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The Gospel According to Bernie: 'The Bible, if It Is About Anything...'

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ANALYSIS

So what is the Bible all about? A big assignment, you say? Well, Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders has some pointers to guide you in your quest for answers.

Sanders took to the stage Saturday in Atlanta and shared his deep insights into the Scriptures with a group of Christian millennials gathered at the Black Church PAC's Youth Leadership Conference.

"The Bible, if it is about anything," the self-proclaimed non-religious Bernie told the crowd, "is about justice. It is about reaching out to people in need. It is about standing up to the wealthy and the powerful." 

Hmm...Is it? I don't think so. I agree with RedState.com's Bonchie that if it were only about justice, Jesus would not have come to Earth and died on the cross for our sins. Instead, we're all sinners who have broken God's laws. Anytime someone breaks the law, there are consequences. So real justice would have been to let us take the punishment and leave us in our sins. But He didn't leave us hopeless; He came, bore our sins as He died on the cross, took our guilt as if He were the sinner, and gave us the chance to be reconciled to God through His sacrifice. Sacrifice. I don't think that's exactly Bernie's idea of standing up to the "wealthy and powerful."

And then there's that "little" matter of the resurrection. Jesus rose from the grave. If He didn't, His dying was simply the cruel death of another perceived enemy of Rome, rendering His good works meaningless in the grand scheme of things. The Bible talks about many things in our lives, but surely, "if it's about anything," it's about the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.   

Jesus did talk a lot about money...how we shouldn't let it be our god...how we should be willing to put another's needs above our own... indeed, if someone needs a coat to be willing to provide it, even giving away our own... how we should treat others as we want them to treat us.

But some progessives seem to want Jesus to be a social justice warrior. I believe the Bible teaches He is actually a warrior for our hearts, with a focus on changing them to be more like His. 

Jesus also made some very "un-social-justice-like" statements about money, like the story he told about not wasting it, but investing it in order to grow more. That tells me Jesus cared about us taking responsibility for ourselves, not as a Lone Ranger without Him, but as a wise steward in Him.      

I believe the Bible is "about that." It's NOT about legalized theft (Thou Shalt Not Steal), taking from those who work to provide for themselves and their families, only to squander it with problematic government programs that take away incentives to work and destroy the self-esteem an earned paycheck provides.  
 
For example, there's this idea circulating on the Left about writing off the debt of people who chose to borrow money for college. But they plan to do it with taxes paid by those who may not have made that choice, who in fact, chose another career path or college where they did not have to go into debt. Is that the fairness they love to talk about? I think not, and it's not taking responsibility, which is certainly something I believe the Bible is "about." 

It carries over into other agenda items that leftists love, too, like eliminating private health insurance to be replaced by government-proscribed health care, and forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions even if they believe that act of destruction is the murder of a human being. 

I could go on and on. I'm not a theologian or a politician. But I can say to you, Sen. Sanders, I don't find your Bible summary very credible. Honestly, I don't think you have a clue what the Bible is "about." But I do hope one day before your time on earth is done, Sir, that you will know.

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About The Author

Deborah
Bunting

Deborah Bunting is a contributing writer for CBNNews.com who has spent decades in the field of journalism, covering everything from politics to the role of the church in our world.