I do not do Christianity on this blog much at all. Partially because I just do not feel that I am a qualified spokesman for Christian or the Baptist Faith, in which I am a part of.
However, when I read stuff like this right here, I get quite angry and feel the need to speak out against it.
Some socialist twit, named Libby Grammer Garrett, who claims to be a Baptist and a Christian has written the follow awful piece of nonsense that is supposedly Christian and Baptist in Nature.
The piece is called, a very deceptively titled, “On immigration, do Baptists believe the Bible?”:
An Excerpt or two:
Undocumented immigration cannot be described as either a problem or a possibility — it simply is a reality, and one that we are not dealing with very well. As someone who works with immigration issues every day in an immigration law practice, I can attest that most Americans are grossly misinformed about this issue, dependent as they are on inflammatory and misleading news sources.
Being exposed to an actual immigrant’s story can help us break down these conventional stereotypes:
Lidiana entered the United States in the early 1990s, seeking work because she could not make ends meet in Mexico. She quickly found work in a factory and has been paying taxes for years. She married a lawful permanent resident and had three children, all U.S. citizens. Her husband filed papers for her so she could obtain her green card, but because of long processing times at the former INS — now the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — many years passed before that petition would become current and she could actually adjust her status to obtain permanent residency.
But in the meantime, her marriage became abusive, and Lidiana was forced to leave her husband. He withdrew the papers he had filed for her, making her ineligible to obtain legal status. Her only option to regularize her status was using novel legal arguments from a skilled attorney, but she still faced the possibility that the petition could be rejected. If rejected, she would be put in deportation proceedings, leaving her children with no mother and no income to support them in the only home they have ever known.
When real people who are made in the image of God become involved, we realize that the issue of undocumented immigration is testing the capacity of Christians to resist temptations that undermine a Kingdom ethic — xenophobia, racism, greed. If Christians claim to look to the Bible as our guide on moral decision-making, then we must do so on the issue of undocumented immigration as well.
[…]
Some Christians have found avenues to advocate for these strangers among us. The Roman Catholic Church has led the way. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for broad-based legalization (permanent residency) for undocumented immigrants, reform of family-based and employment-based immigration pathways so that families divided by immigration may be reunited, and humane working conditions for everyone. They call for an abandonment of the “blockade” border-enforcement strategy and a restoration of due-process protections for all immigrants. Catholic Charities offers direct care to hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year.
Sadly, Baptists lag behind Catholics in their attention to immigration reform, though some groups (such as the American Baptist Churches USA and the Baptist General Convention of Texas) have offered services in the form of lawsuits on behalf of immigrants and training for church-based aid to immigrants. However, other groups (such as the Southern Baptist Convention) have only offered words of kindness to strangers while doing little to advocate publicly for the undocumented.
This is a marginally good start — but Baptists must do better. If our denominational structures are too sluggish to offer leadership, local congregations must blaze the trail. This means re-centering the issue around Scripture and its norms for each Christian’s public witness while avoiding the fictional information spouted forth by uninformed media outlets seeking to place blame for all of our country’s ills on one group of people.
Almost every community in this country is home to undocumented immigrants. The question is whether we choose to view them through the lens of our Kingdom citizenship — or our national xenophobia.
She also tries to use some very lame Biblical references for her absolutely asinine argument for illegal immigration. I had been told that Liberalism had taken over the Baptist Churches. I just was not aware has to how severe the problem has become. This obviously shows that it is extremely bad. The problem with her argument and use of Old Testament example shows that she does not have a clear understanding of our Nation’s laws and how a Christian person is supposed to interact with these laws.
From the Bible:
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. – (Romans 13:1-7 KJV)
Just in case little miss liberal harpy here cannot understand English, here it is in a bit more modern English:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. – (Romans 13:1-7 ESV)
In other words, The Word of God says that we are to follow and respect the laws of the land. We are report illegal immigrants to the proper authorities. This very whole idea that it is the Christian’s mandate to cater to and aid and abet illegal immigrants is nothing that abject socialism; of the Jim Jones nature. The Social Gospel is a false one and it is predicated upon a much flawed mindset that our fellow man is our own responsibility; even if he is in the Country unlawfully. That my friends is socialism and not only is it wrong on a Biblical basis, it is wrong morally.
In Fact, Jesus HIMSELF said, that we are to follow the laws of the land:
So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:21-25 ESV)
and in the KJV:
And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s. (Luke 20:21-25 KJV)
So, this young socialistic liberal woman’s argument of that we as Christians should just embrace socialism and cater the every whim of an illegal immigrant is based upon flawed and faulty logic. First she takes examples found in the Old Testament as a guide of how Christians are supposed to act and follow in this day and age of grace and the modern Church. Anyone that knows anything about the Word of God knows that the New Testament; or more specifically the Epistles and parts of the four gospels are the “User Manuals” for the modern day Church. Not the Old Testament.
So, in conclusion. This article is quite frankly, a liberal socialist article that advocates Christians to break the law, all in the name of Charity. A Foolish and very mistaken idea and quite scriptural. My question to those who might disagree. Would you knowingly allow a murderer to reside in your home? What about a Child Rapist? What about a Wife beater? What about a Bank robber? If you answered no to all these questions; why would you then attempt to protect a person who knowingly broke our immigration laws?
Cross Posted to Alexandria