NYT - Trump Administration Considers a Drastic Cut in Refugees Allowed to Enter

[Teallaura]

Aren't Trump and Pence ostensibly Christians? Don't they have strong support from white Christians, especially Evangelicals?

Aren't you ostensibly a Christian?

Source: BibleHub; Matthew 19:21

New International Version
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

© Copyright Original Source

[Sam]

Aren't you ostensibly a Christian?

Source: BibleHub; Matthew 19:21

New International Version
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

© Copyright Original Source

While this is a clear mischaracterization of context in Scripture, and I'd strongly advise people to be more careful when handling it, I can truthfully say that this verse always has and always will continue to terrify me.

We should work out our salvation with fear and trembling. And Christ made pretty clear the conditions He sets for those who would follow Him.

Scripture Verse: Matthew 25: 34-46, NASB

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

© Copyright Original Source

[KingsGambit]

I'm not aware of any visas that have been revoked for Iraqi and Afghani interpreters, though an unknown number were swept up in the Trump administration's travel ban. Interpreters who are still waiting for a promised US visa have been stonewalled.

Where Iraqi Christians are being sent from Michigan back to Iraq doesn't deal with people who were interpreters but have largely been in the country for decades, some of whom came as children. They should qualify for temporary protected status (TPS), at minimum, but are being routinely deported, regardless. One man recently died, after trying to argue that he would be unable to find insulin if deported back to Iraq. This was true and he died shortly after deportation.

--Sam

There was actually an unnamed third country that was willing to take in the man who ended up dying, but the administration refused to send him there.

[Teallaura]

While this is a clear mischaracterization of context in Scripture, and I'd strongly advise people to be more careful when handling it, I can truthfully say that this verse always has and always will continue to terrify me.

We should work out our salvation with fear and trembling. And Christ made pretty clear the conditions He sets for those who would follow Him.

Scripture Verse: Matthew 25: 34-46, NASB

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

© Copyright Original Source

So, exegesis only matters when it suits your argument.

Why are you trying to cause mass starvation? Yes, I'm serious - that's exactly what would happen if we implement open borders.

Closed borders are a better long term strategy - being an escape valve only prevents real improvement in Mexico.

[Sam]

There was actually an unnamed third country that was willing to take in the man who ended up dying, but the administration refused to send him there.

Yes. And his remains were returned home last week. I'm thankful that he can be laid to rest with family but that's such a ghoulish series of transportations.

--Sam

[Sam]

So, exegesis only matters when it suits your argument.

Why are you trying to cause mass starvation? Yes, I'm serious - that's exactly what would happen if we implement open borders.

Closed borders are a better long term strategy - being an escape valve only prevents real improvement in Mexico.

It's just a very bad thing for people to use Scripture carelessly for the petty purpose of trying to gain the upper hand in a debate.

The context of Christ's statement to the Rich Young Ruler was to show him that, contrary to what he had just said, he had not done all the things commanded of him to attain Heaven -- he had not placed his love of God before his love of riches.

The context of the command to love, care for, and welcome the stranger is just that. And it's a command repeated over and over in Scripture, linking the stranger with other vulnerable and marginalized groups that we are to remember and serve.

I'd be more careful with Scripture, myself. More reverent.

It is not necessary to have "open borders" in order to maintain a sensible and caring rate of refugee resettlement. Indeed, this mischaracterizes the entire issue being discussed, which is the refugee admissions cap set by USCIS and does not include people arriving at the borders seeking asylum.

--Sam

[Teallaura]

It's just a very bad thing for people to use Scripture carelessly for the petty purpose of trying to gain the upper hand in a debate.

...

Exactly - you should stop doing it.

FYI: the rest of my post discussed policy, not Scriptural exegesis of ANY passage.

[Mountain Man]

It's just a very bad thing for people to use Scripture carelessly for the petty purpose of trying to gain the upper hand in a debate.

Says the hypocrite who started this thread doing exactly that.

[Sam]

Says the hypocrite who started this thread doing exactly that.

I went through the trouble of explaining how Teallaura was miscontextualizing Scripture, and obviously so, for the purpose of a debate trick.

No one, so far, has shown how I miscontextualized or carelessly used Scripture.

I find this careless use, bordering on malicious use, of Scripture very problematic for anyone claiming the religion.

--Sam

[Mountain Man]

No one, so far, has shown how I miscontextualized or carelessly used Scripture.

Actually, several people have.

[oxmixmudd]

While this is a clear mischaracterization of context in Scripture, and I'd strongly advise people to be more careful when handling it, I can truthfully say that this verse always has and always will continue to terrify me.

We should work out our salvation with fear and trembling. And Christ made pretty clear the conditions He sets for those who would follow Him.

Scripture Verse: Matthew 25: 34-46, NASB

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

© Copyright Original Source

Sam, you have it right. Only the hardest of hearts can hear these words and not be humbled, not be confronted by their own failure to live by these words. It is most disturbing to see the utter callousness by which they are here often dismissed. I rarely reference them anymore on these pages so distubed am I by how their power is mocked by so many here.


Jim

[oxmixmudd]

I went through the trouble of explaining how Teallaura was miscontextualizing Scripture, and obviously so, for the purpose of a debate trick.

No one, so far, has shown how I miscontextualized or carelessly used Scripture.

I find this careless use, bordering on malicious use, of Scripture very problematic for anyone claiming the religion.

--Sam

You have not mischaracterized the scripture. You gave shown true respect snd reverence for it. The fault lies solely in your accusers.


Jim

[Mountain Man]

Sam, you have it right. Only the hardest of hearts can hear these words and not be humbled, not be confronted by their own failure to live by these words. It is most disturbing to see the utter callousness by which they are here often dismissed. I rarely reference them anymore on these pages so distubed am I by how their power is mocked by so many here.


Jim

Did you write this self-righteous drivel with a straight face? Because I sure didn't read it with one.

Tell me, on what basis do you accuse any of us of personally failing to live according to scripture? As a matter of personal policy, certainly, we should seek to apply scripture to our own conduct. But trying to take God's commands intended for the people of Israel living 4000-years ago in a completely different time and culture and applying them directly to America today, and then insisting that anybody who doesn't agree with you is hard-hearted and callous, is exactly the sort of reckless abuse of scripture that you are here condemning.

You think you look down on us from a superior position, but you're sitting on a dung heap. And trust me, it stinks.

[oxmixmudd]

Did you write this self-righteous drivel with a straight face? Because I sure didn't read it with one.

Tell me, on what basis do you accuse any of us of personally failing to live according to scripture? As a matter of personal policy, certainly, we should seek to apply scripture to our own conduct. But trying to take God's commands intended for the people of Israel living 4000-years ago in a completely different time and culture and applying them directly to America today, and then insisting that anybody who doesn't agree with you is hard-hearted and callous, is exactly the sort of reckless abuse of scripture that you are here condemning.

You think you look down on us from a superior position, but you're sitting on a dung heap. And trust me, it stinks.

I think you just made my point

Jim

[Sam]

Not for nothing: when I have, in the past, articulated that I am pro-life but cannot find a non-religious legal justification for outlawing abortion in the first trimester, some folks here -- and Mountain Man specifically -- have said that I'm not a Christian.

--Sam

Did you write this self-righteous drivel with a straight face? Because I sure didn't read it with one.

Tell me, on what basis do you accuse any of us of personally failing to live according to scripture? As a matter of personal policy, certainly, we should seek to apply scripture to our own conduct. But trying to take God's commands intended for the people of Israel living 4000-years ago in a completely different time and culture and applying them directly to America today, and then insisting that anybody who doesn't agree with you is hard-hearted and callous, is exactly the sort of reckless abuse of scripture that you are here condemning.

You think you look down on us from a superior position, but you're sitting on a dung heap. And trust me, it stinks.