by Doug Aronin
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
In his Times of Israel blog post, Doug Aronin discusses an exchange between Senator Bernie Sanders and Russell Vought as the confirmation hearing for the Mr. Vought as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget and argues that Senator Sanders applied an improper religious test for Mr. Vought’s nomination and speaks of the disconnect between the Senator Sanders and Mr. Vought regarding Christian theology regarding non-Christians.
What made watching that exchange particularly frustrating was the realization that while Sanders and Vought appeared to be speaking the same language, in fact they really weren’t. It was clear from Sanders questioning that what had sparked his anger was Vought’s use of the word “condemned.” When Vought used that word in his Resurgence post, he used it — as a Christian speaking to other Christians about a dispute involving a Christian school’s statement of faith — in its Christian theological sense of being denied salvation. When Sanders read that word, however, he clearly understood it in its colloquial sense as a moral denunciation.
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Douglas Aronin is a retired attorney living in Forest Hills, Queens, who is continuing his lifelong involvement in the Jewish community.
A graduate of Columbia Law School, he practiced law for three decades (including a four-year stint with the New York State Attorney General's office) before retiring.
He served for many years as an officer of the UTJ and was a founding board member of the ITJ (Institute of Traditional Judaism) and editor-in-chief of Cornerstone 2.
Doug’s blog appears regularly on Times of Israel, where he addresses an array of political and religious subjects. His writings have also appeared in a wide range of other print and on-line forums.
Here are some of Doug's blog posts: