade Iraq.
In the interview she goes on to say, “I would never presume to know God’s will….”
Really? Truly? Does that mean that Gov. Palin is open to the idea
that God’s will is for the United States to become a Muslim nation? One
under Sharia law?
Does Gov. Palin believe it might be God’s will for the United States to
pass laws outlawing the freedom of speech? Is her faith and theology so
insipid, so tepid that she has no idea what God’s will is? Or is it
that she is simply trying to take the edge off her faith because her
new political advisers say it is “too much.” I’m guessing it is the
latter.
She has already sold out her faith for political expediency and did
it "without blinking". Her trainers obviously suggested this Lincoln
hooey - which I bet you she hadn't even heard of till the last week of
cramming. What this suggests to me is that her faith has been a
political tool in her career. She will use it when it helps - as in getting to be Mayor of Wasilla and governor of Alaska - and drop it when its in her way. There is something truly, deeply Rovian about Sarah Palin.