When Katie Couric asked Sarah Palin what periodicals she read that helped shape her worldview, she replied “all of them”. While the media thought she was ducking the question or showed ignorance, she may in fact have interpreted the question quite differently, a “world view” shaped by her Assembly of God church instead of the mainstream media. The Assembly of God website has an abundance of church newspapers, brochures and books that define her church’s doctrine and indeed their world view and perhaps her world view. I am not one to question anyone’s faith, but since she is aspiring to run for President in 2012, we need to better understand her church inspired world views and how they might affect Presidential decisions.
Here are just a few views extracted from the AG website that could influence her policies and decisions:
The priority reason for being of the Assemblies of God as part of the Church is to be an agency of God for evangelizing the world, and to be a corporate body in which man may worship God…
Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers.
The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand years, which will bring the salvation of national Israel.
All believers should avoid the Satanic tool of alcohol which destroys lives, damns souls and blights society.
The creation account is factual and historical.
Homosexuality is both a sin against God and mankind. Christians should do all they can to assist the person who has struggled with homosexual behaviors to find deliverance.
The Assemblies of God is unashamedly pro-life. Christians should actively support candidates who support the sanctity of life.
The use of chemically induced or surgical abortion as a means of birth control is flatly rejected. The Assemblies of God has an official position opposing abortion. Any birth control method that functions to destroy a fertilized egg, rather than actually preventing conception, is considered unacceptable.
The Assemblies of God does not endorse the radical feminist political/social agenda which claims to defend the best interests of all women. The goals of these groups are deceptive: a woman’s right to choice is twisted to support the atrocity of abortion; lifestyles outside of traditional family structures become a warped emphasis on lesbian rights; a woman’s right to a career becomes an aggressive degradation to women and mothers who do not choose a job outside their homes. Radical feminists cite religion as a tool of oppressors. These agendas become an organized platform to degrade, bash, and hate men. The Bible teaches mutual Christian submission and respect.