Christmas reminds us Jesus was migrant, like today's refugees, pope says

NOLA ^ | December 16, 2016 | Religion News Service

[Amendment10]

Jesus’ parents were complying with a census as opposed to migrating. I presume that they would have returned to the place that they left from for the census if it weren’t for divine intervention to protect Jesus.

Corrections, insights welcome.

With all due respect to the Pope, regarding his simplistic concern for migrants, I keep thinking about Luke 13:23-27. In that passage, Jesus teaches the example of the owner of a house refusing to let people enter because he didn’t know who they are or where they came from.

[HiTech RedNeck]

True nuff.

[Joshua]

Shouldn’t the Pope at least have a basic knowledge of scripture?

[pabianice]

I’m not a Christian but I can’t remember hearing anything about Jesus raping women and mass-murdering crowds.

[HiTech RedNeck]

“Let anybody migrate anywhere for any reason” isn’t compassion, even.

And frankly, the furore that is recently arising is about those who hate the west. Who’s sending them to the west? Are they asking on their own accord to go to the west?

[righttackle44]

Joseph and Mary were NOT migrants. If one reason the account in the New Testament--which apparently the Pope has not. This is the account from the Book of Luke, 2:1-5:

1Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child."

Note, Pope, that Joseph took his family to register for the Roman census to (v.2) to his own city which (v.4) was Bethlehem because he, Joseph, was of the house and family of David.

In other words, Pope, Joseph was taking Mary and her child to the city of his family. They were not strangers or migrants in Bethlehem. They were going to a place where he could well have been known. Bethlehem may have been his home town.

Migrants? Don't you read your Bible?

[HiTech RedNeck]

Doctrinaire lefties can get pretty silly.

Yes there sometimes are genuine “rigidity” problems in the church. However, not among them are honest readings of the bible. This makes the pope look like a hypocrite on the “rigidity” issue. Dear pope, that is a two way street!

[Dave911]

I don’t believe history records him ever being more than 200 miles from home. That’s not a migrant.

[GreyFriar]

Pope Francis is definitely allied to the Jesus was a homeless person school balderdash of Jesse Jackson.

[Organic Panic]

Has this pope even read the bible?

[TalonDJ]

“God told Joseph to take his family to Egypt,”

It was all still the Roman empire. He did not sneak into any countries.

[fortheDeclaration]

Clearly the Pope has never read the Bible.

[carton253]

After the wise men left, Joseph was warned in a dream to go to Egypt because Herod would seek the child in order to kill Him. Then after Herod died, Joseph and Mary returned to Nazareth.

[cyclotic]

Some guy on FR was arguing last week that Jesus was a refugee because they fled to Egypt. If I evacuate my house because of an incoming hurricane, I’m not a refugee either.

Jesus and his family went to Egypt for a short time and then returned once Herod died in 4BC. They were likely only there for a couple months.

[NYer]

Utter crap ... sorry, this is irritating. Sick of his uber left wing slant on history.

[Fred Nerks]

Sometimes I wonder what they did to make Pope Bendict resign...

No kidding, it smells to high heaven...

[Frank_2001]

Exactly! And later His parents moved from Judea to another district of the Roman Empire where Herod had no authority-there was NO kingdom of “Egypt” at the time!!!
Too bad history is not taught anymore...