“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6)
Apparently, with Govt as his God, Socialist Bernie decided that his secularism was going to trump a Christian that has been nominated for the Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director that had to come before him for confirmation. He has decided that Christians, standing up for their faith in living and expressing it publicly, should not be permitted to serve (Apparently Bernie doesn’t seem to care much about the First Amendment’s “freedom of expression” nor of the Constitution’s Article VI that expressly prohibits any kind of religious litmus test for serving:
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
Russell Vought is such a Christian and is an alum of Wheaton College – a small Evangelical Christian college that has a Statement of Faith which also included that Jesus is the Son of God, died for our sins on the Cross, and that only by accepting this sacrifice can one go to heaven. This is not secret stuff – it’s pretty much standard Christian orthodoxy. As an Evangelical, I do believe that my theological faith matches up with it well but certainly put Sanders into orbit.
This was precipitated by an article that Vought wrote over at The Resurgent about the controversy when a female professor said that the God of Christianity and Islam are the same (and later converted to be a Muslim). Simply stated, Vought wrote a defense of Wheaton’s Statement. It was this piece that put Sanders (a non-practicing / secular Jew, to my knowledge) into a frenzy:
The transcript via The Corner (emphasis mine):
Sanders: Let me get to this issue that has bothered me and bothered many other people. And that is in the piece that I referred to that you wrote for the publication called Resurgent. You wrote, “Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned.” Do you believe that that statement is Islamophobic?
I certainly do not – it is simply a statement of faith. One which, I point out, Sanders is using the force of Government to have Vought disavow as you read on. Is that the Proper Role of Government? In this, Sanders decided that he would become a current King Nebuchadnezzar and make him fall down on bended knee.
Vought: Absolutely not, Senator. I’m a Christian, and I believe in a Christian set of principles based on my faith. That post, as I stated in the questionnaire to this committee, was to defend my alma mater, Wheaton College, a Christian school that has a statement of faith that includes the centrality of Jesus Christ for salvation, and . . .
Sanders: I apologize. Forgive me, we just don’t have a lot of time. Do you believe people in the Muslim religion stand condemned? Is that your view?
The simple, plain answer that for a Christian, is yes. Else, why believe what I do? Does that mean that I (or Mr. Vought) know everything that God will do in this matter? Of course not – we’re not Him. But according to the Bible, that we believe to be the inerrant Word of God, Divinely inspired, that’s what we have to go on.
Vought: Again, Senator, I’m a Christian, and I wrote that piece in accordance with the statement of faith at Wheaton College:
Sanders: I understand that. I don’t know how many Muslims there are in America. Maybe a couple million. Are you suggesting that all those people stand condemned? What about Jews? Do they stand condemned too?
Vought: Senator, I’m a Christian . . .
Sanders (shouting): I understand you are a Christian, but this country are made of people who are not just — I understand that Christianity is the majority religion, but there are other people of different religions in this country and around the world. In your judgment, do you think that people who are not Christians are going to be condemned?
Vought: Thank you for probing on that question. As a Christian, I believe that all individuals are made in the image of God and are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of their religious beliefs. I believe that as a Christian that’s how I should treat all individuals . . .
And this is when Sanders REALLY goes off the rails in trying to apply PC political reasoning to theology and conflate the two, and in doing so, condemn Vought with his (Sanders’) own foolishness:
Sanders: You think your statement that you put into that publication, they do not know God because they rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned, do you think that’s respectful of other religions?
If someone wants to believe differently than I, that’s OK.
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Sidenote: full disclosure – I DO vehemently disagree with those Muslims that wish to implement Shariah Law here in the US, either writ small or overall and there are those that preach and argue for just that (see here for one example; leaders at CAIR have also made such statements as well – why not as they are the American offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood). Shariah is not compatible with Constitutional values.
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I can be respectful of others while disagreeing with their religious doctrine. Sanders certainly believes one cannot do that. It is also clear that he is biased against those of the Christian Faith (who knew! Almost all Socialists are “nones” – totally secular and non-religious. Well, I’ll allow that Sanders seems to be very religious in his non-religious stance in this clip (but seems to escape most that think this way).
Vought: Senator, I wrote a post based on being a Christian and attending a Christian school that has a statement of faith that speaks clearly in regard to the centrality of Jesus Christ in salvation.
Sanders: I would simply say, Mr. Chairman, that this nominee is really not someone who this country is supposed to be about.
Where was the Budget Committee Chair who should have shut Sanders down right from the get-go?
It is clear that Sanders, I believe, has no idea of the theological meaning of “condemned” – it simply means, in Christianity, that those that refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Savior will not enter Heaven and be separated from God forever. Yet, Sanders certainly decided contra all of American traditions in this matter, Vought should not assume an office simply for religious faith.
This is very, very dangerous – yet another brick being withdrawn from The Wall that I use as an analogy for American Society. No, not all religions are the same, Bernie, and their theologies make it clear and definite.
Go ahead and theorize, readers – would Bernie be taking the same line of attack if Vought had been Muslim?
No. Read this from the Daily Signal:
This statement crystalizes the problem. Sanders wants public officials to have religious freedom, except when their religious views contain something he might consider bigoted, such as a view of hell or condemnation.
What Sanders is really pushing for, whether he knows it or not, is a “Universalists Only” policy for those who would serve in public office. You can believe what you want, as long as your theology doesn’t teach that others might one day be judged.
It will get worse, not better. Frankly, I think it really comes down, between Christianity and Progressives, is the Divine God or the God that is Government. There is no compromise position between those two.
(H/T: RedState, The Corner, Daily Signal, Heat Street)
