The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
“Social media was buzzing this Holy Week with a video of former president and the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee Donald Trump selling a God Bless USA Bible. . . .I sincerely hope the former president is not just endorsing the Bible but also reading it—especially as it relates to how God calls us to treat immigrants, because there are important messages there for all of us.
“Immigration is a significant theme throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word “ger,” best translated as “immigrant,” appears 92 times. And we’re not just to welcome immigrants but also to love and care for them , as well as seek justice on their behalf.
“God calls us to emulate his love for people who are made in his image. . . . As a people descended almost entirely from immigrants, that’s an important message as well.
“Many of the heroes in the Bible were immigrants. Abraham left his homeland on a divine promise. . . . Moses fled Egypt to live in Midian . . . . Ruth, a Moabite immigrant in Israel, became part of the lineage of King David and ultimately, Jesus.
“Jesus, of course, was the most important immigrant in history. Carried by Joseph and Mary, he escaped violence in his homeland and found refuge in Egypt. . . . As Jesus’ followers we are called to see ourselves as strangers who have been welcomed by God’s kindness. . . .
“That doesn’t mean we all agree on the best public policy solutions.
“The Bible never tells us what the ceiling on annual refugee admissions should be. It doesn’t prescribe how to both ensure order and safety and protect the vulnerable from injustice.
“That doesn’t mean we all agree on the best public policy solutions. The Bible never tells us what the ceiling on annual refugee admissions should be. It doesn’t prescribe how to both ensure order and safety and protect the vulnerable from injustice.”
“[But] Lifeway Research also finds that 78 percent [of evangelicals would support legislation pairing improvements to border security with an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements.” — I Hope Trump Reads About Welcoming Immigrants in the Bible He’s Peddling, Jeff Schultz, USA Today [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: One true thing Schultz states is that the Bible doesn’t give us any specifics about what our immigration policy should be. But he makes clear, in his view of the Bible, that immigration policy should be as liberal and permissive as possible. He cites with evident approval a poll showing support for amnesty and a path to citizenship for illegal aliens. All they have to do is meet “certain requirements.”
Schultz seems to think that immigrants, legal and illegal, are entitled to special esteem because they are made in the image of God. Working Americans and other citizens who suffer because of mass immigration are made in God’s image too. Are we to conclude that they are second-class image bearers? Schultz also gives special status to immigrants by claiming that many of the leading figures of the Bible were immigrants—just like the ones today This comparison is weak. Jesus and his family, as well as Moses, temporarily left their home territories. They did not settle permanently in other lands. Abraham left his homeland, but only due to the explicit command of God. Is God so commanding people today to move to America?
The Old Testament does command Israel to do justice to the stranger (ger). But many of these people were not immigrants, but sojourners—foreigners who ere simply passing through Israel. Some foreigners were permanent residents of Israel. Biblical scholar James Hoffmeier notes that these were people who agreed to follow the laws of Israel. An example was Ruth. In no way can they be compared to the illegal aliens of today.
According to the Bible, the division of mankind into nations is ordained by God. Therefore, the citizens of nations have the right to maintain their identity and character. Limiting the level and makeup of immigration serves those objectives.
The political and economic elites who promote mass immigration do so typically for power and profits. There is nothing godly or Christian about their agenda. Some of them are globalists who seek to minimize or eliminate nations in pursuit of global governance. What they envision has a disturbing resemblance to the One World anti-Christ regime foretold and depicted in the Book of Revelation.