Interesting evangelical take on Bernie's Liberty University speech:

[catbyte]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/16/1421659/-An-Evangelical-responds-to-Sanders-speech-at-Liberty-U

Wed Sep 16, 2015 at 04:03 AM PDT.

An Evangelical responds to Sanders' speech at Liberty U

An Evangelical pastoral counselor and Liberty University graduate posted a short sermon about Bernie Sanders' speech at Liberty University to reddit yesterday:

He was convicting the Christian leaders and the religious leaders in that university, and calling us out for being complicit in the abandonment of those who suffer, the least of these, and siding with the powerful and rich, the masters of this world. And he was convicting us and calling us out, and we scorned him, and we stared him down; and, with sour faces, we thought, "Who is this wacko, and why do all these people seem to follow him, seem to like him – this wild-haired Jew, crying out from the wilderness of the political left, in his hoarse voice?"

When I heard Bernie speaking in that way, when I saw that guy on stage at Liberty University, I saw John the Baptist...crying out to the religious leaders, the Pharisees of his day, calling them corrupt and complicit with those who have all the power and all the money and all the wealth, and abandoning the people that God loves, that God cares about...

As I heard Bernie Sanders crying out to the religious leaders at Liberty University, in his hoarse voice, with his wild hair – this Jew – and he proclaimed justice over us, he called us to account, for being complicit with those who are wealthy and those who are powerful, and for abandoning the poor, the least of these, who Jesus said he had come to bring good news to. And in that moment something occurred to me. As I saw Bernie Sanders up there, as I watched him, I realized Bernie Sanders for president is good news for the poor. Bernie Sanders for president is Good News for the poor. Bernie Sanders is gospel for the poor. And Jesus said "I have come to bring gospel" – good news – "to the poor."
And lightning hit my heart at that moment. And I realized that we are evangelical Christians. We believe the Bible. We believe in Jesus. We absolutely shun those who would attempt to find nuance and twisted and tortured interpretations of scripture that they would use to master all other broader interpretations, to find some kind of big message that they want to flout. We absolutely scorn such things, and yet somehow we commit to the mental gymnastics necessary that allows us to abandon the least of these, to abandon the poor, to abandon the immigrants, to abandon those who are in prison.

I listened to Bernie Sanders as he said he wanted to welcome the immigrants and give them dignity, as he said he wanted to care for the sick children and mothers and fathers who do not have health care, as he said he wanted to decrease the amount of human beings who are corralled like cattle in the prisons, as he said he wanted to do justice for those who have nothing and live homeless. And I remembered the words of Jesus who warned his disciples that there will be judgement, and on that day he will look to his friends, and he will say "Blessed are you for you cared for me, for I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was in prison and you came to visit me, I was homeless and you gave me shelter." And his disciples said, "When did we do any of those things for you?" And he said, "If you have done it for the least of these, you have done it for me."

Those words echoed in my heart as I listened to that crazy, hoarse-voiced, wild-haired Jew standing in front of the religous leaders of the Evangelical Movement, calling us to account, as a Jew once did before, telling us that he intends to care for the least of these, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to care for the sick, to set the prisoners free.

.....snip

[LiberalEsto]

1. Wonderful!

K&R

[FormerRepublicanNow]

13. Direct Link to Talk

https://clyp.it/eusxalwe

[99th_Monkey]

23. Thank you for that link. -nt-

[roguevalley]

14. matthew 25:31-44 That is it in a nutshell.

[olegramps]

40. I have posted this several times on DU. Democrats should go to fundamentalists and evangelicals:

The Democrats are in the best position to challenge the Christian communities that it is the Democrats who are attempting to assist the working with legislation that is actually in agreement with Jesus' primary teachings and is being blocked by the Republicans. In distinct contrast, the Republicans have pursued vicious policies to oppose any attempt to assist working class folks struggling to house, cloth and feed their families. They are the enemy of the poor, the very people Jesus' sought to protect from the greedy ruling class.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. That was powerful.

I'm not religious, but still... wow.

[demwing]

3. I'm not ashamed to admit that this made me tear up

I've always believed that if Socialism were to become an American ideal, that it would be carried into town on the shoulders of Christianity.

I just never thought that I might see it actually happening...

[SmittynMo]

16. I saw it twice

and it got me both times. First was live, by myself. The second was with my wife.

It was quite moving.

[DirkGently]

4. "Hey you guys -- just realized -- Jesus was a liberal Jew!" n/t

[staggerleem]

15. And he saved up the money to put himself through college ...

... by making wooden cabinets - i. e., as a CARPENTER!

[czarjak]

5. By golly....

He gets it.

[Darb]

6. One of them actually gets it, maybe more, I hope.

I watched the speech, he laid it out for them and most sat there with blank stares, most silent.

The writer got the message.

[bvar22]

30. The Blank Stares I believe was "Shock & Awe".

!

[think]

7. Here is the audio discussion that it came from:

In the beginning of this audio before going into the above excerpts Jim, the Evangelical counselor, explains why only a former student from Liberty University rather than a current member is able to openly support Bernie Sanders and post about it:

https://clyp.it/eusxalwe

[Martin Eden]

8. "the mental gymnastics necessary that allows us to abandon the least of these"

THAT is a very apt description of RW Christians who wear Jesus on their sleeve while worshipping at the altar of Ayn Rand.

[dembotoz]

9. Amen

[Angry Dragon]

10. kick

[ReallyIAmAnOptimist]

11. Imagine if just 1 in 4 evangelicals voted for Bernie...

... they represent 30% of the population.

Landslide.

[Wounded Bear]

12. Big K & R...

If only more politically liberal Christians would come forth with this kind of legitimate debate and logic, our world would be in much better shape IMHO.

Obviously, I'm no Christian, and no Bible banger of any stripe, but I know enough to see this person's very legitimate Bilblically based arguments that many modern Christian leaders have morphed into the Pharisees that their putative founder and master railed against.

[phylny]

33. I am a Christian and a self-described bleeding-heart liberal.

I tell people all the time that I am a Democrat precisely because of what Jesus commanded us to do - love our neighbors as ourselves. In fact, I quote:

35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

[LiberalArkie]

17. I was a follower of Jesus as a kid and that is why I became liberal/progressive etc. A person who

follows the teachings of Jesus can only be that way. It was the pentecostal/evangelical movement after the Jesus-people movement that led to the PTL club/CBN (prosperity theology) that corrupted Christianity.

[DhhD]

43. Agreed.

[demwing]

18. Supply-Side Jesus

An oldie, but a goodie

[CanonRay]

19. Just Wow

'nuff said.

[Renew Deal]

20. So Bernie Sanders is now Jesus?

[Wounded Bear]

34. No, he's John the Baptist....

[ChisolmTrailDem]

36. No! Bernie himself said at LU that Jesus taught us how to treat "the least of these". The

evangelical dude is saying that Bernie is representing and reminding us of what Jesus taught us, not that he is Jesus. And Bernie even threw in The Golden Rule for good measure.

[Javaman]

21. Oh it's going to be a very interesting day at liberty university. nt

[Tree-Hugger]

22. Wow

Beautiful sentiment.

[yardwork]

24. I have to say that this was a very impressive thing that Sanders did.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

37. The best bit of masterful "tour of the lion's den" I've every seen! nt

[JDPriestly]

25. Basically, Bernie quoted Matthew (the one with the Sermon on the Mount) and Amos who

warned the Jewish people of the dangers and devastation awaiting them if they left the poor to fend for themselves and if they worshipped idols (like money and profits) instead of God. I don't mean to offend DUers who may have their own beliefs or disbeliefs, but I do recommend reading Matthew and Amos if you want to fully comprehend Bernie's message at Liberty University.

It isn't that Bernie wants to make everybody poor or even middle class, but that as Thomas Picketty pointed out, our capitalist system needs to be modified somewhat if we are to live according to the. Values that are common to all the great religions and to humanism.

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

26. Thanks for posting this.

I just read it aloud to my husband and we both teared up a little.

[mountain grammy]

27. I'm an atheist, through and through

but as I listen to this man talk, one thought goes through my head:

Will we still call him "Bernie" when he's elected president?

Bernie Sanders is good news for the poor. Preach it, brother! I was mesmerized. It's like an endorsement from Jesus.

Jesus!

[catbyte]

28. I'm glad that this guy gets it. I think that "Prosperity Gospel" is the most despicable perversion

of Christianity I've ever seen. I think all those snake oil salesmen--Joel Osteen, Joyce Myers, Creflo Dollar, and all the rest of those thieves should be thrown in jail for fraud. What the fuck is "Christian" about "I've got mine, screw you?"

[treestar]

29. Right wingers usually dismiss that by saying

that it is meant to be private, not government activity.

Then they will claim to be very charitable themselves.

[snagglepuss]

31. Powerful. k and r

[riderinthestorm]

32. K&R. A must read nt

[babylonsister]

35. Recommend!! nt

[icymist]

38. Excellent! K&R

[BigBearJohn]

39. Made me cry for several minutes. /nt

[WillyT]

41. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[DhhD]

42. There is a difference between the Evangelical Church and the Dominionist Church. There is a

difference between Jesus as, The One for the Evangelicals and E. Ted Cruz as The One for the Dominionist.

[rateyes]

44. AMEN AND AMEN!!

[DrBulldog]

45. Why hasn't this been more widely reported?

If this sermonnette had criticized Bernie, then it would most certainly been played on Fox News by now . . .