Palin Trojan Horse

Dominionist Trojan Horse

“You lying so low in the weeds, I bet you gonna ambush me” Heart, Barracuda

“I believe Alaska is one of the refuge states in the last days, and hundreds of thousands of people are going to come to the state to seek refuge and the church has to be ready to minister to them.” So said Ed Kalnins, the senior pastor of Wasilla Assembly of God (since 1999) during his appearance with Governor Sarah Palin in June.

Sarah Palin and her family are members of the Wasilla Assembly of God. Kalnins sermons often reflect his most fervent belief – that mankind is facing the “last days” in what will be an apocalyptic return of Jesus Christ as he comes for his followers. This view is shared by a small but vocal group of Christian leaders.

Palin has close political and religious ties with that same small but vocal group. At the top of their agenda is their anti-First Amendment stance on the separation of church and state. The extremists who want America ruled by biblical law rather than the Constitution are associated with Dominionism. Governor Palin's home church while in Juneau is the Juneau Christian Center, and its pastor Mike Rose advocates Dominionism and has close connections with the Dominionist movement.

Dominionism is a belief system among Protestant Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists that endorses members to be active political participants in civic society and that above all else, domination in the nation’s political process is a mandate from God. Describing it as the "central unifying ideology" those who see Dominionism as divine chose the obvious political vehicle as a means to their ends - the Republican Party.

It is one thing to believe as a Christian that your purpose is to be the caretaker of religious life for God, through Jesus Christ. But when religious extremism is in the mix, the American people need to realize the social and political dangers of the Sarah Palin Trojan Horse.
It helps to delve a little deeper into the dominionist thought process to appreciate how terrified we should all be that the Republican nominee for VP buys into the fundamental principles of the extreme religious right.

Followers of dominionist thinking base their views on Genesis 1:26 in the Bible:
"And God said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (King James Version)

According to journalist Frederick Clarkson”: …they [dominionist followers] believe that 'biblical law' should be the foundation of American law." The ideology embraces religious supremacy and in doing so, conveys a lack of respect for other religions or any variations on the Christian landscape.

Those who share the dominionist approach and others in the religious right share common goals:

The teaching of creationism
Strict adherence to Biblical law found in Old Testament law
Forbid women to have abortions
Make it a felony for gay men to have sex
Display the Ten Commandments in all courthouses.
Prohibit pro-choice in assisted death for the severely ill and disabled
To head a faith based government until the Rapture of Jesus takes all true believers “home”.

Just prior to McCain’s announcement on his running mate, Sarah Palin was vetted for McCain at a meeting of the Council for National Policy, whose members include leading Dominionists D. James Kennedy Rev. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, and Tim LeHaye, author of the apocalyptic "Left Behind" books. A fundamental truth for those who embrace such ideology is that the second coming is imminent and true Christians will be transported from earth to heaven with Jesus leaving the rest of humanity to suffer catastrophe on earth.

After this vetting, Reverend Dobson issued a statement proclaiming Palin as an "outstanding" choice. Before the selection of Sarah Palin by the Council, the good reverend had openly said he could not get behind John McCain considered liberal conservative. It is apparent that McCain acquiesced to the Council’s choice after they unilaterally rejected his first picks of Tom Ridge and Joe Lieberman, both considered to be moderates and pro-choice.

D. James Kennedy, a subtle but tremendously influential evangelical blessed Bush before his run for president. Bush even today consults leading Dominionists on matters of federal policy.

Kennedy’s philosophy and direction are summed up in this quote:

"Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost," Kennedy says. "As the vice regents of God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports arenas, our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors -- in short, over every aspect and institution of human society."