'Bernie is the voice of Justice crying out in the desert. Evangelicals are convicted by his message'

[sabrina 1]

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:

Bernie is the voice of Justice crying out in the desert. Evangelicals like me are convicted by his message. (audio, a little under 17 minutes)

Reddit Thread

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.

I wouldn't be much of a Christian if I didn't stand on the side of gospel for the poor, because, the last time I checked, that's where my master Jesus stood, and I'll stand with Him. And, for now, that means I stand with Bernie Sanders.

I'm leaving out a lot here. I'd really recommend listening to the whole thing.
-----

Update: reddit user How_Suspicious has posted a complete transcript on the SanderForPresident subreddit. (I could have saved myself a lot of work.)

Very moving. I agree with those who say that Bernie's speech at Liberty University was one of the best speeches delivered by any candidate in this election, some going further and saying one of the all-time best political speeches ever in any campaign.

Bernie truly has a rare ability to sweep away the trivia and go right to the heart of things and even reach deep into the hearts of those who so vehemently disagree with him.

He taught those Christians the lessons Christ TRIED to teach them.

It was an amazing speech. And credit must go also to those who were willing to listen and to learn.

[slipslidingaway]

1. knr thanks! n/t

[sabrina 1]

2. I didn't realize it had been posted already, but I think I'll leave it anyhow, it is a

very moving thing to see how Bernie managed to disagree with his audience, while at the same time teaching them about what their own principles are supposed to be. Even more impressive is to see how they received his message.

To go so far as to say that Bernie's presidency would be 'good for the poor' coming from this source, is simply amazing.

[slipslidingaway]

6. Yes, important enough to be repeated, I saw kpete's thread and gave it a rec. n/t

[Avalux]

3. This gives me goosebumps.

It IS possible to reach common ground with people who disagree with us. Bernie didn't pander; he presented his platform and his concept of Christianity, then discussed with them. A rarity for a politician, especially a Democrat speaking to Evangelicals.

[hifiguy]

4. The echoes of RFK are unmistakeable.

Only Bernie had the guts to go there and bring the truth of his message. And truth has a power of its own.

He won't convert the majority but he will make far more inroads than anyone thought possible.

[sabrina 1]

5. If you haven't already done so, you should listen to the entire16 min audio.

An amazing speech by this man, even going so far as to say that 'I stand with Bernie Sanders' and that hearing his message means we 'were all Liberals' when they listened and heard Sanders delivering the same message Jesus delivered.

I will have to listen to RFK and see the comparison also.

[hifiguy]

7. Thanks sabrina. I will check it out later today.

[DrBulldog]

8. It's over.

Bernie Sanders is our next President of the United States. There's no one else in sight.

[JRLeft]

10. I hope so

[DrBulldog]

9. I do now wonder how many evangelicals will actually bother to listen to this.

So I am awaiting the impact from them that may or may not come . . .

[sabrina 1]

11. I think the message the pastoral adviser got from Bernie which he

explains thoroughly is being delivered by him to others who up to now, as HE said, allowed themselves to be influenced away from the message of Jesus.

He went so far as to say in his broadcast, that 'Jesus never said anything about Gays or Abortion' but agreed that Bernie had rightfully pointed out WHAT Jesus ACTUALLY talking about which was the rich and the poor and how he wanted his followers to live their lives.

He ends it by stating that he can vote for Bernie.

It really is worth listening to the whole thing, and since this is someone who does have some influence he is passing along Bernie's message, which also, as he points out, happens to be Jesus' message.

[Enthusiast]

12. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

[Uncle Joe]

13. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, sabrina.

[sabrina 1]

14. You're welcome, Uncle Joe!

[Uncle Joe]

15. Bernie passed on a most profound message which I believe we've

only just begun to realize the resonating impact.

That speech was a historical and major ripple in the pond.

[sabrina 1]

16. I couldn't agree more. To be honest, I wondered how he would

handle such a difficult situation, but as I watched it, I was amazed, he was superb and those who were there showed him respect, which I also wasn't sure would happen.

I saw an interesting comment in a thread on DK today which reminds of your comment here:

The confluence of left-liberalism with traditional (229+ / 0-)
Christian thinking is extraordinarily powerful. With Pope Francis and Bernie Sanders at the forefront, we see glimmers of enlightenment. May it become a movement.

Renew Democracy: TrueDems.com

by Thomas Twinnings on Wed Sep 16, 2015 at 04:15:22 AM PDT

[Uncle Joe]

17. The Golden Rule over the Golden Calf; that was my succinct take

of Bernie's message.

Bernie has the courage of his convictions; they are righteous, the well learned wisdom of his years and that will see him through any trial or tribulation.

I'm not a religious person but I do believe there is power in faith and faith is infinitely more capable of dealing with fear than reason.

The Republicans' strongest asset for decades has been fear, ignorance and hatred, that and vast quantities of money is all they have.

By going in to the "Lion's Den" and expanding their definition of what faith, justice and morality mean, incorporating them into a broader common cause, Bernie has created major tremors under the bedrock of the half century old "Southern Strategy."

The Republicans are in deep fecal material.