By Morgan Rose | TruthAlliance.net | Sep. 17, 2008

I don’t really like to get into religion. I don’t really speculate about secret societies or the occult (although its entertaining). Everyone’s got an opinion, and most of the time, I’d prefer if they kept it to themselves. However, its that potent cocktail of fundamentalist religion and power politics that demands some kind of response. Flying under the radar of the mainstream media, Sarah Palin’s religious affiliation has only been mentioned here and there, with little substance to go along with it. It took a recent posting by scholar F. William Engdahl to spark some interest in this subject.

Engdahl’s research points to very powerful forces steering a peculiar strain of evangelism called the Third Wave movement or Joel’s Army. Palin’s church, the Wasilla Assembly of God, is among the institutions affiliated with this growing revivalist movement among the Christian Right. Also referred to as Dominionism, Wasilla Assembly of God preaches apocalyptic notions that ‘anointed’ followers will ‘take control over the existing church and the world’ retaking the earth for God. The neo-conservative counterpart to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Council on Nation Policy (CNP) is the principle organizational, financial, and logistical resource for movements like Third Wave or Joel’s Army. The CNP is credited with having arranged Palin’s nomination, steering McCain away from Joe Lieberman.

Religious commentators Paul and Philip Collins state, ‘The CNP appears to be a creation of factions of the power elite designed to mobilize well-meaning Christians to unwittingly support elite initiatives. The CNP could also be considered a project in religious engineering that empties Christianity of its metaphysical substance and re-conceptualizes many of its principles and concepts according to the socially and politically expedient designs of the elite. These contentions are supported by the fact that many CNP members are also members of other organizations and/or criminal enterprises that are tied directly to the power elite.’

Beyond Engdahl's research, some interesting topics emerge. Wasilla Assembly of God owes much of its inspiration to Morningstar Ministries, a powerhouse in the Third Wave movement. Although the morning star literarily connotes a reference to Lucifer, Morningstar Ministries claims to adhere to “basic Christian doctrines”. Founder of Mornignstar Ministries, Rick Joyner admits in the Q&A section of his website that he is a proud member of the Knights of Malta organization. Although Joyner claims the Knights of Malta are not associated with Masonic orders, many occult researchers beg to differ. What is clear is that very powerful circles in Europe and the United States claim allegiance to the same organization.

Sarah Palin’s religious affiliation, lies at the nexus of CNP power politics and Knights of Malta inspired ministries. However, broader questions emerge. What was the purpose of her nomination? How has her involvement in radical evangelical movements not rankled establishment media types? Why Was her affiliation with Wasilla Assembly of God purely political or purely spiritual? How would her theological beliefs affect her policy decisions?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been widely criticized, justifiably, for having participated in a radical apocalyptic sect of fundamentalist Islam. The nomination of Sarah Palin sets the stage for a manifestation of Samuel Huntington's “Clash of Civilizations”. As shown in the video evidence below, if ‘Joel’s Army’ were shown to American audiences speaking Arabic, most people would be quick to use the label “extremist”. The truth, of course, is that extremism goes both ways. However, what should be alarming to the average citizen is the powerful interests that are quietly propagating these ideologies, vaulting their surrogates into the heights of power.

Video's of Joel's Army: