Max Blumenthal: The Witch Hunter Anoints Sarah Palin

[babylonsister]

:scared:

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/363724/the_witch_hunter_anoints_sarah_palin

The Witch Hunter Anoints Sarah Palin
posted by Max Blumenthal on 09/24/2008 @ 05:16am


On September 20 and 21, I attended services at the church Sarah Palin belonged to since she was an adolescent, the Wasilla Assembly of God. Though Palin officially left the church in 2002, she is listed on its website as "a friend," and spoke there as recently as June 8 of this year.

I went specifically to see a pastor visiting from Kiambu, Kenya named Thomas Muthee. Muthee gained fame within Pentecostal circles by claiming that he defeated a local witch, Mama Jane, in a great spiritual battle, thus liberating his town from sin and opening its people to the spirit of Jesus.

snip//

But they hardly needed encouragement. On the first night of services, Muthee implored his audience to wage "spiritual warfare" against "the enemy." As I filmed, a nervous church staffer approached from behind and told me to put my camera away. I acceded to his demand, but as Muthee urged the church to crush "the python spirit" of the unbeliever enemies by stomping on their necks, I pulled out a smaller camera and filmed from a more discreet position. Now, church members were in deep prayer, speaking in tongues and raising their hands. Muthee exclaimed, "We come against the spirit of witchcraft! We come against the python spirits!" Then, a local pastor took the mic from Muthee and added, "We stomp on the heads of the enemy!"

Behind the Christian right's enthusiasm for Palin's conservative credentials is a visceral sense that she has come from them, not to them. Some right-wing evangelicals even believe she has messianic potential. As former Christian Broadcasting Network vice president Jim Bramlett wrote, "Sarah is that standard God has raised up to stop the flood. She has the anointing."

The Christian right's analysis is accurate to a certain degree. While Palin may not be The One, she is certainly one of them. Her social policy views, from her rejection of scientific evidence on global warming to her opposition to publicly funding emergency contraception for rape victims, are explicitly influenced by the sectarian theology she has subscribed to since she was a teenager. There is no better evidence of the depth of Palin's radical convictions than her startling encounter with the witch-hunter, Bishop Muthee.

Next week, I will post an exclusive video documentary here that will shed further light on Palin's relationship with Muthee and the religious right in Alaska. Stay tuned.

[OneSelf]

1. Wait a second...

I thought they said it was Obama who had the Messiah complex.
Bet the media doesn't bring this hypocrisy to light.

[islandmkl]

2. maybe they can arrange a 'spiritual ceremony' and have palin...

lay her hands on the economy...

let's have some REAL voodoo economics!!

[babylonsister]

3. LOL! Good one! nt

[OneGrassRoot]

4. A couple of things about this....

While I believe she is FINALLY being marginalized within the general populace, her initial popularity was dangerous, IMHO, specifically because of her extremist religious beliefs.

She was raised with these beliefs and, I don't believe, has ever distanced herself from them.

While I despise the fact that Bush and McCain have pandered TO the religious right extremists, Palin is ONE OF THEM. Just as this article indicates.

She's a whole new ballgame. End timer and all.

But what confuses me is the white dominionist (racist) aspect of most evangelicals. It's pretty well established that her church has ties to white dominionists, and thus white supremacy beliefs, so this Muthee guy really confused me.

A few others have responded to other posts of mine in this regard, saying the radical religious beliefs probably supercede racism, but to me racism is the underlying element.

Is anyone else having a hard time wrapping your brain around the Muthee connection versus the white dominionist connection?

Or, is it all just so batshit crazy that I shouldn't give this disconnect any further thought?

Weird.

[The Night Owl]

9. An article you must read...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7162414

[OneGrassRoot]

10. Thank you. I just did. Yikes!!!!! n/t

[OldEurope]

5. Anointing?

Yeah, I always thought, she´s a bit greasy.

[Botany]

6. These people are nuts

google python spirits OMFG! nutz!

[olegramps]

7. This is the reason they are keeping her out of spotlight

I posted this article a few days ago. It didn't seem to have much of an affect. Much has been said about the McCain people restricting access to the press. I can not help from wondering if her radical religious beliefs are the primary reason for keeping her under wraps. I attended, out of curiosity, a Pentecostal service and I was flabbergasted by their ranting in unintelligible "tongues". The members appeared to me to be mentally unbalanced and given to incoherent emotional outbursts. It was something that you might expect encountering in Bedlam. I believe that if she is afforded unrestricted access to the press her incredible endorsement of these charlatans would be catastrophic. She has been under their influence since childhood and subscribes to their end-times beliefs. It is terrifying to think that this brainwashed zombie could be a heartbeat away from the button to end the world. The press has given her a free pass on this while they repeated ad nauseam the rantings of Rev. Wright. While Wright is clearly a radical, some of these people who Palin follows are so beyond the pale they are frightening.

[patrice]

8. re: speaking in tongues etc., perhaps some people are so afraid and, therefore, desirous of a

dominating power to "save" them, that the act of resignation of all personal control, as evidence of that dominating power, is calming and elevating to them.

The part that is truly scarey is that resignation of personal control part. That "No blinking", no hypothesizing, no analysis reaction to ______________________ is definitely what "The End Times" would be made of.

[The Night Owl]

11. Kick! This article is important. {EOM}

[Overseas]

12. Save this for the Pastor File. Some of the info for the ad

that the Obama team can have ready to distribute if the RNC dares to resurrect their smearing of Rev. Wright.

Add that to JSM III clips condemning pandering to the religious right then sucking up to Hagee and Paisely (doesn't matter if he's renounced them),

and Palin talking at church about Iraq being a mission from God, and praying for the pipeline,

and other clips from her church.

The RNC knows we've got tons of material on their candidates, if they really want to raise the Rev Wright thing again.

[babylonsister]

13. p.m. kick for background and video at link, or here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl4HIc-yfgM&eurl=http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/363724/the_witch_hunter_anoints_sarah_palin