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To: xzins
The president's Christianity is showing:

I would like to suggest you study your Bible a little more, because obeying in part is not true Christianity. The Hebrews were never illegal aliens in Egypt. Furthermore, the word for alien is sojourner, which in Hebrew is Ger.

THE GER. This word with its kindred verb is applied with slightly varying meanings to anyone who resides in a country or a town of which he is not a full native land-owning citizen; e.g., the word is used of the patriarchs in Palestine, the Israelites in Egypt, the Levites dwelling among the Israelites (Dt 18:6; Jdg 17:7, etc.), the Ephraimite in Gibeah (Jdg 19:16). It is also particularly used of free aliens residing among the Israelites, and it is with the position of such that this article deals. This position is absolutely unparalleled in early legal systems (A. H. Post, Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz, I, 448, note 3), which are usually far from favorable to strangers. 1. LEGAL PROVISIONS:
1. Principles.
The dominant principles of the legislation are most succinctly given in two passages: He “loveth the ger in giving him food and raiment” (Dt 10:18); “And if a ger sojourn with thee (variant “you”) in your land, ye shall not do him wrong. The ger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were gerim in the land of Egypt” (Lev 19:33 f). This treatment of the stranger is based partly on historic recollection, partly on the duty of the Israelite to his God. Because the ger would be at a natural disadvantage through his alienage, he becomes one of the favorites of a legislation that gives special protection to the weak and helpless.
2. Rules.
In nationality the freeman followed his father, so that the son of a ger and an Israelitess was himself a ger (Lev 24:10-22). Special care was to be taken to do him no judicial wrong (Dt 1:16; 24:17; 27:19). In what may roughly be called criminal law it was enacted that the same rules should apply to gerim as to natives (Lev 18:26, which is due to the conception that certain abominations defile a land; 20:2, where the motive is also religious; 24:10-22; see SBL, 84 ff; Nu 35:15). A free Israelite who became his slave was subject to redemption by a relative at any time on payment of the fair price (Lev 25:47 ff). This passage and Dt 28:43 contemplate the possibility of a stranger’s becoming wealthy, but by far the greater number of the legal provisions regard him as probably poor. Thus provision is made for him to participate in tithes (Dt 14:29; 26:12), gleanings of various sorts and forgotten sheaves (Lev 19:10; 23:22; Dt 24:19, 20, 21), and poor hired servants were not to be oppressed (Dt 24:14).
221 posted on 05/15/2006 7:46:27 PM PDT by GarySpFc (Jesus on Immigration, John 10:1)
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To: GarySpFc; P-Marlowe; jude24; Corin Stormhands; OldFriend
obeying in part is not true Christianity

Actually, obeying in part IS true Christianity.

It is quite clear that Abraham and Lot (his nephew) were UNWELCOME Aliens in their sojourns. They had left their country in roughly Iraq, and they had traveled to Palestine. Many objected to their use of water and pasture.


248 posted on 05/15/2006 8:11:12 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It. Supporting our Troops Means Praying for them to Win!)
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