Some years ago, Melissa Fay Greene wrote a book about the
\nrural South entitled Praying for Sheetrock<\/i>. If Sarah Palin, John McCain’s
\nrunning mate, ever published an autobiography, she might consider calling it Praying
\nfor Pipeline<\/i>.<\/p>\n
It appears that God has a keen interest in the building of a
\nmulti-billion dollar natural gas pipeline in the forty-ninth state. “I think
\nGod’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line
\nbuilt,” the Alaska governor said. “So pray for that.”<\/p>\n
In fairness, however, God may have other things on his mind.
\nAccording to Palin, the United States invasion of Iraq is “a task that is from
\nGod.”<\/p>\n
No politician could have a better advocate for his or her I wonder, though, As a person of And the war in No one has yet And yet Palin’s credentials Some years ago, Melissa Fay Greene wrote a book about the rural South entitled Praying for Sheetrock. If Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate, ever published an autobiography, she might consider calling it Praying for Pipeline. It appears that God has a keen interest in the building of a multi-billion dollar natural gas pipeline in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,1,60,13,9],"tags":[4,99,94],"class_list":["post-124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christians","category-election-08","category-environment","category-evangelicals","category-religion-in-the-public-square","tag-election","tag-environment-2","tag-palin"],"yoast_head":"\n
\npolicies than the Almighty. And ritual invocations of God have become a staple
\nof political rhetoric, even beyond the vacuous – and obligatory, it seems –
\n“God bless America” at the conclusion of nearly every speech. John F. Kennedy,
\nfor instance, famously remarked in his inaugural address that “here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\nif Palin’s expressed sentiments take religious-political rhetoric to a new
\nlevel of specificity. Enlisting God as co-sponsor of a natural gas pipeline is
\naudacious, to be sure, for who dares trifle with the Almighty in opposing the
\nplan?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nfaith, I resent the attribution of particular policies to God, especially ones
\nof such a questionable nature. Does Palin really think that God has an
\nunambiguous position on pipelines? What about the environmental effects of such
\na project, the impact on the created order? (This is a woman who approves the
\nshooting of bears and wolves from airplanes, so we can probably assume that
\nenvironmental concerns are not at the top of her agenda.)<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIraq? “A task that is from God,” she says. Has Palin, who claims to be a
\nChristian, ever juxtaposed the invasion of Iraq with just-war criteria that
\nhave been part of the fabric of Christian thought for centuries? Is it a
\ndefensive war? Is there a reasonable chance of success? Is the deployment of
\nmilitary force the last resort? Is the amount of force proportional to the
\nprovocation? Have provisions been made, as much as possible, to shield
\ncivilians from collateral damage?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nconvinced me that the invasion of Iraq meets any of these criteria.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nas a Christian and as an evangelical go unchallenged. Perhaps her connections
\nare better than mine, for she seems to know precisely what God is thinking on
\nissues like war and pipelines.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"