Posted on 11/03/2014 9:58:34 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Scripture and Illegal Immigration
In the Book of Exodus, Chapter 22, verse 21, we read, "You shall neither wrong a stranger, nor oppress him: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (King James 2000 Bible).
This biblical verse is often used by so-called Roman Catholics as a justification for their support of illegal alien South and Central Americans coming to, and living in, the United States. These Catholics also use this verse to encourage amnesty for all illegal aliens. Are these Catholics right to interpret the Book of Exodus this way?
Verse 21 of Exodus is written in the Hebrew Bible this way: "וְגֵר לֹא-תוֹנֶה, וְלֹא תִלְחָצֶנּוּ: כִּי-גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם, בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם." The Hebrew word for "stranger" used in this passage is "we-gar," in the plural, and "ge-rim" in the singular.
An accepted translation of the Hebrew "ger" is someone who chooses to immigrate. The writer of this passage in Exodus is referring to someone who wishes to be part of a new community and who wants to assimilate. This translation of the word "stranger" does not mean someone who is a soldier in an army of illegal aliens invading the United States.
In the biblical Hebrew of Exodus, the stranger is someone who wishes to be a Jew and will respect the laws of Judaism. If we want to apply this passage from Exodus to a contemporary immigrant, then the passage tells us we should not harm or mistreat a legal immigrant to the United States who has taken an oath of citizenship.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
What about invaders? criminals?
There is no justification whatsoever in any scripture for forcing the US taxpayer to pay for Welfare, Food Stamps, medical care and housing for the entire freakin world. That is what is going on. Its not about being compassionate to the poor. Anyone who wants to do that can donate their money to Central American charities.
They sure seem to miss the bits about the Canaanites (leading division among them being the Philistines, where the “Palestinians” get their modern-day misnomer), Assyrians, Babylonians and the like.
If we didn’t have a so-called “progressive” government that stole from the middle class to give handouts to politically important voting and racial blocks, illegal immigration would not be a problem.
Don’t “mistreat” anybody, but the principle, if it carries into a Christian context, does seem to apply to those who have expressed some kind of good faith allegiance. Christians from Timbuktu shouldn’t be looked down upon because they are not Christians from America.
There’s a lot of trouble, I think, with folks trying to Christianize, rather than evangelize, America. Build the foundations and the rest will follow. Build facades and they will fall, like a movie set exposed to the elements.
Yes it would, once mass immigration to America is accepted then hundreds of millions of people of the world would want to come here just, for the quality of life and infrastructure.
To the hundreds of millions South of our border for instance, why not live and work as a poor or lower middle class American worker in San Diego or Houston or Chicago, instead of living in peasant hell in some Latino country?
Christians have an obligation to treat individuals with kindness and compassion on a person-to-person basis, and those individuals include illegal aliens. However, that does not mean that Christians are obligated to vote for open borders, amnesty, etc. It’s a cheap trick of the left, which many religious leaders abet — naively or deliberately — to promulgate the idea that if you don’t embrace politically liberal responses to immigration issues that you “don’t care about immigrants” or that you even “hate people who are different than you”. That’s why I believe conservatives should emphasize that we understand why people are desperate to live in the USA; that we know most illegal aliens were not criminals in their home countries and want only to live honestly here (if they can); but that we need to have immigration laws that are realistic, practical, and enforced.
I did observe the church membership in El Callao , Venezuela --it was nearly all older women.
The first time I attended one of the fish dinners was during the height of the building boom when (and I do not exaggerate) half the conversations in the aisles of the local Walmart were in Spanish. I expected to see at least some Hispanics at the dinner --and there were none--
That “justification” is used by bishops. Bishops who are, in my opinion, radicals.
America is probably the country with the single greatest witness to gospel power yet on the earth, due to how it was historically formed. It was easy for the colonies to agree on a generalized Christianity, though the churches be as far apart as Roman Catholic and Quaker and Congregationalist. But that didn’t stop God from blessing as long as people welcomed Him into their hearts.
This situation is in great danger now. Christian faith is getting lax, and I mean personally.
What about good hermeneutics?
It was written to Israel...
So is Mexico and its citizens treating the US and it citizen's how Mexico wants to be treated?
If Mexico and the Catholic Church in Mexico was being swamped with Millions of the poorest illegals Indian Hindu's.. both scream bloody murder
That's exactly right. I have no problem giving to food pantries that serve the illegal population. I would be ashamed if Catholic Charities and Vincent de Paul didn't serve them.
I'm a proud conservative - the last time I voted for a Dem was when Bob Casey, Sr. was running for governor of Pennsylvania against a Republican pro-abort. I am not certain, but I do think serving illegal immigrants is one outreach area where Catholic churches may differ from conservative Christian churches.
Perhaps, but the U.S. is surely no “biblical holy land”. And we didn’t come from Egypt either. Well most of us didn’t.
The Old and New Testament are all about context, something the author clearly and conveniently left out.
The Hebrews were encouraged to bring strangers along showing that God as far back as 1400 BC had an open heart to Gentiles...a truth that Paul later would solidify in his epistles.
Catholics urging other catholics into the country to take middle class money is nowhere near the intent of the original text.
Good article.
Time to stop misquoting the Bible to justify sin.
Christians have a moral obligation to turn illegal aliens in, just as they would a thief, murderer or drug dealer.
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