The Witch Hunter Anoints Sarah Palin

Wasilla, Alaska

On September 20 and 21, I attended services at the church Sarah Palin belonged to since she was an adolescent, the Wasilla Assembly of God. Though Palin officially left the church in 2002, she is listed on its website as "a friend," and spoke there as recently as June 8 of this year.

I went specifically to see a pastor visiting from Kiambu, Kenya named Thomas Muthee. Muthee gained fame within Pentecostal circles by claiming that he defeated a local witch, Mama Jane, in a great spiritual battle, thus liberating his town from sin and opening its people to the spirit of Jesus.

Muthee's mounting stardom took him to Wasilla Assembly of God in May, 2005, where he prayed over Palin and called upon Jesus to propel her into the governor's mansion -- and beyond. Muthee also implored Jesus to protect Palin from "the spirit of witchcraft." The video archive of that startling sermon was scrubbed from Wasilla Assembly of God's website, but now it has reappeared.

The Youtube version is below (Palin appears after about 7:30):

Since Palin was nominated as vice president, Wasilla Assembly of God has taken a draconian line with reporters. The church now forbids members of the media from filming, taking notes, or bringing voice recorders to its services. I was able to record Muthee's recent sermons only by deploying an array of tiny cameras and hidden microphones. Though the quality and comprehensiveness of my footage was severely compromised by the church's closed door policy to the press, I was not going to be deterred.

By the end of the second day of Muthee's sermons, the church had been tipped off about me, the liberal media member in its midst. An associate pastor told me he had received an email from an anonymous source warning him about me. When I tried to interview members of the congregation in the church parking lot, my questions were either met with silence or open hostility. I strongly suspect the McCain campaign has mobilized the Wasilla Assembly of God against perceived threats from the media.

But they hardly needed encouragement. On the first night of services, Muthee implored his audience to wage "spiritual warfare" against "the enemy." As I filmed, a nervous church staffer approached from behind and told me to put my camera away. I acceded to his demand, but as Muthee urged the church to crush "the python spirit" of the unbeliever enemies by stomping on their necks, I pulled out a smaller camera and filmed from a more discreet position. Now, church members were in deep prayer, speaking in tongues and raising their hands. Muthee exclaimed, "We come against the spirit of witchcraft! We come against the python spirits!" Then, a local pastor took the mic from Muthee and added, "We stomp on the heads of the enemy!"

Behind the Christian right's enthusiasm for Palin's conservative credentials is a visceral sense that that she has come from them, not to them. Some right-wing evangelicals even believe she has messianic potential. As former Christian Broadcasting Network vice president Jim Bramlett wrote, "Sarah is that standard God has raised up to stop the flood. She has the anointing."

The Christian right's analysis is accurate to a certain degree. While Palin may not be The One, she is certainly one of them. Her social policy views, from her rejection of scientific evidence on global warming to her opposition to publicly funding emergency contraception for rape victims, are explicitly influenced by the sectarian theology she has subscribed to since she was a teenager. There is no better evidence of the depth of Palin's radical convictions than her startling encounter with the witch-hunter, Bishop Muthee.

Next week, I will post an exclusive video documentary here that will shed further light on Palin's relationship with Muthee and the religious right in Alaska. Stay tuned.

Research support for this ongoing project provided by The Nation Institute

Comments

[anise8]

I am disturbed, I have not heard anyone speak out against this "witch hunter" I am pulling this directly from amnesty international's website - Africa division this is how the so called witch hunters get rid of the women accused of being a witch. "Sexual violence by weapons-bearers continues on a daily basis in eastern DRC. On 11 May 2005, a 56-year-old woman was attacked by seven FARDC (Mayi-Mayi) fighters (Congo) in her village in Fizi territory, South-Kivu province. They accused her of being a witch (féticheuse). She was beaten across her body with sticks and rifle butts, the majority of blows being directed at her stomach and genitals. She was then raped by three of the fighters. During the rape one of the men forced a piece of wood inside her vagina. The attack caused life-threatening injuries and blood loss, and the partial destruction of her internal organs."
Please review this link regarding their treatment of Nigerian children accused of withcraft.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/dec/09/tracymcveigh.theobserver

These women (if they survive) are shunned by family members because they too will suffer the same violent treatment. Many women are stoned to death but this is the type of "support" other women need. There version of God is very different than mine, my God would be disgusted by this treatment of his children. I believe this trumps Rev. Wright any day.

[anise8]

In case you need more information, here is another link regarding Kenyan witch hunts, a blog discussing Bishop Thomas Muthee's ministry from a feminist point of view and the third is just loaded with disturbing information.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/06/12/kenya.witches/index.html

http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2008/09/17/sarah-palin-how-is-stoning-women-feminist/

http://livefrankly.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/end-times-prophecies-and-more-how-electing-sarah-palin-endangers-your-life/

[helen]

Good going Max! I grew up in an fundamentalist family and church, and the danger that I see is the demand for complete submission and unwavering obedience to whatever the "pastor" tells them Gawd wants them to do... Very scary stuff...

I wonder how this is different from any other kind of religoius fanaticism be it Muslim, Judaism, Zionism, Christianity, or some religious cult.

They are all about a type of centrism ("We're right, you're wrong.") and a certain amount of intolerance for others who don't share their beliefs ("We're at war with the devil")

Scary stuff indeed!

[souroil]

Palin came out again today linking Obama to Rev Wright. Isn't it time that we start running the film of Palin with her "witch hunter" preacher friend. Lets run that film 24 hours a day. Palin needs to be exposed for that "fear" mentality that will bring us all down.

[souroil]

Palin came out again today linking Obama to Rev Wright. Isn't it time that we start running the film of Palin with her "witch hunter" preacher friend. Lets run that film 24 hours a day. Palin needs to be exposed for that "fear" mentality that will bring us all down.

[SharonB]

Hillary Clinton consulted a medium while she was 1st lady and was channeling Eleanor Roosevelt.

Yet, she is still concidered brilliant. Why do we villify someone who believes like Palin and embrace CLinton despite HER beliefs?

We are being hypocritical.

[elHemp]

You're (inexplicably) confusing Hillary with Nancy Reagan.

[timezone]

Counting the minutes til Thursday's debate.....

[emerarudo]

This is very disturbing in the sense that a man like that, who declared himself a witch hunter, would have so much power over a church and its people. The fact that Palin also trusts him is scary. I wonder if she would consult him on state and government laws if she ever gets into office?
I hope very much that she doesn't get into office.

[jimmzwrld]

This scares the hell out of me. My wife is of the Wiccan faith and I too am a Pagan. Are we going to have to live in fear that these crazy christens are going to start witch hunting because they do not understand our religion. I'm tired of evangelicals trying to legislate there religion on the American people.

[kenann]

Wow, I can't believe that any SANE American could even think this woman should be within a thousand miles of the Presidency! McCain drops dead and we get a woman who gets blessed by a "witch hunter" as the president. Didn't this practice go out of syle in say, hmm.... the late 1600's?

[MuchMadness]

Pastor Murthee at 3:49 in the video:

"If the believers had not done something in this country, your President would not be in office today."

What a ridiculous statement. Many Christians voted for Gore and Kerry. And many Christians voted against Bush in the Republican primaries in 2000.

[cobraxus]

Assembly Of God is a dominionist sect who believe other branches of Christianity are not valid(in fact they're false).Sarah Palin became Mayor of Wasilla by claiming John Stein,the previous mayor,was jewish(he wasn't but so what if he was).they're antinomian and isolationist condemning those who believe in things that they don't(like science and compassion).

[SharonB]

You are completely wrong about the Assembly of God church. Those churches do not "believe other branches of Christianity ar not valid(in fact they're false)". Assembly of God churches work hand in hand in communities with Presbyterian, Baptist, Cathlolic, Church of Christ and all other denominations to make their communities better.

There is enough truth to post about Sarah Palin and John McCain... We look like idiots when we go nuts over something like this and stretch it FAR beyond what it actually is.

Do we all have to be non-Christian, church hating people to be liberal democrats?

[brasstownjim]

what if you were considered a witch by this guy because he got stuck in traffic?

[Truthsker]

Max is showing video footage of a 2005 visit of Pastor Muthee. This is footage that the church itself has had posted in the past on their website The stage design is completely different now. How sad that for the sake of sensationalism, Blumenthal has to show dated material that is not even his own making. The people who refused to give interviews on the church grounds have done so because of mistruths like this article and the reporter leading you to believe all the bad things. Not one of these reporters who spew bad things about this church say anything about the good that is being done like the shoe and coat outreaches for children from less fortunate communities. FYI-the shoes and coats are brand new and selected by the receiving children themselves. The monies for these items have all been donated by the congregation of this church and local sister churches of many denominations.
I encourage everyone who reads these articles to seek out the real truth before completely believing all that you see and hear. In this case, the reporter Blumenthal is obviously attempting to make the reader/viewer believe that the Utube video was made on September 20, 2008 by himself. Not True!

[vixie29]

Hard to imagine Jesus, stomping on the heads of enemies isn't it. That's all I need to know.

[casaba]

Please go back and reread the paragraph immediately preceding the video frame. It was clear to me that the video was from 2005, when Palin was running for governor. It is stated that this video was previously on the WAG website but had been recently removed (my search of the WAG website also found no current mention on Munthee); "now it has reappeared. The Youtube version is below". Cannot be much more clear than that.

[SharonB]

Your post is calm, factual, and sane. I do not expect anyone here to listed though. A lie that promotes fear is too much fun to spread around.

I am a liberal and on Obama supporter, but this is ridiculous.

[IllinoisTexan43]

I guess we'll never see this looped 24/7 on Fox news. Liberal bias my a**. One thing about this McCain campaign, though. It sure is turning anyone supporting the republican party into a lying hypocrite. No way would they ever accept this from anyone else-it would be blasphemous. But, Palin... Oh. OK. Just this one time though. Disgusting.

[jbs902]

And you rascals said SARAH did not have any foreign country experience. Hey this guys from Kenya I guess he represents the totality of her foreign leadership experience. Oh did I mention he's a Witch hunter?

[timezone]

Now I can't get the song Super Freak out of my head.....the more we learn about this woman, the scarier she becomes. No one has to spin how wacky Palin is, she gives us all the evidence we need.

[Lizbud]

Most mainstream Protestant churches also will have nothing to do with exorcisms or witch hunts.

[timezone]

How can anyone see any of the video footage of this woman and still trust her with our country? I know supposedly a lot of people are supposed to identify her, and after seeing this video, that REALLY scares me. It's like Night of the Living Dead or Invasion of the Bodysnatchers.