[Marxism] Palin and the AofG church

[David Thorstad <binesi@xxxxxxxxx>]

It is now clear (any google search will turn up plenty of evidence) that 
as mayor Sarah Palin at least broached the possibility of banning 
certain "bad" books from the library, even if, so far, no list has 
turned up of the targeted offenders.
    As important, interesting, and relevant is her connection to the 
Assemblies of God church (also the church of former AG John Ashcroft), 
the biggest of the Pentecostal cults. This will undoubtedly become a 
more discussed topic in the weeks to come. I was raised in the AofG, so 
am familiar with the truly nasty and violent end-time beliefs of that 
cult, which is one reason I have been wondering how long it will take 
for the media to address the issue of end-time beliefs of that religious 
current (I'm not holding my breath, since the American media has become 
a virtual propaganda tool of the ruling class and abdicated any 
semblance of muckraking independence). Even though Palin's current 
church does not appear to be affiliated with the AofG, the AofG is 
solidly behind her, and no evidence has surfaced yet that her beliefs 
have evolved beyond those of that church. The following article goes 
into many (not all) of the weird end-times beliefs of the AofG and 
Dominionists and suchlike fruitcake fundi fantasies:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/163234/559/495/579213

Even this article, however, fails to address the question of 
premillennialism, the widely held belief among Pentecostalists and other 
fundi fanatics that the temple in Jerusalem will have to be rebuilt (and 
the Palestinians ejected from the "Holy Land") before the thousand-year 
reign of Christ on Earth can begin (one reason Christian Zionists are 
such avid supporters of the state of Israel). However, the Jews will 
then be given one chance to convert to Christianity, or they will be 
murdered. Zionist Jews for the most part know that they will be doomed 
should this eschatology come to pass, but for now they don't care so 
long as they get the support of Christian Zionists. Maybe most goyim 
don't care either and consider this worldview just plain nutty--which it 
certainly is. But millions of Americans adhere to it. Marxists sometimes 
argue that religious superstitions will fall away during periods of mass 
struggle, and there is some evidence for it (e.g., the Minneapolis 
strikes in the 1930s), but on the whole, when it comes to Dominionists, 
Reconstructionists, and other such fundi ilk, I have my doubts. Palin is 
clearly one such crazy. Based on what has come out thus far, I consider 
her even nuttier than W and the entire church antithetical to a 
civilized society.
    When I was a child in the AofG, that church followed the biblical 
exhortation: "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is 
God's." That was long ago thrown overboard in favor of trying to impose 
their religious views on the rest of society.
    For a window on homosex and sin in the AofG church in the 1950s, see 
my article "Holy Rolling":

http://www.williampercy.com/wiki/index.php?title=Holy_Rolling

David

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