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THE QUESTION
Palin's Religious Views
Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin recently suggested that a gas pipeline is "God's will" and the Iraq war is "a task that is from God." Are you concerned about these or any other candidate's religious views?
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on September 9, 2008 4:31 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Having Faith is Fine; Seeking a Theocracy is Not
I am concerned about anyone who claims the ability to speak with certainty about the will of God. When that claim is coupled with partisan politics, my concern turns into fear.
Posted by Welton Gaddy, on September 15, 2008 8:21 AM
God Does Not Leave His Plans To Politicians
Is a politician more in God's confidence than His Son Jesus Christ? Away with this silly claim of some politicians direct pipeline to God.
Posted by Gardner Calvin Taylor, on September 15, 2008 7:59 AM
Extreme Religion
You put all these beliefs together and I ask myself if Sarah Palin is going to defend the modern state of Israel as a self-determining democracy and work for peace in the Middle East, or just abandon Israel to destruction from its enemies in order to hasten the Rapture and the return of Christ?
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on September 15, 2008 2:32 AM
Concerns About Her Judgment, Not Her Views
Too bad that though the decision will hugely affect the rest of the world, only the elite (i.e. U.S. citizens) vote... that's actually the biggest issue in the election: U.S. relations to the rest of the world.
Posted by Nicholas T. Wright, on September 15, 2008 12:49 AM
Palin, Evangelical Religion and Enlightened Religion
I share with Sarah Palin what I assume is both anxiety and pride over a son serving in Iraq. Unlike Governor Palin, I do not believe that our nation's leaders have sent our sons on "a task that is from God."
Posted by James Anderson, on September 12, 2008 5:04 PM
Many Questions on the Candidates' Beliefs
I have questions about all the candidates' religious views. But I also note that they're not running for pope; they're running for public office.
Posted by Charles "Chuck" Colson, on September 12, 2008 4:52 PM
My Rock
I'm looking for not for God in my politicians. I'm looking for intelligence, decency, level-headedness, and the inspiration needed to get our country out of the mess we're in.
Posted by Andy Bachman, on September 12, 2008 2:45 PM
The Nomination Of Sarah Palin: Religious Extremism Triumphant
Palin wants to force her values on women who do not agree with her, and that is the definition of religious extremism
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on September 12, 2008 12:03 PM
Sarah Palin, Pentecostals, Keith Olbermann and God's Will
Palin's comments on "God's Will" should be viewed with trepidation and caution only if Obama's comment on not having any clue regarding when life begins speaks to a theological underpinning of moral relativism.
Posted by Samuel Rodriguez, on September 11, 2008 2:47 PM
God On Our Side
Sarah Palin's God may want her to build the pipeline, but I've had personal communication from Thundering Herds of Reindeer Gods that say, "No way!"
Posted by Starhawk, on September 11, 2008 1:13 PM
Understanding the Palin Prayers
Palin was expressing her convictions about the pipeline, that it was the right thing to do, and asking for prayerful support. In the context of the religious dialect of her church, it is a gross misunderstanding to think she meant more than that.
Posted by John Mark Reynolds, on September 11, 2008 12:35 PM
Palin's God is Not My God
As a person who strives every day to discern the voice of God and live my life in accordance with God's will, I certainly hope that all of our candidates understand that this great country, established in part to honor and protect religious freedom, thrives precisely on the diversity of its inhabitants.
Posted by Sharon Brous, on September 11, 2008 11:11 AM
Sarah Palin: Prophet or Politician?
There is no room in a democracy for elected officials who believe that they are prophets. Prophets draw their authority from a direct relationship with God. Our elected officials draw their power from the electorate - at least they are supposed to!
Posted by Brad Hirschfield, on September 10, 2008 4:06 PM
Palin Must Shift from Parochial Religion to Universal Politics
I worry that Palin's conjoining of her particular religious faith convictions with universal policy-making could generate potentially disastrous consequences for our country and world. We have already witnessed similar effects for the past eight years.
Posted by Daisy Khan, on September 10, 2008 3:48 PM
What's Good for GM Is Good for God
Religion-as-politics has infused the American system, for better or worse, as a familiar way to polarize people.
Posted by Deepak Chopra, on September 10, 2008 12:17 PM
The Election: Dancing in God's Earthquake
Not since William Jennings Bryan ("You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!" and William McKinley ("I knelt to pray for guidance on what to do about the Philippines, and heard a voice: Annex them, educate them, Christianize them!") have we had such a choice.
Posted by Arthur Waskow, on September 10, 2008 10:36 AM
Palin: A Narrow Evangelical President?
Every religion is attractive (or it couldn't continue to exist) and repulsive (or it wouldn't be human). When a religion comes to public notice in the person of a prominent politician, its friends note the politician's embodiment of its attractiveness and its enemies remark any evidence of its repulsiveness.
Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on September 9, 2008 5:48 PM
Beware Anyone's Sure Knowledge of God's Will
When politicians of any party or persuasion claim to know the will of God in any detail and to be following it in such detail, "better duck!" would be the best advice. Trouble ahead. Obsession, self-righteousness, and fanaticism follow.
Posted by Martin Marty, on September 9, 2008 4:13 PM
God's Agenda is Not Ours
All politicians, Democrats and Republicans alike, love to use God to baptize their political agendas. They shouldn't. The work of God is the salvation of souls, not the backing of humanity's agendas.
Posted by Cal Thomas, on September 9, 2008 3:44 PM
God Is Not A Political Trump Card
The issue of concern for me is not what a candidate believes about God but whether a candidate believes in the separation of church and state.
Posted by Irwin Kula, on September 9, 2008 1:09 PM
All Beliefs Welcome, Unless They are Forced on Others
I am on record as not objecting to any candidate's religious views. But I object strongly when anyone (and especially anyone with political power) tries to take their theology out in public, to inflict those private religious (or sexual) views on other people.
Posted by Wendy Doniger, on September 9, 2008 7:24 AM
Palin's God
People who think they are being directed by God to do something are scary; their commitment and conviction is admirable, but what they do, or what they endorse, in the name of God is ... scary.
Posted by Susan K. Smith, on September 9, 2008 6:46 AM
FEATURED COMMENTS
Tonio: "What DOES concern me is whether she will translate her church's dictates into public policy. "
Ten points to Athena. Whatever one's belief...
Jeff D: I am always concerned about the religious views of politicians and candidates — it is too much to hope that they have none — and I am especi...
