Marco Rubio - The New Sarah Palin?

A new Sarah Palin?

Many will remember the bizarre stories that came out of Sarah Palin's church: exorcisms and all sorts of  batshitery.  Now, based on stories in the Huffington Post and elsewhere, Marco Rubio may likewise suffer serious blow back as people learn of the religious based insanity that Rubio apparently embraces.  I'm not saying that Rubio is a big of an ignoramus as Palin, but his choice of churches and strange beliefs may not be helpful to his presidential campaign outside of lunatic Christofascist circles.  Here are article highlights (it goes without saying that Rubio is viciously anti-gay):

"On most Saturday nights, we still attend services at Christ Fellowship, especially if Pastor Rick [Blackwood] is preaching the sermon. His sermons still inspire me to grow in my Christian faith... Some of my Catholic friends occasionally express concern over my continued association with Christ Fellowship. But I don't think you can go to church too often..." -- Marco Rubio, An American Son: A Memoir

"Evolution is not based on observable evidence. Creation is based on observable evidence." -- Rick Blackwood, 2014 sermon

"I could sense the demons going out of this man and the Spirit of God entering him" -- Rick Blackwood, describing his 2011 exorcism of a demon-possessed church member

Junior U.S. Senator Marco Rubio has just thrown his hat into the ring and announced his bid for the presidency. Since Rubio made a point of discussing, at length, his religious beliefs in his 2012 memoir An American Son: A Memoir, it seems fair to have a look. Following his announcement, LGBT rights media have showcased Rubio's lengthy record of anti-gay statements and rhetoric but there's a broader pattern.

[A]n investigation of Rubio's Miami Baptist megachurch reveals, notably, an anti-homosexual hiring policy, the promotion of demonology and exorcism, Young Earth creationism, and denial of evolution. 

Rubio has recently told Religion News Service reporter Sarah Pulliam-Bailey that he has "maintained the relationship with Christ Fellowship" and often attends services at the church.

Rubio divulged that on Saturday nights he brings his family to worship at Christ Fellowship, and on Sunday the Rubio family attends St. Louis Catholic Church. 

Christ Fellowship requires prospective employees to sign the following sexual purity oath:

"I hereby certify that I am a Christian, not a practicing homosexual in accordance with scriptures (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, I Corinthians 6:9-10, I Timothy 1:10)"

Leviticus 18:22 (New International Version) reads, "Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable." Leviticus 20:13 (NIV) is harsher: "If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

[I]n the case that small group therapy should prove inadequate to the task, Christ Fellowship has another therapeutic method, exorcisms -- the expelling of demons that possess people and control their behavior, by bible verse reading.  One of the root causes of addictions, sexual and nonsexual, is demon possession according to a 2011 Christ Fellowship sermon by pastor Rick Blackwood titled "Demon Possession."

Senator Rubio has not taken a public possession on demon possession or exorcism. But in 2012, Rubio's waffling response during an interview with Gentleman's Quarterly, to the question "How old do you think the Earth is," suggested a certain sympathy for Christ Fellowship's strong creationist stance.

Let's hope more comes out on the bizarre beliefs that Rubio seems to support.  He may prove to be as insane as Sarah Palin.