Vanity Fair today revealed a previously unknown item from Sarah's past: An email from Lou Engle to Sarah, which he sent to her, according to Vanity Fair, "as a last-minute exhortation just before she took the stage for her vice-presidential debate against Joseph Biden on October 2, 2008."
Vanity Fair writer Michael Joseph Gross explains: "The message was handled by Palin’s advisers with a gravity (subject line: “URGENT Fwd: From Lou Engle – Urgent for Sarah to read...”) that suggests it was a message they knew Palin would want to see."
"Dear Sarah,
Many thousands are fasting and praying for you. I know you’ve heard it, but I believe this is an Esther moment in your life. Esther hid her identity until Mordecai challenged her to risk everything for such a time as this. Your identity is “Sarah Barracuda”. Esther removed corruption from the Persian government and Haman fell. She didn’t have experience, she had grace and favor. Sarah, don’t hide your identity tonight. There will be questions given to you that you don’t know, and I have been weeping over you. I believe the Lord would have you be real. If they ask you a question that you don’t know, don’t be ashamed to say: “I don’t have the experience of 30 years of politics like Senator Biden, but what I have is character, truth, and integrity, and I haven’t been seduced by 30 years of political and moral compromise like these men in DC. I believe America is not looking for more knowledge, they are looking for more character and more truth, and that is who I am. I refuse the politics of neutrality. I will stand for the family, I will stand on foundations of truth and this nation will be better for it.
Sarah I’m sure you’re doing this, but take a moment to still yourself before the Lord. The Lord is a shield about you. To those who have no strength, the Lord will show Himself powerful.
Sarah, I could be wrong, but I’ve been praying for five years for an Esther, with dreams of being a Mordecai to that Esther. I believe you’re the one and I think you’re even wearing a life band. Tonight don’t be ashamed to plead for the life of the unborn and all the wounded woman who have gone through this holocaust. You can throw this email away, but I have 50 young people fasting and praying day and night who are shouting tonight: “Grace, grace to you!”
We love you,
Lou Engle"
We all know by now that Sarah Palin is in love with the Queen Esther story. She mentioned it several times in the past, for example in her "Women of Joy" speech in Louisville, Kentucky, in April 2010 (transcript and video on Palingates).
But who exactly is Lou Engle?
He is one of the apostles within the extremist "New Apostolic Reformation" (NAR), and also the founder of an anti-gay and anti-abortion organization called "The Call." Another apostle within the "New Apostolic Reformation" is for example Mary Glazier (video), who also has very strong ties to Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin's infamous witchhunter Thomas Muthee of Kenya is the director of the NAR East Africa Spiritual Warfare Network. See the excellent article by Bill Berkowitz on Alternet for more details.
Bruce Wilson writes about Lou Engle's role in the NAR:
"Lou Engle belongs to a little known but rapidly emerging tendency within Pentecostalism and charismatic Christianity that by 2000 was estimated to encompass 295 million Christians worldwide. Perhaps the leading super-denomination within this emergent tendency is the “New Apostolic Reformation.”, which seeks to radically restructure the faith by placing believers in pyramidal authority structures under its apostles and prophets. NAR founder C. Peter Wagner has declared his movement is leading a second Reformation."
There are other, very disturbing parts of Lou Engle's activity. He received a lot of attention also because of his support for Uganda's infamous anti-homosexuality legislation, which includes death penalties for homosexuals. He visited Uganda on May 2, 2010, in support of these measures.
Bruce Wilson wrote in May 2010 on Alternet:
"Last Sunday May 2nd, TheCall Founder Engle took the stage at a prayer rally at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, and, according to a New York Times story, praised the “courage” and “righteousness” of Ugandan leaders and politicians backing the Anti Homosexuality Bill before Uganda’s Parliament. In its original form that bill would allow execution of HIV positive Ugandans and create an Orwellian antigay police state in which citizens would be required to report suspected homosexual activity or face up to three years in prison.
Why should Americans care about Lou Engle and or human rights in Africa ? Beyond altruistic moral considerations, Lou Engle is a leader in a rising sector of Christianity that’s beginning to reshape right-wing politics in America."
Lou Engle has strong ties to other GOP-politicians as well, although there is only very little media coverage about this connection, as Bruce Wilson notes in his very detailed article:
"Last December 2009 Engle led the Family Research Council’s Prayercast on Health Care Reform, a telecast event attended by GOP Senators Sam Brownback and Jim DeMint and Republican Congress members Michelle Bachmann and Randy Forbes. Lou Engle claims he was Kansas Senator Sam Brownback’s roommate for seven months, and his association with GOP politicians doesn’t stop there. During summer 2009 Engle blessed and anointed former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
More recently, Engle led a session on “prayer and revival” at the April 2010 Freedom Federation ‘Awakening 2010′ conference at former Moral Majority head Jerry Falwell’s Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA. Attending the event were Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Congressman Randy Forbes, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Reagan Administration Undersecretary of Education Gary Bauer.
Media coverage of Lou Engle’s religious tendency has been almost nonexistent, and that’s striking given there’s evidence the movement has already fielded a vice presidential candidate and is now fielding a GOP gubernatorial candidate."
Let's take a look at Lou Engle in action, spewing his hate against gays:
Another clip about Lou Engle and "The Call", documenting a huge anti-gay event organized by "The Call" in San Diego on November 1, 2008:
The excellent clip explains some of the shocking details of Uganda's anti-gay bill:
Lou Engle's visit in Uganda in May 2010 was also reported by the New York Times:
Though not originally linked to the Ugandan legislation, Mr. Engle has long been a controversial figure in the United States for his views on homosexuality. During California’s referendum on same-sex marriage in 2008, he called homosexuality a “spirit of lawlessness.”
Before arriving here last week, Mr. Engle came out with a statement condemning the harsh penalties proposed in the bill, and said that his ministry could not support it. But when he took the stage late on Sunday afternoon, with Ugandan politicians and pastors looking on, he praised the country’s “courage” and “righteousness” in promoting the bill.
“NGOs, the U.N., Unicef, they are all coming in here and promoting an agenda,” Mr. Engle said, referring to nongovernmental organizations. “Today, America is losing its religious freedom. We are trying to restrain an agenda that is sweeping through the education system. Uganda has become ground zero.”
The excellent clip explains some of the shocking details of Uganda's anti-gay bill:
From the description in Wikipedia it seems that the discussions about the bill are still ongoing, and that it's possible that the bill will be dropped, due to international pressure.
Lou Engle is another dangerous and extreme religious figure who seems to have a deep influence on Sarah Palin.
However, we are fortunate. Sarah Palin has made it abundantly clear in an interview with Bill O'Reilly in November 2009, referring to Barack Obama's "association" with Reverend Wright that "it's not off-base or negative campaigning to call someone out on their associations."
I guess that Sarah Palin now can only plead insanity.
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