Posted on 05/09/2013 2:22:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The evangelical "Pray for Reform: 92 Days of Prayer and Action to Pass Immigration Reform" campaign called on Congress in a press call on Wednesday to pass meaningful legislation in the next 92 days, throwing further support behind the current momentum in Congress to finally pass a immigration reform bill.
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, explained in the press call that the number 92 is significant for evangelicals because the Hebrew word for immigration is mentioned 92 times in the Old Testament.
"This number represents the biblical call to welcome the stranger. I'm convinced that we stand on the edge of the Jordan called 'immigration reform.' On the other side lies the promised land of integration, secured borders and safer communities," Rodriguez said.
"We have 11 million hard-working, God-loving family individuals who contribute daily to the spiritual and economic well-being of our nation, waiting to step in," he continued, calling on Congress to show "prophetic courage" when deciding on such measures.
Immigration reform has become a bipartisan issued after the November 2012 election, with both Republicans and Democrats insisting that it is time America found viable solutions for the roughly 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal documents.
The Evangelical Immigration Table leaders have sent Congress a letter calling for bipartisan passage of a bill within 92 days, which they hope will both be fair on American taxpayers but also provide opportunities for undocumented immigrants. In a previous press call in March, EIT outlined some of the key provisions it hopes to see in an immigration reform bill.
EIT argued, however, that those who have been trying to obtain citizenship through a legal path should be addressed first: "This will ensure that those applying now do not enjoy an advantage over those who have been trying to comply with immigration laws, while allowing all qualified applicants to earn status within a reasonable period."
Jim Wallis, president and CEO of the Christian ministry Sojourners, noted on Wednesday that in the dysfunctional political system in Washington D.C., immigration reform is one of the few issues that has a chance of receiving bipartisan support.
"How we treat the stranger is how we treat Christ himself. That message is converting evangelicals by the thousands, by the millions – and we've seen now how that conversation is changing politics," Wallis said.
"We're praying that the dysfunction can be overcome for the sake of 11 million vulnerable undocumented people that Jesus calls us to welcome. Prayer is necessary in these final stages. We are going to pray without ceasing that they can put aside their interests and agendas and finally do something together for those people and for the common good," he added.
Dr. Richard Land, outgoing president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and incoming president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES) in Charlotte, N.C., called immigration reform a "moral issue."
"We are calling on Congress not to act like politicians who are focused on the next election, but to act as statesmen and stateswomen who are focused on the next generation," Land said.
He highlighted how legislation has already gone further than many people thought was possible, and explained that the Prayer for Reform campaign shows Congress that evangelicals are behind them on this issue.
"We must begin the mending process, we must focus on the human dignity of each of these individuals and their families and look upon them as the assets that they are, not as liabilities to our nation's future," Land added.
How about we lynch the dam reverend if any one of them dam ‘legals commits a crime. Will that work for ya, Rev!?
Mr. Wallis, would Christ have entered a country illegally? Would he have committed fraud to obtain a driver's license or other government services he wasn't entitled to?
The Pentateuch says repeatedly that there was to be one law for the stranger and the Israelites alike: if the Gentiles joined the Mosaic covenant (i.e. assimilated) they were entitled to participate in the Passover, the sacrifices, and the rest of covenant life. Not before.
I would suggest there is a vast difference between a stranger and one who violates the law.
I hate the “we’re all immigrants” meme.
When the English sailed up the James River to establish Jamestown, I had forebears on the ships, and forebears in the woods watching them arrive.
They also like to push the idea that we were illegal immigrants. Much of New England and Pennsylvania was settled on land bought with the Indians consent.
**It’s not about the stranger,**
So would you have welcome the Irish?
The Italians?
The Japanese?
The Polish?
God made all people in his image.
“We cannot reform immigration, if we cannot control immigration. We cannot control immigration unless we can secure our borders and control those borders.” ~ Lou Dobbs (April 2006)
Your comment makes no sense. And you quote only half of my comment - the argument is not about how we treat a “stranger,” it’s about how we treat law-breakers. Very different. God also expects us to obey laws.
I think class does have something to do with it. These big ministers with mega churches live in wealthy neighborhoods. They do not see their neighborhoods going downhill and they will not get up one morning to find gang signs spray painted on their garages. They probably don’t have family members who do blue collar work and their kids probably don’t need jobs so that they can afford college. Illegals are taking lots of building jobs which is cutting in to the good paying manual jobs that American dads need to feed their children, but then nobody sees that illegals are taking jobs away from American workers. What does it take? Do they need to see American kids looking through trash cans for food scraps?
The illegals are coming up here because there is a shortage of resources where they came from. If there is a shortage of opportunities will they not cut into our resources? How can the *do gooders* not see that they are cutting into our wealth and opportunity?
I have seen both Catholic and Protestant missionaries going to Mexico and South America. Why is it that the churches that have been in those countries for five hundred years have not done more to educate and feed the people? If you ever watched the tv show “Little House on the Prarie” you will recall that the little town had a building that served as a school, church and courthouse. The American pioneers were not rich but they made use of their every resource such as the building that was used as a church on Sunday, a school during the week and a courthouse when the circuit judge came to town. Why haven’t the churches in Mexico and South American done the same thing? Why not let the people of the village use the church for a school during the week? Why not hire a young person to teach all the grades of kids as the one room school houses used to do in the 18 hundreds? The children were well educated with very little equipment. I have seen American missionaries going to Mexico and South America to open schools for the poor—why can’t people use their God given ingenuity to do the same? But you will not hear this from the clergy because it would sound too critical but if a culture has a lot of problems, they must be confronted with their flaws not flattered and put on a pedestal as some of our religious leaders are doing while feeling that they are just doing the loving Christian thing. Jesus was not afraid to confront people with their sins and shortcomings but many in today’s church just want to have a schmooze-fest.
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors goods.” They are coveting what belongs to us.
This Rodriguez guy is such as snake in the grass, I wish I knew more about his history. He difinately is working with the democrats or the CFR.
EBT poster boy.
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