Posted on 07/10/2014 9:59:28 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
“He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.” Deuteronomy 10:18 (ESV)
Christians are used to hearing people say “it’s the Christian thing to do.” Most often, it is by people deeply hostile to Christianity who say it. I get this all the time — even more so since I announced I am going to seminary. Liberals with no sense of Christianity want to tell Christians how they must behave and, by and large, hate us when we behave as Christians.
Now, I know many of you do not share my faith. But there is a larger point that must be made here so bear with me. Tolerance is not a Christian value. It is necessary in the course of civil and democratic society to be tolerant of other people’s ideas and opinions, but tolerance for the sake of tolerance is not a Christian value.
Charity and mercy are Christian values. I look at the deep and hostile reaction to Glenn Beck’s effort of late to provide charity to the illegal immigrants at the border and I am shaking my head at some of my fellow Christians and fellow conservatives.
I do not think the government should be helping these people stay here. I do not think the government should be bussing them to other places. I do not think we should let these people stay here. But I think while here we should, in private charity, show mercy and give comfort where we can.
I think of the Emma Lazarus poem, “The New Colossus,” at the base of the statue of liberty.
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
I am a citizen of the United States and I appreciate people are yearning to breathe free in America. But I am a citizen of the United States and want our laws enforced, our borders secured, and these illegal aliens — some not yearning to breathe free, but here with other motives — sent home.
I am also a citizen of the Kingdom of God. And I want these people, particularly the children, to know Christian charity and love and to go home understanding that we are willing for them to come — but to come legally and lawfully through secure borders.
What Glenn Beck is doing is the kind thing to do. He is using his own money, while calling on the government to enforce the law. Conservatives and Christians can both want American borders secured and our laws enforced. But we should also be willing to show personal and private grace, mercy, and charity to the many troubled souls who have come here as they have.
I hope you might consider donating to Samaritan’s Purse to help.
People are fond of asking “what would Jesus do” in these types of situations. As my friend Mollie Hemingway has pointed out before, we already know. Jesus would submit himself to torture, be crucified, and die for us. Then he would conquer death itself and through his act save all of us who accept him into our lives.
So the question should not be what would Jesus do, but what would those of us who love him do.
I think we would honor the law and want others to honor the law, but would also show faith, hope, charity, grace, and mercy to those who need it as we work to send them home. And we would do so on our own without needing government spending to pave over the government incompetence that got us to this point.
“The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.” Acts 28:2 (ESV)
That is the Christian thing to do."
Agreed.
The Bible instructs us to obey the laws and the authorities. Illegal immigration is just that.
Beck said outright that they should be able to come here despite their diseases. The thing is, the contagion will be dispersed around the country for the rest of us to deal with. He and his family will be fine.
One of Beck’s biggest arguments seems to be based in his (wimpish) concern over “appearances.” It reminds me of back during the earlier tea-party wave in 2010-11, Beck came out and made a big argument that tea-partiers should NOT be dressing up in 1700s “founding fathers” garb at their gatherings. He thought it embarrassing, and seemed distraught over how it helped the lib media make fun of the tea-partiers. I disagreed, thinking it fine and appropriate, making that connection to our country’s origins in liberty. Even if it WAS a little hokey in ways, it was a good and proper connection to make. Who cares if it causes Jon Stewart to make condescending smirks?
Beck seems driven more by a pathetic need to seek “approval” of his supposed ideological counterparts in the media. Probably what also drove his embrace of fag-marriage and the homo-fascists. It demonstrates a weak, weak, weak character, as I see it. I’ve long since tuned him out completely, and place no value in anything he has to say.
It is not Christian to demand charity be paid by somebody else. Neither Beck nor Erickson are going to be affected one whit by opening our borders to this flood of illegals. Indeed, they may benefit since the pain will be borne by poor citizens and legal resident working minimum wage or construction jobs. These people will be understandably angry and may turn to Beck and Erickson’s radio program or website. B&E also live in wealthy areas and will not see the increased crime and communicable diseases brought by the aliens.
To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, your charity ends at the tip of your nose. If Beck and Erickson want to help these people, then let them move to Honduras or Guatemala and do their charity there.
If allowed to stay here, those children will grow up on welfare and vote Democrat.
As Rush Limbaugh just said a moment ago, what are we supposed to do? Just give up our country, let it be overrun, to be nice? Nope. Can’t do it.
Send every one of them back.
Tell me about it. Once in every blue Moon we are able to go to the town Beck lives in to shop at the Central Market (think Whole Foods X3 and better) and if it’s not the wealthiest place in Texas, it’s in the top 5.
I would rather have Christian conservatives take these people in and turn them into loyal citizens than have the government take them in and turn them into a permanent class of dependents. Place them into jobs now held by SEIU members. Pay them minimum wage to clean up Detroit and other liberal hell holes. Arrest and deport the commies now in power.
Obama plans to spend $60,000 each on resettling them in this country. They will all have brick houses in gated communities with servants and gardeners.
They don’t need your charity peasant.
Should I donate money so these children can be turned free on our streets to become prostitutes, spread disease in our public schools and deplete financial resources to American citizens who are also poor all the while sending a message back to South America that it’s OK not to take care of their own citizens but let them be abused by drug traffickers and coyotes?
Hmmm, tough decisions to make.....
Glen Beck is Mormon...like Romney. NWO is made up of Freemasons...so is the Mormon Church, see all cymbals on their Churches.
Now, the North American Union (USA, Canada, & Mexico) is the plan of the NWO...that means NO BORDERS period. That Plan is online along with the North American Highway for trade...also do not want borders to inhibit trade among the nations....like European Union and African Union. That is why there will never be a border fence.
Erickson like Glenn Beck are usefull idiots for the leftists. They have fallen for the trap set by Obama who knew that misguided and misdirected “Christian Values” would conflict and confuse the weaker conservatives in this latest manufactured crisis.
Basic Alinsky Rules at play here.
Christianity is NOT a SUICIDE PACT.
NEITHER is our Constitution.
Glenn wants us all to know how morally and spiritually inferior we are to him.
That’s why he said it was such a risky thing to say, because he knows his audience is on the wrong side of the issue (in his mind).
He cares and is compassionate, unlike the rest of us conservatives who are heartless and mean and unfeeling.
I’m so sick of sanctimonious blowhards like him and Jeb Bush.
“...Beck came out and made a big argument that tea-partiers should NOT be dressing up in 1700s “founding fathers” garb at their gatherings.”
Beck also compared the patriots defending the Bundy Ranch to the Occupiers. Remember that?
We are getting an eyeful of the true character of the man Glenn Beck.
Indeed. I have no problem with Beck using his own money to provide food and comfort for little ones.
His money; his choice.
If he were helping drug runners and terrorists, that’d be different.
To be honest, I don’t know what he’s doing.
Beck was raised a catholic and later became Mormon.
To know if Beck is a Christian, we'd have to know if he's followed the Biblical plan of salvation. As he was raised catholic we don't know. Being Mormon, tells us definitely no.
From the bio on Wikipedia it gives the impression he never was a follower of Christ.
I am not to judge however.
Beck, by his own admission was a nominal Catholic and when his daughter asked him to go to a Morman service with her and her boyfriend he said OK. Apparently he was a heavy drinker and was impressed with the Morman’s stance on no-alcohol consumption. I guess he figured he couldn’t quit drinking booze if he remained a Catholic. Anyway that’s the lame excuse that Beck gave for leaving Christ and following Joe
Smith.
If the immigration laws were unjust disobeying them would be ok. But since they are arguably just violating them Romans 13 comes into play. Now fostering disobedience is scandal. So Christians who encourage illegals are scandalous.
“The children are not the enemy.
They are true victims in every sense of the word.”
Sure there is some truth to that. Let’s call them “weapons of the enemy” then, since that is how they are being used.
I think of the Emma Lazarus poem, “The New Colossus,” at the base of the statue of liberty.
Way to go Eric. She was a secular Jewish radical.
I remember. That is why my radio dial get turned whenever I hear his voice.
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