Palin's "Rev. Wright", will the media grill her?

Another day, another Palin story. I concluded my last entry "Story developing....", and boy is it ever.

On the Huffington Post today there was a story about Sarah Palin (AKA Caribou Barbie) and the church she and her family attended for many years. Some of the diatribes from the preacher at that church are just as , if not more offensive than the statements Rev. Jeremiah Wright made.

Lets take a listen to Ed Kalnins, the senior pastor of Wasilla Assembly of God:

"What you see in a terrorist -- that's called the invisible enemy. There has always been an invisible enemy. What you see in Iraq, basically, is a manifestation of what's going on in this unseen world called the spirit world. ... We need to think like Jesus thinks. We are in a time and a season of war, and we need to think like that. We need to develop that instinct. We need to develop as believers the instinct that we are at war, and that war is contending for your faith. ... Jesus called us to die. You're worried about getting hurt? He's called us to die. Listen, you know we can't even follow him unless you are willing to give up your life. ... I believe that Jesus himself operated from that position of war mode. Everyone say "war mode." Now you say, wait a minute Ed, he's like the good shepherd, he's loving all the time and he's kind all the time. Oh yes he is -- but I also believe that he had a part of his thoughts that knew that he was in a war."

Jesus operated from a position of war mode? He called us to die?

I know I'm not a Christian in the traditional sense, but that flies in the face of everything I've ever been taught about Jesus.

The real question is, why aren't Christians up in arms about this? This is just one of the incredibly inflammatory things this preacher has said:

"Pastor Kalnins has also preached that critics of President Bush will be banished to hell; questioned whether people who voted for Sen. John Kerry in 2004 would be accepted to heaven; charged that the 9/11 terrorist attacks and war in Iraq were part of a war 'contending for your faith;'"

Sarah Palin is following in the holy footsteps just like George Bush did in 2000; God is winning their elections for them:

As for his former congregant and current vice presidential candidate, Kalnins has asserted that Palin's election as governor was the result of a "prophetic call" by another pastor at the church who prayed for her victory. "[He made] a prophetic declaration and then unfolds the kingdom of God, you know."

Even Palin expressed surprise at that pastor's advocacy for her candidacy. "He was praying over me," she said in June. "He's praying, 'Lord make a way, Lord make a way...' And I'm thinking, this guy's really bold, he doesn't even know what I'm gonna do, he doesn't know what my plans are, and he's praying not, 'Oh Lord, if it be your will may she become governor,' or whatever. No, he just prayed for it. He said, 'Lord, make a way, and let her do this next step.' And that's exactly what happened. So, again, very very powerful coming from this church."

So there it is. People criticized Rev. Wright to no end for making political statements from the pulpit. Somehow I get the feeling that this is going to get far less attention.

All quoted sections are from the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/palins-church-may-have-sh_n_123205.html