Sunday, January 20, 2019

Borders and the Bible

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The Bible also distinguishes between the “sojourner” and the “foreigner.”
Someone recently asked me in a dialogue about the border wall: “In Matthew 25:35, Jesus talks about welcoming strangers. Are immigrants ‘strangers’ in the meaning of that text?”
Here it is (RSV, as throughout):
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I submit that if Jesus favored open borders and illegal immigration, the verse would have to be re-written as follows:
for I was hungry and broke into your house and demanded that you give me food, I was thirsty and broke into your house and demanded that you give me drink, I was a stranger and forced my way into your house against your will and you ‘welcomed’ me, because you were forced to by non-enforcement of laws regarding illegal entry onto private property in your nation.
This is what is called a reductio ad absurdum, or satire, written as if Jesus had been an open border advocate. It is strictly against illegal immigration. Not a word is implied (negatively) about immigrants in general. Many extrapolate what is said about illegal immigrants to the entire class of immigrants. This is dishonest, and misrepresents what compassionate critics of open borders stand for.
What we oppose are illegal immigrants — not the entire mass of suffering people including refugees, whom we want to help by the multiple thousands.
The analogy to illegal immigrants has strictly to do with their breaking immigration laws at the outset. That is like breaking into a house, which is equally illegal. We don’t stand for that in our own house, yet many now wink at people violating border laws and national sovereignty. Jesus was talking about voluntarily helping the poor and destitute. He didn’t favor plunder, theft, stealing or burglary:
Read the rest from Dave Armstrong HERE

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