Bernie Sanders's "God"

[lpetrich]

Why Bernie Sanders doesn’t participate in organized religion - The Washington Post though he is ethnically Jewish.

“I think everyone believes in God in their own ways,” he said. “To me, it means that all of us are connected, all of life is connected, and that we are all tied together.”

Calling recognition of connectedness "God" is not what is usually meant by that word.

Even so, Sanders has appeared reluctant to delve into discussions about his faith, prompting many to assume on social media that he is more secular than God-fearing.

When late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel asked Sanders in October whether be believes in God and if that matters to the American people, the senator seemed to avoid a direct response:

“I am what I am,” he said. “And what I believe in, and what my spirituality is about, is that we’re all in this together.”

 

[skepticalbip]

A open admission of being an atheist would be suicide for a politician's election hopes. It would alienate too many voters. But, since he is an admirer of Marx, I wouldn't be surprised that he takes Marx's view of religion to heart, "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people".

Politicians are well practiced in giving 'answers' to questions that aren't really answers.

 

[lpetrich]

The Book of Bernie: What is Sanders' religion? - CNNPolitics (2016 Apr 14) notes Democratic town hall: Transcript, video - CNNPolitics (2016 Feb 3)

COOPER: You know, I want to follow up, because Jason also mentioned faith, which is something you've spoken a little bit about. You're Jewish, but you've said that you're not actively involved with organized religion.

What do you say to a voter out there who says -- and that who sees faith as a guiding principle in their lives, and wants it to be a guiding principle for this country?

SANDERS: It's a guiding principle in my life, absolutely, it is. You know, everybody practices religion in a different way. To me, I would not be here tonight, I would not be running for president of the United States if I did not have very strong religious and spiritual feelings.

I believe that, as a human being, the pain that one person feels, if we have children who are hungry in America, if we have elderly people who can't afford their prescription drugs, you know what, that impacts you, that impacts me.

And I worry very much about a society where some people spiritually say, it doesn't matter to me, I got it, I don't care about other people.

So my spirituality is that we are all in this together and that when children go hungry, when veterans sleep out on the street, it impacts me. That's my very strong spiritual feeling.

Wanting to help other people is not what's usually called religion.

Democratic debate: 5 takeaways - CNNPolitics (2016 Mar 6)
The original article says about it:

The Sanders campaign has said he is not an atheist, pointing out that he has spoken of his belief in God on numerous occasions.

"I think when we talk about God, whether it is Christianity, or Judaism, or Islam, or Buddhism, what we are talking about is what all religions hold dear," Sanders said during a CNN town hall in March. "And, that is: To do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." In other words, Sanders says, his spirituality can be summed up by the Golden Rule.

The importance of the Golden Rule is not what is usually called "God". It also grotesquely misrepresents the content of the religious traditions that he named.

 

[lpetrich]

I looked for https://www.foxnews.com/politics/20...x-news-democratic-presidential-town-hall.html and Transcript of the Fox News Democratic presidential town hall without success, so I must depend on The Book of Bernie: What is Sanders' religion? - CNNPolitics:

Sanders' lack of religious orthodoxy sometimes peeks out in campaign events, such as a town hall hosted by Fox News in March, when he argued that health care is a human right.

"Where does that right come from?" interrupted Fox's Brett Baier.

That kind of question turns most people angling for the White House into amateur theologians. Even the deist Thomas Jefferson argued that our most important rights come from a Creator.

But Sanders wouldn't take the bait.

"Being a human being" is the source of our rights, he said. Motioning to a woman in the audience, Sanders continued, "I believe that if she is poor and you are rich, she is entitled to the same quality health care you have, because she is a human being."

I like that theory of morality, that it comes from our nature.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I'd say Bernie is a man of faith, it's just not religious faith.

 

[Treedbear]

Sounds like Humanism to me. Is that word politically incorrect? Why do I feel betrayed?

 

[ideologyhunter]

Why can't he just be a God-fearing born-again Christian, like our current President? People of faith rally protectively around Donald J. Trump, because he has the faith that Bernie will never have.