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Matthew 25: 34-40 (Revised Standard Version, King James Bible) “Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee stick or in prison and visit thee?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one on the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’
A few years ago I heard a speaker say that when people in Europe could finally read the Bible for themselves and could read these words attributed to Jesus, that was the birth of socialism in Europe.
The first social benefit in the United States was Social Security started by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration because there were many homeless, hungry elderly people.
This program was followed by Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, housing assistance, Workers Compensation, WIC, SNAP, and so on. The vast majority of families in this country have benefited from some or all of these programs.
I am 87 years old and I like my Medicare and my Social Security.
The people like these programs, all brought to us by the Democrats. We don’t need to be afraid if the word “socialism” because we like these services that are already a part of our democracy.
You and I can’t do much on our own to meet the needs of so many people (although Rev. Cummings does a pretty good job) so we need the government to provide these benefits to the citizens. I call it Secular Christianity -- our government carrying out the instructions of Jesus.