Palin-God Cartoon "Despicable," Says Pentecostal Leader

The leader of the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination denounced a cartoon that mocks Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Pentecostalism, and Christianity as “despicable.”

“The cartoon is despicable,” decried Assemblies of God’s chief executive officer, George O. Wood, in a statement Friday. “Millions of Christians today follow the example of first century Christians who prayed in other tongues.

“The Washington Post would not think of printing a cartoon that mocked members of the Muslim or Jewish faiths,” he charged. “It should be ashamed.”

In the cartoon, posted online Sept. 9, Palin is illustrated talking on the phone at a podium in an incomprehensible language. Republican vice presidential nominee John McCain stands near Palin and says with a grin, “She’s a Pentecostal and speaks in tongues, and only God can understand what she’s saying. But it gives my campaign a direct line to the Almighty.”

The next drawing shows “God” in heaven holding a phone saying to an angel, “Peter. What’s wrong with this phone? All I can hear is some dam’ right wing politician spouting gibberish!”

AG superintendent Wood criticized the political cartoon for not only revealing the cartoonist’s lack of understanding of Pentecostal beliefs, but of God.

The cartoonist portrayed God as cranky, befuddled, a user of profanity and not omniscient.
“Since God is multi-lingual, I'm sure He doesn't have problems understanding any prayers – whether they are articulated in a known or unknown language,” Wood said. “He looks for prayers that come from the heart."

Furthermore, the Pentecostal leader noted that Palin, to his knowledge, has never said she prays in tongues.

Palin was raised in a Pentecostal church and attended one until six years ago, when she and her family switched to a non-denominational evangelical church. She now identifies herself only as Christian, and a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign says Palin does not consider herself Pentecostal.

Still, the Republican vice presidential candidate and her ties with Pentecostalism have been subjected to scrutiny and commentary by secular reporters, who mainly portray the religious body as peculiar and unconventional.

According to http://www.washingtonpost.com/ representative Deborah Howell, Washingtonpost.com received some 350 complaints from readers about the cartoon by Pat Oliphant, which they said lampooned their faith.

"Readers were right to complain," she said, according to AG News, the news service of the 5 million-member Assemblies of God. "I will deal with political cartooning in another column."

She also noted that Oliphant’s cartoons are automatically posted on the washingtonpost.com site without anyone editing or reviewing the material prior to its posting.

[By Michelle A. Vu - Christian Post Reporter]

Sarah Palin Biography by Zondervan

Christian publishing giant Zondervan, the company behind Rick Warren’s megahit The Purpose Driven Life, announced last week that it will release the biography of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin next month.

The former little known Alaskan governor raised much curiosity after her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last week where she showcased her no-nonsense attitude, passion and moral convictions.
Now that the entire country is familiar with the name Sarah Palin, people want to know more about the woman that could be second in line to the presidency.

The new biography Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader by Joe Hilley seeks to address some of the questions and allay curiosity by exploring how she became the leader she is today. The book looks back at Palin’s political career, life as a hockey mom, and her strong Christian faith.

"We live in an age that values relationship over authority and instant information over accuracy, so breadth of knowledge and depth of conviction are the most prized commodities for our leaders," author Hilley said in a statement. "Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin brings both of these qualities and more to her new role as John McCain's running mate and I'm eager for readers to have the opportunity to know her and her brand of leadership more thoroughly."

Palin is the first woman governor of Alaska and the first woman to be on the Republican presidential ticket. She is known for her anti-corruption campaigns and likes to portray herself as a political outsider.

She was raised in a Pentecostal church and belonged to the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, from her teenage years to 2002. Since then she has attended a nondenominational church in Wasilla.

"Regardless of your political persuasion, it is clear that Sarah Palin has quickly electrified the 2008 election and sparked a nationwide dialogue and debate," said Moe Girkins, president and CEO of Zondervan – the world’s leading Christian publisher. "We are honored to publish this book that will provide readers with a comprehensive look into the life and rising political career of Sarah Palin."

The book is scheduled for release nationwide on Oct. 10.

[By Jennifer Riley - Christian Post Reporter]

Sarah Palin's Pentecostal Roots

Sarah Palin often identifies herself simply as Christian. Yet John McCain's running mate has deep roots in Pentecostalism, a spirit-filled Christian tradition that is one of the fastest growing in the world. It's often derided by outsiders and Bible-believers alike.

Palin was baptized Roman Catholic as a newborn. She was then baptized in a Pentecostal Assemblies of God church as a teen and attended that church until six years ago, when she and her family adopted a different home church, an independent evangelical church.

Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, has said Palin attends different churches and does not consider herself Pentecostal.

Details of Palin's religious background and its influence on her public policy are still emerging. As Alaska governor, she signed a proclamation as Alaska's governor honoring Christian Heritage Week and said creationism shouldn't be barred from classroom discussions.

She used traditional evangelical language in praying that a natural gas pipeline be built in Alaska and that the U.S. mission in Iraq was a "task that is from God." Yet she's also said she would not force her views on others.

Palin identifies herself only as Christian in her biography on the National Governors' Association Web site. In an Aug. 14 interview with Time magazine, she once again described herself as Christian. When pressed, she said she attended a "nondenominational Bible church."

"I was baptized Catholic as a newborn and then my family started going to nondenominational churches throughout our life," she said. She did not mention her longtime association with the Assemblies of God, which claims nearly 3 million members and is one of the biggest Pentecostal groups in the U.S.

Grant Wacker, an expert in Pentecostalism at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., said he can understand why. He said the McCain campaign likely doesn't want Palin associated with the best-known Pentecostal to ever hold public office, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, an active member of the Assemblies of God.

"Though Pentecostals are diverse and rapidly mainstreaming themselves, the public still perceives them as sectarian and uncompromising, and those traits will not help Palin's image," Wacker said.

Palin was baptized as a teenager in Alaska at the Wasilla Assembly of God, which she and her family attended until 2002.

"The fact is she has grown up and has associated with one of our Assemblies of God churches, which is a Pentecostal church, for years," said the Rev. Bill Welch, superintendent of the denomination's Alaska District. "Pentecostalism is bound to have some kind of impact and influence on her."

Pentecostals are conservative in their reading of the Bible and, often, culture.

The Rev. Ed Kalnins, senior pastor at Wasilla Assembly of God since 1999, once questioned in a sermon whether people who voted for Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election would get into heaven.

Unlike most other Christians — including most evangelicals — Pentecostals believe in "baptism in the Holy Spirit." That can manifest itself through speaking in tongues, modern-day prophesy and faith healing.

The Assemblies of God teaches that spirit baptism must be accompanied by speaking in tongues. Still, some churchgoers never have the experience.

Before running for Alaska governor, Palin also frequented Wasilla's Church on the Rock, an independent Pentecostal church, senior pastor David Pepper said in a statement.

About six years ago, the Palins began attending their current church home, Wasilla Bible Church, an independent evangelical congregation of truck drivers, executives and teachers, pastor Larry Kroon said.

It's a "simple community church," Kroon said, that is not Pentecostal. Still, Palin has remained close to the Pentecostal community.

Her pastor for most of her time at Wasilla Assembly of God, Paul Riley, said he gave the invocation at Palin's inauguration. As governor, she renamed the church's street "Riley Avenue" for him.

She sometimes worships at Juneau Christian Center, another Assemblies of God church, said Brad Kesler of the Alaska District of the Assemblies of God.

Palin used mostly traditional evangelical language when she spoke at a June ceremony for future mission workers at the Wasilla Assembly of God. A video of her talk was posted on the church Web site, then turned up elsewhere on the Internet.

Noting that her oldest son, Track, an Army private, is being sent to Iraq this month, Palin asked the audience to pray for military men and women. She also asked for prayer "that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God."

"That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for — that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan," she said.

She spoke about her responsibilities as governor, including job creation, and said she was trying to win support for a multibillion-dollar pipeline that would bring natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to the lower 48 states.

"I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built," she said. "So pray for that."

Still, she said the state needed more than just economic development.

"Really, all of that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart isn't right with God," she said. "Your job is going to be to be out there reaching the people — hurting people — throughout Alaska and we can work together to make sure God's will be done here."

Her current church, Wasilla Bible Church, stresses the inerrancy of Scripture.

Last Sunday's church bulletin advertised an upcoming Focus on the Family "Love Won Out Conference" in Anchorage. The conferences promise to "help men and women dissatisfied with living homosexually understand that same-sex attractions can be overcome."

Palin opposes abortion and gay marriage. But in December 2006, she told The Associated Press that her stances on certain lightning-rod issues would not necessarily translate into public policy.

"I've honestly answered the questions on what my personal views are on things like abortion and a lot of controversial issues," she said. "I won't hesitate to answer those questions about what my personal views are, but I am not one to be out there preaching and forcing my views on anyone else."

[Associated Press]

Is Sarah Palin Pentecostal?

Sarah Palin has said she was baptized in the Roman Catholic church. As a teenager, she began attending the Pentecostal Assemblies of God church in Wasilla and was baptized there by the founding pastor, Paul Riley. Todd Stafford, an associate pastor at Wasilla Assembly of God, says Palin often publicly thanks Riley -- now nearly 80 and still working as a prison chaplain -- for bringing her to Jesus when she visits the church. She attended that Pentecostal church until she was 38 years old, when she switched to Wasilla Bible Church, saying she preferred the children's ministries there.


Pentecostalism is one of the fastest growing branches of Christianity in the world, and the Assemblies of God is one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the country, claiming 1.6 million members. Pentecostals are generally characterized by a strict adherence to moral codes -- no tobacco, no alcohol, no social dancing, no sex outside of marriage -- and by their belief that the Holy Spirit bestows upon some the gift of "speaking in tongues," a reference to Acts 2: "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues."

However, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign has said that Palin attends many churches and does not consider herself to be Pentecostal.

This past Sunday, worship at the Assembly of God fellowship in Wasilla was as euphoric as the Bible Church was staid. The congregation of about 100 was on its feet, shouting and clapping. Some members on another Sunday might murmur and keen in low voices, the sound of speaking in tongues. But the purpose of the sermon this Sunday was to prepare the church for the media onslaught that was sure to follow. "Because Jesus Christ died on the cross," the senior pastor, Ed Kalnins, told the crowd, "we can worship in public. How many people are thanking God for what's happening to Governor Sarah?"

Kalnins guessed that about half of the people in his church have the gift of tongues. He has it himself, he says, though he rarely demonstrates it. "It's not meant to be shown off," he said. "It's not like flexing muscles. I received the gift in college, and it transformed my life." It's not something like from the "remote parts of the jungle," he adds: It's a decision.

And if the staff of Wasilla Bible Church shies from taking political stands, Kalnins does not. Homosexuality, he says, is a choice. He would not vote for a pro-choice candidate. When asked about the evolution-creationism debate, Kalnins is clear: "You present the facts of creation versus evolution and the truth will come out," he says. What does Palin think? "This is something inside every human heart of a believer," he answers.

When Palin worships in Juneau, she attends an Assembly of God church there.

Will this become a political issue? How will Pentecostalism stand up to this?

McCain's VP Choice Reassures Evangelicals

John McCain's running mate was raised in a Pentecostal church (Assemblies of God), has called herself "as pro-life as any candidate can be" and already has energized conservative religious leaders who worried the Arizona senator would choose an abortion rights supporter.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is "straight out of veep central casting," said Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religion Liberties Commission. Land said he urged the McCain camp to consider the political unknown.

Gary Bauer, one of McCain's most enthusiastic evangelical supporters, called it a "grand slam home run" that is "guaranteed to energize values voters."

The 44-year-old mother of five, who led her high school chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, was baptized as a teenager at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church, where she and her family were very active, according to her then-pastor, Paul Riley.

Now, she sometimes worships at the Juneau Christian Center, which is also part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God, said Brad Kesler, business administrator of the denomination's Alaska District. But her home church is The Church on the Rock, an independent congregation, Riley said.

"The church was kind of a foundation for her," said Riley, who said he gave the invocation at Palin's inauguration and had her address students at the church last month.

Palin and her family have gone the way of so many Christians in North America, moving from the denominational church to the independent Pentecostal congregation.

However, Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, said "Palin attends different churches and does not consider herself Pentecostal."

Is the campaign trying to avoid liberal anti-pentecostal attacks?

As a politician, Palin has sided with the majority evangelical view in opposing gay marriage and expressing a desire to see creationism discussed alongside evolution in schools.

"It's an absolutely brilliant choice," said Mathew Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law. "This will absolutely energize McCain's campaign and energize conservatives."

[AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll contributed to this report.]