2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumBernie Sanders is Jewish. He also might be the most Christian candidate in the 2016 race.
http://theweek.com/articles/617067/bernie-sanders-jewish-also-might-most-christian-candidate-2016-raceIn a Christian religious tradition that emphasizes works of mercy as well as faith, though, Sanders is batting at least .500. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven," Matthew quotes Jesus as telling his Jewish followers (7:21), "but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." (Read Christian blogger Glennon Doyle Melton for more on this.)
Sanders and Francis certainly have their differences. Sanders is running to be leader of a large secular democracy with the world's dominant economy and even more dominant military. Pope Francis is monarch of a tiny nation-state nestled inside Rome and spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics. The pope doesn't have much to say about breaking up too-big-to-fail banks, campaign finance reform, or rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure, and he and Sanders disagree on some pretty big issues, like abortion and gay marriage. (Also, Francis, like all modern popes, isn't angling to win temporal power; neither did Jesus.)
But when it comes to social justice, the pope and the junior senator from Vermont are kindred spirits.
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Bad Dog
(2,025 posts)So is Sanders, albeit a "Democratic" one. That's something I don't like, it sounds too much like North Korea and East Germany. Socialism is democratic. It needs no qualifier. You don't have people describing themselves as "Democratic" Liberal or Conservative.
Avalux
(35,015 posts)If so, explain how our current government truly represents the people, and makes laws for the common good. Thanks. 
senz
(11,945 posts)It's extremely important that Bernie qualifies the word socialism because there have been forms of socialism that were not democratic, and that makes all the difference. Non-democratic means ruled by something other than the people -- such as a dictator, an absolute monarch, a band of criminals, etc. It means rule of force that ignores the will of the people. Non-democratic "socialism" would include North Korea, East Germany, the Soviet Union, etc. Bernie doesn't believe in that shit. Unfortunately, classic socialism refers to government ownership of the means of production, and Bernie has never advocated that.
Democratic Socialism includes the Scandinavian countries and, to some extent, much of Western Europe, Canada, Australia. It means the people use their government to serve their needs and interests. I believe our nation's founders intended precisely that. A strong case can be made for FDR as that kind of socialist.
Here is a good, informative description of Democratic Socialism with Q & A:
http://www.dsausa.org/what_is_democratic_socialism
Here is an excerpt from Bernie's Georgetown University speech on democratic socialism:
And that is what we have to do today.
And, by the way, almost everything he proposed was called “socialist.” Social Security, which transformed life for the elderly in this country was “socialist.” The concept of the “minimum wage” was seen as a radical intrusion into the marketplace and was described as “socialist.” Unemployment insurance, abolishing child labor, the 40-hour work week, collective bargaining, strong banking regulations, deposit insurance, and job programs that put millions of people to work were all described, in one way or another, as “socialist.” Yet, these programs have become the fabric of our nation and the foundation of the middle class.
Thirty years later, in the 1960s, President Johnson passed Medicare and Medicaid to provide health care to millions of senior citizens and families with children, persons with disabilities and some of the most vulnerable people in this county. Once again these vitally important programs were derided by the right wing as socialist programs that were a threat to our American way of life.
http://inthesetimes.com/article/18623/bernie_sanders_democratic_socialism_georgetown_speech
Avalux
(35,015 posts)He has said that we are all connected, and we must take care of each other. The golden rule fits with that nicely.
Bernie and Pope Francis agree on social justice - an example of how basic human decency and a desire to help others transcends religion.
It's marvelous.
GummyBearz
(2,931 posts)
uponit7771
(90,347 posts)Jitter65
(3,089 posts)Sheepshank
(12,504 posts)senz
(11,945 posts)Hands down, the most Christian. Anyone who has read and studied the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke can, if they are honest, attest to this fact.
I wish I had more time for this today, but I don't.
