Palin & Graham

Sarah Palin and Franklin Graham are heading to Haiti this weekend. The former governor and evangelist will visit a clinic where people are being treated for cholera. The disease has killed more than 2000 people in the country as it still is recovering from a devastating earthquake earlier this year. Graham's Samaritan's Purse has treated thousands of people in Haiti, building a cholera clinic and bringing in plane loads of medical aid into the country.

Palin's Serenity

A political strategist in the McCain presidential campaign says he asked Sarah Palin about how she could be so calm right after being selected as the Arizona Republican's running mate. Steve Schmidt tells 60 Minutes her response was simply "It's God's plan."

Going Rouge

Sarah Palin's new book Going Rouge doesn't acknowledge her co-writter on the cover. Evangelical Christian writer and pro-life activist Lynn Vincent is not mentioned until she's thanked several other people. Collaborators sometimes trade such credits for higher fees, but their names usually appear prominently in the acknowledgments. Vicenct's previous books include a biography of General William Boykin and a history of the Democratic Party. The Los Angeles Times suggests parts of the book are Vincent's and not Palin, such as a reference to Blaise Pascal's philosophy in Palin's conversion from Catholicism to Evangelical Protestantism.

Accelerant Used on Palin Church

ATF agents say an arsonist who started a fire at Sarah Palin’s church poured an accelerant around the sanctuary. It may have been gasoline. Several people, including children, were inside working when the fire started at the main entrance to Wasilla Bible Church in Anchorage. The blaze caused a million dollars in damage but no one was injured.

Palin's Church Meets At School

Sarah Palin's church held services at a middle school because their sanctuary was badly damaged by fire over the weekend. About 1,200 people came to the Wasilla Bible Church yesterday, though Palin was not among them. She remained in Juneau. Her spokesman says Palin was preparing a state budget proposal.

Fire authorities are blaming the fire on arson. It left about a million dollars in damage. The blaze started Friday night at the main entrance of the church at the same time a group was working inside. No one was injured. (more on the story below)

Fire Destroys Sarah Palin's Church

An arsonist severely damaged Sarah Palin’s Anchorage, Alaska church Friday night. The former Republican vice presidential candidate says she's sorry if the fire was connected to "undeserved negative attention" to her campaign. While they believe the fire was deliberately set, investigators are not yet sure whether it was politically motivated. Damage to the Wasilla Bible Church was estimated at more than a million dollars. No one was injured.

Dobson Interview with Palin Raises Questions

An interview conducted by James Dobson on his radio program with Sarah Palin has stirred controversy. The Republican vice presidential candidate told the broadcaster John McCain opposes federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. But McCain wrote to the Science Debate 2008, "While I support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, I believe clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress.” Even some radio ads tout McCain’s support for the funding. FactCheck.org even included a post pointing out that Barack Obama’s ads saying McCain opposed stem cell research were wrong. The McCain campaign says it will be his views that are implemented should they win the election and not those of the vice presidential candidate.

Palin on Faith

Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin tells CBN in a new interview that she's been a target because of her faith. She says:

"I think the saddest part of that is that faith, not just my faith, faith and God in general has been mocked through this campaign, and that breaks my heart, and that is unfair for others who share a faith in God and choose to worship our Lord in whatever private manner that they deem fit, and my faith has always been pretty personal."

See the video or read the full story here.

Palin More Generous Than Biden

Sarah Palin may make a lot less than rival Joe Biden but she gives a lot more to charity.

The Palin family has donated more money to charity in the last two years than Biden has in the last eight years - combined.

Palin's just released tax records show that her family made $127,869 in income during 2006 and donated $4,880 to charity. The next year, they took in $166,080 and donated $3,325 to nonprofits.

Biden, on the other hand, has donated just $3,690 since 1998. As a Senator, he made $320,000 last year but gave only $995 to charity. That’s less than 1% of his income.

Palin's First Interview

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin says she was thinking of Abraham Lincoln's words when she made a comment that the US was fighting a holy war. In an interview today with ABC's Charlie Gibson, her first since being tapped John McCain's running mate, she said, "I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words." Asked if her son who is headed to Iraq is on a mission from God, Palin said, "I don't know if the task is from God. What I know is that my son has made a decision. I am so proud of his independent and strong decision he has made, what he decided to do and serving for the right reasons and serving something greater than himself and not choosing a real easy path where he could be more comfortable and certainly safer."

Rick Warren and Sarah Palin

Megachurch pastor Rick Warren got a call from Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Warren says she wanted some advice- along with Bible verses dealing with unjust criticism. Warren interviewed John McCain and Barack Obama at his Saddleback Church last month.

Dem Compares Obama to Jesus

Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee compared Barack Obama to Jesus and Sarah Palin to Pontius Pilate on the floor of the House.

Alaska Homosexuality Conference

Focus on the Family’s Love Won Out Conference will be held at Abbott Loop Community Church in Anchorage, Alaska this weekend. It’s also being promoted by Sarah Palin’s home church, Wasilla Bible Church. The group promises to teach attendees how to "respond to misinformation in our culture" and help them "overcome" homosexuality. Because of Palin's connection, the event may draw protesters.

Sarah's Story

Christian publisher Tyndale House is offering a biography of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down was first released this spring by regional publisher Epicenter Press. Now, Kaylene Johnson’s book will be given a wider audience through Tyndale. Johnson includes personal interviews with Palin, her family, and other highly placed sources.

Palin's Faith

Sarah Palin grew up attending an Assembly of God church. CNN files this report on her ties to the Pentecostal denomination.

Palin's Church Talk & State Funds

Sarah Palin’s use of state funds to make an appearance at a church is coming under scrutiny. A newspaper in Alaska is reporting that she had the state pay for her plane ticket and meals when she traveled to her hometown to speak to students graduating from a program at Wasilla Assembly of God. A spokeswoman said the state paid for the trip because Palin was invited as the governor and not as a private citizen. And that elected officials often attend religious events as part of their official duties. Palin was baptized at Wasilla Assembly as a teenager and now attends other churches. Here's a video of her appearance that day.

Statement on Palin

The Wasilla Assembly of God has released a statement about Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. It describes her involvment with the church, the congregations support of her political career and asks that believers pray for her.

Palin & Prayer

Sarah Palin asks her church for prayer involving an energy deal:

Jewish Groups Balk at Palin Selection

Some Jewish groups are upset with the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate. The National Jewish Democratic Council calls her "a poor choice" while an op-ed piece in the Jerusalem Post says she is “out of step with public opinion in the Jewish community.”

One of the criticisms of Palin has to do with her church. She was in the audience recently when a speaker for the group Jews for Jesus told the congregation that violence in the Middle East should be partly blamed on Israeli Jews who have not accepted Jesus as their Messiah. A campaign spokesperson says Governor Palin does not share the views he expressed.

McCain Gets Boost from VP Choice

Obama and McCain are tied at 42% in a poll by CBS News conducted after the selection of Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate. McCain was down by 8 points just a week earlier in the same poll. It doesn’t take into account Palin’s Wednesday night speech or McCain’s own acceptance speech. The poll also found Evangelical support for McCain jumped from 57 to 67%.