Sometimes, Sen Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, is a curmudgeonly old man, spouting nonsense about the alleged joys of socialism. But on occasion, Sanders can get downright creepy and mean. Such was the case when he grilled Russell Vought about his beliefs as a Christian, which he believes will adversely affect his judgment as Deputy Director of OMB, an office to which he has been nominated?
To be a Christian is to be Islamophobic according to Sanders
At issue is a statement Vought made during a controversy in which a professor was fired from a Christian school for expressing solidarity with Muslims.
Particularly offensive, in Sanders’ view, was the passage that stated, “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.”
Apparently, in the view of Sanders, Vought hates Muslims and therefore does not deserve an office of public trust. He is wrong about both. Christians are taught to love everyone, especially their enemies.
What Bernie Sanders does not get about religion
The problem with Sanders is that he does not quite grasp the concept of religion. Christians believe that one cannot achieve heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as one's savior. Come to think of it, Muslims believe that one cannot achieve heaven if one does not accept the five pillars of the faith and admit that there is no God but God and Mohammed is his prophet.
People of both religions should respect adherents of other faiths (or no faith) because religious wars are tiresome.
Despite the depredations of such groups as ISIS and Al Qaeda and the annoying yelling of the Westboro Baptist Church, most people follow this practice.
The problem is that to follow Sanders’ logic, no person of any religion can be an official of the United States government.
Only atheists or, at best, super tolerant pantheists can ever be confirmed without accusations of bigotry
What the senator does not understand about the Constitution
A clause in Article VI, Section 3 of the United States Constitution is very explicit about the idea of religious faith being a disqualifier for public office. It reads, “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
To word it in ways that Bernie Sanders can understand, one can be a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, or an adherent of the Flying Spaghetti Monster with a sacred colander on one’s head.
One can be an atheist who thinks that all religion is a bit silly. One can believe that all religious faiths have a little bit of the truth. But in none of these cases is anyone disqualified for public office, Sanders’ hectoring notwithstanding.
