print“I’m often surprised by how many Christians and Jews are confused about what the Bible tells us about national borders, foreigners, citizenship and the law,” writes Joseph Farah. In “What the Bible says about illegal immigration,” Mr. Farah teases out the differences between the “stranger” of the bible and the “illegal alien” who has usurped him in the mind of many a “bad theologist”:
“Countless Bible studies have been conducted in America in recent years using some familiar citations about ‘strangers’ and ‘aliens’ and applying them to our current controversy. Let’s take a look at those – in context.”
* Leviticus 19:33-34: And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
* Exodus 22:21: Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
* Exodus 23:9: Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
* Deuteronomy 10:19: Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
…
“You can develop some really bad theology – not to mention politics and morality – by reading the Bible out of context, by not fully understanding what is being said to whom and about whom.”
Strangers that sojourn with you or live with you do not equate with illegal aliens. In fact, the corollary here, in each and every case, is that the children of Israel were “strangers” in Egypt. That’s why they were to treat their own “strangers” well, because they knew what it is like to be “strangers” in a foreign land.
Clearly, then, what it means to be a “stranger” is to be a foreigner. In the case of the children of Israel in Egypt, they were invited and, at first anyway, were honored guests. Later, they would be oppressed by a generation who “knew not Joseph.” But they were certainly not trespassers. They were certainly not in Egypt illegally. They were certainly not breaking the laws of the land by being in Egypt. In fact, they were commanded not to offend their hosts in any way (Genesis 46:28-34).
So, we must conclude that “stranger” does not equal “illegal alien.” Even when the term “alien” is used in the Bible, it seems to have the exact same meaning as “stranger.”
MORE.
“One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourns with you.”
Numbers 15:16 (King James)
For all those dabbling in Judeo/Christianity – that’s an indictment of illegals.
Deuteronomy 10:19 commentary: ”You shall not reproach others for your own defect”
http://www.chabadva.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?AID=36234&p=5&showrashi=true
Leviticus 19:34 – “The stranger who sojourns with you shall be as a native from among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.” – This refers to a convert who “shall be as a native from among you” – e.g. adapts our laws, customs, languages. It’s certainly NOT a “right of return” of people who would completely change the land and is NOT a justification for RECONQUISTA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista_(Mexico)
It means that if Sean and Ilana Mercer obey American laws and are productive Americans, they should be treated as Americans. It means that if my (Chinese) daughter undergoes a formal conversion, keeps kosher, marries a Jew , etc. – she gets to be treated as an Orthodox Jew (“shall be as a native”) and her children are accepted as native-born (just as I am “completely” American even though my father was a refugee from Nazified Austria).
I doubt that most who oppose “open borders” advocate brutalizing, exploiting, and tormenting illegals; rather they wish to preserve the rule of law, our land, and our property from invasion.
The entirety of our de facto immigration policy is summed up in one word: theft. Our “leaders” in and out of the church tell us it is our duty to allow our property to be taken for the sake of the upkeep of these illegals and the criminals who employ them. But as with so much else in this country today, lawlessness rules.
As you have pointed out before, we are doomed.
Mr. Farah is often confused about the education in America. It’s not just religion, though I’ve only met one person in seventy years that has reported that he read the Bible from end to end, the other fields are terrible too. Political and economic understanding is just as dismal. All one has to do is read the comments section of most sites, to know we’re in the age of the idiot. I know that saying can be overused but, with so many examples today, it bears repeating. Very few people will listen to a good and usually talented writer like Mr. Farah. If one reads the comments section below his article, one finds the faithful mixed who didn’t need to read it arguing with people who should have read and understood what he said before commenting. Seventy-five percent of the US population believes, ‘My mind is made up, don’t try to confuse me with facts.’