Wednesday, October 08, 2008

The Importance of Being Esther

Camille Paglia is a brazen, godless, shameless heathen. But never mind that for a moment. Sometimes she makes pretty good sense.

Although nothing will sway my vote for Obama, I continue to enjoy Sarah Palin's performance on the national stage. During her vice-presidential debate last week with Joe Biden (whose conspiratorial smiles with moderator Gwen Ifill were outrageous and condescending toward his opponent), I laughed heartily at Palin's digs and slams and marveled at the way she slowly took over the entire event. I was sorry when it ended! But Biden wasn't -- judging by his Gore-like sighs and his slow sinking like a punctured blimp. Of course Biden won on points, but TV (a visual medium) never cares about that.

No, it doesn't, does it? In the first televised presidential debate in 1960, most people who heard it on the radio assumed that Nixon won. Those who saw it on TV generally gave the thumbs up to that handsome-looking other guy. The rest was history.

Closer to the present, the McCain/Palin campaign was in Ohio while I was there. The closest I got to them was one of their buses, parked at a hotel on the southern outskirts of Columbus. The only campaign staff guy there was the one who got stuck having to wash the bus. Paul thought I was gonna get arrested for getting this close. I assured him that had there been any black Secret Service SUVs nearby, we would have been in their sights while I was taking this shot. At the time, he found that reassuring. Meanwhile, Creative Minority Report shares with us an account of Mark Arnold, pastor of Life Covenant Church in Monroe, Ohio. This is located north of Cincinnati, a few miles from Lebanon, where McCain and Palin make an appearance not long ago. Arnold was "called by God" to meet Sarah Palin, and pass along a message:

As he moved to my right, Sarah Palin came over to my left side … standing over the crowd and then looking at the little lady who had lost the son. It took a moment for her to shake some hands and people were pushing in all around. Sarah came and got on her hands and knees on that side of the stage and hugged that little mom, telling her, “It was not in vain.” She promised her support.

It was at this moment Sarah Palin reached out for me to help her up, and as I was assisting her to stand, I was now face-to-face with her, and God said, “Open up your mouth and I will fill it.”

Here is what came out:

“God wants you to know that you are a present-day Esther!”

[She immediately began to cry!]

“God wants to tell you that you are chosen for such a time as this!”

“You are called, and chosen to be a leader.”

“Don't lose heart and don't fear man.”

---

Her husband, Todd, came over, and I told him what I told her. He began to cry.

I emphasized the fact that he was to guard her at this time … and know that “she is God-called and God-anointed.”

“This is a God-thing and your wife is a present-day Esther ... she is for God to use at this time ... she is an Esther ... she is an Esther ... she is an Esther.”

“You will be hated … but stand strong … God has called both of you to stand!”

“We are praying and I am praying for you!”

At this moment, McCain came right to where I was finishing talking to Todd...

At this point, Arnold can also praise God that the Secret Service detail didn't wrestle him to the ground. Trust me, they get a little itchy at moments like this.

For Sarah Palin to be so shaken by this message gives us a case in point, that in her heart, and that of her husband, theirs is not an act. Say what you will about them, Sarah and Todd Palin are exactly who they present themselves to be. I was raised among the Mark Arnolds of this world, and I do not doubt his sincerity. I suspect that God is using him somehow, albeit in a way that I cannot verify with the virtue of Faith. And having lived and worked in the Nation's capital all these years, I also know that our latter-day Esther will be tempted by delusions of grandeur, from the moment she wins the election. Her husband may find himself out of his element, with the residence at the Naval Observatory being likened to a gilded cage. Pride is the deadliest of all sins, as it leads to all the others, and it will be Sarah's greatest enemy. Her husband will need the grace of fortitude, and the will to emerge as a real man in a face of an arguably non-traditional role.

We must stop the slaughter of the innocent unborn. A man who would aspire to lead this nation, and in so doing would assume the power of life and death over his subjects as his first official act (the so-called "Freedom of Choice Act"), is being tempted by the Serpent. This man must ultimately be saved.

But first, he must be stopped.
.

10 comments:

Der Tommissar said...

Why are you trying to make me like Sarah Palin less?

The only response to such a thing is, "Uh, ok there, guy."

David L Alexander said...

Wait till she gets to Washington. We've got enough people wandering around claiming to hear voices, she'll she sufficiently jaded after about a year.

Will that help???

Anonymous said...

I'm confused...

David L Alexander said...

Explain.

LRM said...

In response to your "We must stop the slaughter..." paragraph - God gives us all free choice, right? Who is government to stand in between Gods will of free choice and a woman? Government usurps Gods will? Come on, sir. You will never be faced with making the hardest decision in a woman’s life. That decision belongs to the woman, and GOD. NOT Government. And by the way, are you just stopping at the unborn? I don't hear the same cry out for the elimination of the death penalty. Kinda hypocritical, huh? I am Pro-Life but 100% Pro-Choice!! I am a woman and you are not.

Anonymous said...

In response to your "We must stop the slaughter..." paragraph - God gives us all free choice, right?

He gives us free will, to commit good or evil. That such is our prerogative does not make evil any less evil.

Who is government to stand in between Gods will of free choice and a woman?

A
person who commits evil has already separated themselves from God,
without the help of the state, except when the state offers to pay for
it through taxpayer dollars. Of course, being a woman of conviction,
you'll want to pay for it yourself, won't you? Nah, didn't think so.


Government usurps Gods will? Come on, sir. You will never be faced with making the hardest decision in a woman’s life.

That something is good or evil does not hinge on who makes the decision.

That decision belongs to the woman, and GOD. NOT Government.

The
state has always had a role in "legislating morality." We have laws
against all manner of things that are the result of your precious "free
choice." You know, lying, stealing, running red lights, cheating on
taxes, murder....


And by the way, are you just stopping at the unborn? I don't hear the same cry out for the elimination of the death penalty.

There
are circumstances where the death penalty is justified, and the Church
has always upheld the right of the state in this matter. What she has
done of late, is remind society that its use as a last resort is no
longer as prudent as it once was, given other means of protecting its
subjects, thus she has called for an end to its use.


Kinda hypocritical, huh?

No. That would be someone who believes her gender is a trump card for committing an objective moral evil, and expecting everybody else to pay for it. Is that to put the "free" in "free choice?"

I am Pro-Life but 100% Pro-Choice!! I am a woman and you are not.

I'm a woman too. You're an idiot for thinking that's an issue.

Anonymous said...

I read the forwarded email about a prophecy for Sarah Palin. And then I researched it just a little bit looking for some legitimate source and began to realize there were none to backup this account. I was disappointed and urked that there was only a vague, very sparsely written website purporting to be a Pastor's prayer site. There is no evidence that the Covenant church exists in Ohio or that there is a real Pastor Mark Arnold! It is Internet pollution! There are so many other bonafide Christian miracles in our world to see and cry over! I resent the people responsible for putting such false, theatricalities on the Internet and calling it prophecy! It's insulting to all the good, empathetic and optimistic people in the world who have come across it and been made to feel foolish! Shame! The non-Believers must think all Christians are gullible, stupid and incapable of researching the facts! How dare them use us to perfect their lowly and deceitful missions!

David L Alexander said...

"I was disappointed and urked that there was only a vague, very sparsely written website purporting to be a Pastor's prayer site. There is no evidence that the Covenant church exists in Ohio or that there is a real Pastor Mark Arnold!"

An attempt was made to locate the place. A separate source indicates such a church on Route 4 in the town of Monroe, north of Cincinnati. The website (www.agreeinprayer.com) gives no address. There is an image of a man identified as "Pastor Mark Arnold," but this cannot be verified elsewhere.

In keeping with the tradition and teaching of the Catholic Faith, yours truly is inclined to view any private revelation with skepticism, whether the source professes to be Catholic or not. However, what is relevant here, is the detailed description of the experience, and the reaction of those intended to receive the supposed message. The credentials of the minister (difficult to verify as this congregation appears to be independent) are not necessarily important to the story. This is not about Mr Arnold. This is about Sarah and Todd Palin.

Laurie B said...

I have a hard time understanding why pro choice people equate abortion to the death penalty. Obviously the intent of the death penalty is to punish evil deeds. Abortion punishes the innocent who have committed no evil deed. How does that equate? I realize that in the past there have been some who may have died by the death penalty who were later proven innocent but it's rare and with present day DNA tests will most likely never happen again. However, every day in this country we murder innocent lives for the convenience of women who choose not to be mothers. That's a sad fact and I hope the practice ends soon.

Anonymous said...

If your post is true and if you say nothing can stop you from voting Obama something is wrong with your thinking. You are against wholesale abortion but you are going to vote for the man that wants even partial birth abortions legalized? You admit the power of God but you are going to vote for someone who it is very doubtful believes in anything but himself..is totally a narcissist and if you you are educated at all you know Obama is totally at sea on any important subjects....after all he is running for president because in his own words, he was hit on the head with a rock and when he came to he had been nominated for president.