Christian Civilization

“I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing” (Hosea 8:12).

By Mike Warren
mike@christianciv.com

The Evangelical Immigration Table has issued an “’I Was A Stranger’ Challenge” to read a list of forty Bible verses that they provide that relate to immigration.  They appear to be using “table” in the sense of “forum,” but their website makes it clear that the discussion has already ended, and those invited to the Table have already decided that the implication of those Bible verses is that there should be federal legislation that gives illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship, which is what they call for on the website.  Curiously, their promotional video does not mention anything about citizenship.  The video consists of a number of religious leaders who are participants in the Table reading portions of the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, in which Jesus identifies His followers in terms of those who provide charity to the stranger and others in time of need.  Jesus says to provide food, water, and clothing to the destitute, and visit those who are sick or in jail.  But He says nothing about citizenship in this parable. Continue reading →

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Jesus Christ (John 7:24)

We often hear from both atheists and Christians that the Bible says that we are never supposed to judge others.  To put it as nicely as possible, that’s baloney.  We all know deep down that it’s not true.  If we catch someone stealing a television, we’ll yell at the thief, “Put that back!  Stealing is wrong!”  It wouldn’t cross our minds that we’re doing something wrong by saying that.

But we all know the atheist’s three favorite verses in the Bible:  “Judge not lest you be judged” (Matthew 7:1), “He who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7), and “God is love” (1 John 4:8).  Why are these his favorites?  Because they allow the atheist to escape accountability to God.  He is guilty before God and doesn’t like to hear about it  – just like the thief would like people to stop judging him and saying that stealing is wrong, especially the cops, judges, and lawmakers (until the thief becomes the victim of theft). But there’s bad news for the atheist.  These verses don’t say what they think they say.  The Bible commands us to judge, and these verses are fully consistent with the rest of the Bible.  Let’s take a look at them one at a time. Continue reading →