Posted on 03/15/2006 4:41:32 AM PST by GarySpFc
On the corner of a busy road in a New York City suburb recently, I noticed a sign outside a small Christian church welcoming day laborers — an apt image for the state of immigration in the United States today.
The day laborers the church is welcoming are, most likely, illegal immigrants. We all know they're here and you may, like the churchmen, also know where. You may be one. You may employ one. You may even pass a group of illegal immigrants waiting for a day job on the way to your own job. Needless to say many illegal immigrants are good people just like you and me (in many cases just trying to care for their families) except for a problem that can't be overlooked: They're in the United States illegally.
While attending a meeting of some 30 pastors of independent Christian churches in Southern California, writer Christine A. Scheller of "Christianity Today" was told by one of the pastors that not only is his congregation 50-percent illegal, but that among the group assembled, "We have a lot of pastors who are illegal." The attitude Scheller encountered among pastors was almost completely accommodating to lawbreaking. A former Texas pastor actually compared churches providing a safe haven to illegal immigrants to the Jewish asylums of World War II. The analogy is ludicrous on more than one level. For one: If enforcement of immigration laws were a priority in the United States, the aforementioned church sign would not be so transparent and unapologetic. If government were actually policing immigration, that sign would be read as: "Policia, aqui!"
Read the rest of the article at: Lopez: How America's churches are harboring criminals
(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...
Exodus 22: 21 "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.
Leviticus 19: 33 " 'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. 34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 14: 28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Deuteronomy 16: 13 Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 Be joyful at your Feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.
Deuteronomy 24 14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates.
Ezekiel 47: 21 "You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the alien settles, there you are to give him his inheritance," declares the Sovereign LORD.
Malachi 3: 5 "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty.
Immigration should be enforced by law enforcement officials - not pastors.
Why would so called religious people harm their neighbors to provide for strangers??
Giving a stranger a seat in a pew or a hot meal injures no one.
And there is no distinction in the Gospel between "neighbors" and "strangers" - all men are our neighbors.
Perhaps you should read his post to me before jumping so hard - he claimed that I was neither caring or a Christian because he didn't agree with my citing a passage from the Old testament, which didn't agree with his sensibilities. Do you have evidence he is a "righteous Jew"?
http://www.usborderpatrol.com/borderframe87.htm
TODAY, we have nearly 11,000 criminals invading our country each and every night and the murder rate from them is over 18 dead each day and nothing is done.
And again, these millions of people flooding our southern border -- 11,000 a night -- are now being supported, and even funded, by al Qaeda and the Mexican drug cartels.
Crime is rampant throughout all of the countries south of our border. The murder rate for Mexico -- in Mexico -- is about 18 dead per 100,000. Yes, that is 18,000 people murdered every year inside Mexico -- a country with a 100 million population. The murder rate for the USA is about 4 per 100,000 -- a country with about 300 million people. So, yes, Mexico kills as more people than we do but they have one third the population so that really does mean that their citizens kill at a rate that is more than three times that of the people in the United States. Certainly, not everyone in Mexico is a murderer. But there is one truth to murder everywhere on earth:
Almost all murderers anywhere on earth are males between the ages of 15 and 34.
And this is where things get very interesting. About 98 of every 100 illegals crossing our border are Mexican males between the ages of 15 and 34.
Liberal churches are always attracted to people who are the most unlikely to attend their church. I call it "The Full Belly In Hell" syndrome.
If he's an Aztlanista, yes.
Even if he's not, Scripture tells us to follow the laws of the land. Crossing into another country in violation of that country's laws contravenes that principle. So no matter how you slice it, they shouldn't be here.
You must not live in Southern California. If you did, there's no way you could fail to have noticed, and been outraged, by the wholesale destruction of American culture here over the last 30 years. Now, either we as a culture have a right to preserve ourselves, or we do not... which is it?
I am at my office, and do not have my resources here. I will answer your post later this evening.
I'm about ready to support taking the tax-emempt status away from any Church that gets into politics, on either side. Enough is enough.
I was responding to your rude post that God was spelled God and not G-D. I have no idea whether the poster was a righteous Jew or not. I'd like to know what the problem with his spelling was.
God Bless
No, I'm not a self-appointed scold at all (at least I hope!) and I apologize if you think so. I just want to know why you think it's not kosher to spell God, G-d. That's all!
Let me guess. You are going to say that the bible also calls for obeying laws. When you do explain to me when its appropriate for Christians to change laws that are called immoral by God.
Have a great freeper day.
I refer to the problem as the "Jesuit Syndrome."
Thanks for your answer, Trebb. I appreciate it. I was raised a Catholic too but in the Northeast with lots of Jews as friends and companions. I only know the spelling of G-D in a Jewish context. You have a great day, too!
There is also the ancient commonlaw practice of "sanctuary" when considering criminals in a church.
Great, then when you explain the text doesn't really mean aliens as we know them please relate it to who Jesus indicates who our neighbor is.
Person from a different racial, ethnic, and linguistic group as in contrast to a "native." Circumstances during biblical times often forced people to emigrate to another country, where they would become "resident aliens" (see Gen 19:9; Ruth 1:1). A less permanent settler was known as a "stranger" or "temporary resident." Sometimes the term "foreigner" is used to translate a Hebrew word that generally means an "outsider" from a different race, tribe, or family.
The Old Testament. The creation account records the first human residence in the garden of Eden. With the fall, humanity is exiled from God's immediate presence into a "foreign" land. This is the background to the important Old Testament theme of the promise of land.
After the judgment of the flood, the Book of Genesis records the Table of Nations (chap. 10), portraying the remarkable growth of the human community with its variety of racial, linguistic, and political divisions. The tower of Babel incident (11:1-9) is the reason for these divisions, as God confuses the language and disperses the human race. A divided humanity, alienated from God and from itself, is in desperate need of a home.
If the early history of the Bible ends with curse—the disintegration of humanity into many nations—the beginning of Israel's national history (chap. 12) commences with blessing as a family receives a divine pledge of land and a promise of progeny that will bless the alienated nations. Abram and his family, the founders of the Israelite nation, obeyed the call of God to emigrate to this land, leaving Mesopotamia to become resident aliens in Canaan (12:10; 20:1; 23:4). The patriarchs' lives were marked by a rootlessness, as the only land they actually received was a grave for Sarah, Abraham's wife (chap. 23). This pilgrim existence characterized early Israel (Exod 6:4), as the embryonic nation was shaped in Egypt, another foreign country (Exod 22:20; 23:9).
When Israel was constituted as a nation at Sinai (Exod 19-24), a concern for resident aliens was etched into the legal system. The alien peoples received special protection under the law (Exod 22:21; 23:9), and were even to be loved as native Israelites (Lev 19:34). Such protection was particularly necessary as immigrants would not have the social network of kinship relations for support during exigencies. Yet, although ancient Near Eastern law codes stressed protection for the widow and orphan, only Israel's contained legislation for the resident alien. This was probably due to the peculiar circumstances of her origin.
After Sinai and the wilderness wanderings, Israel received the gift of the promised land. In order to occupy it, however, she had to purge the land of its foreign population. Foreigners in this context represented hostile agents that would contaminate Israel and render her unholy before God. For the same reason, covenants and marriages with foreigners were forbidden. Paradoxically, only if her religion was pure could Israel be of help to foreigners (cf. Rahab, Ruth, Naaman, the widow of Zarepath). If Israel became sinful in the holy land, she would lose God's permanent presence, as he would become like a temporary resident (Jer 14:8).
And yet Israel's entire existence was bound up with being a blessing to foreigners (Gen 12:3). Some psalms envisioned the time when all nations would become subject to an Israelite king who would rule the world with justice. Solomon's prayer at the inauguration of the temple implied that it was to be a house of prayer for all peoples, as Israelite and foreigner could both pray to its Lord (1 Kings 8:41-43; cf. Isa 56:3-8). The prophets predicted that all nations would go up to Jerusalem to learn the Torah and depart changed people, no longer alienated from each other (Isa 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-5). There would be one humanity (Isa 19:23-25), speaking a purified language (Zep 3:9).
Although Israel received a residence in the promised land, she was reminded that the land was God's and that he allowed her to settle on it as a resident alien (Lev 25:23; cf. 1 Chron 29:15; Psalm 39:12; 119:19). Israel must wait for a true home.
The New Testament. By the time of the New Testament, Israel had become extremely exclusive, largely forgetting her mission to the nations. When the Messiah arrived, however, foreigners were present (Matt 2:1-12). During his ministry, he constantly interacted with them, indicating that God's love embraced the world (Luke 17:18; John 4 ). A Roman soldier pronounced a eulogy at his death (Luke 23:47). Death broke the hostile powers that caused human divisions (Eph 2:14-18). In Christ there was no longer any important racial, linguistic, or ethnic difference (Gal 3:26-29). Pentecost (Acts 2) reversed the judgment of the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9).
At the same time, there was the realization that while members of the church had their citizenship in heaven, they were resident aliens on earth (1 Peter 1:17; 2:11). Before the coming of the kingdom, they had to live a nomadic existence as strangers and pilgrims, much like the patriarchs of the Old Testament (Heb 11:9-16). They must live in hope and faith, praying for the invasion of the kingdom and waiting patiently for the gift of a new Canaan, a new Eden, where they can reside with their God (Rev. 21-22). Meanwhile the church must act by helping literal strangers and foreigners, remembering her own identity and God's love for the powerless (Matt 25:35,38,43,44). Hospitality (philoxenos, lit. love for the stranger) is to be a characteristic of the follower of Christ (1 Peter 4:9; cf. Rom 12:13; Heb 13:2).
Stephen G. Dempster
See also Nations, the
Bibliography. G. Ahlsträ , TDOT, 4:52-58; F. C. Fensham, JNES 21 (1962): 129-39; D. E. Gowan, Int 41 (1987): 341-53; D. Kellerman, TDOT, 2:439-49; B. J. Malina, Int 41 (1987): 354-67; G. C. Moucarry, Themelios 14 (1988): 17-20; R. Patterson, BSac 130 (1973): 223-34; H. E. von Waldrow, CBQ 32 (1970): 182-204.
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