\n<\/b><\/span>mike@christianciv.com<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Evangelical Immigration Table<\/a> has issued an \u201c\u2019I Was A Stranger\u2019 Challenge\u201d<\/span> to read a list of forty Bible verses that they provide that relate to immigration.\u00a0 They appear to be using \u201ctable\u201d in the sense of \u201cforum,\u201d 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.\u00a0 Curiously, their promotional video does not mention anything about citizenship.\u00a0 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. \u00a0Jesus says to provide food, water, and clothing to the destitute, and visit those who are sick or in jail.\u00a0 But He says nothing about citizenship in this parable.<\/span><\/p>\n So the Evangelical Immigration Table must believe that there is some relationship between granting citizenship to illegal aliens and the Bible\u2019s command to provide charity to the stranger, yet their legislative call to action only mentions the citizenship issue.\u00a0 What exactly does this Table think the relationship is?\u00a0 And what are the logical implications of their legislative call to action for this nation\u2019s way of caring for the poor?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although they are not supposed to receive federal welfare (but still do),[1]<\/a> many illegal immigrants take advantage of many other government entitlements, and this has had a destructive effect on schools, hospitals and other community resources where there are large illegal immigrant populations.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 The experience of California, where scores of hospitals have had to shut down because of debt from treating illegal immigrants, will multiply across every state in the Union if the immigration restrictions are lowered. \u00a0\u00a0Of course, there are many hard-working illegal immigrants, and even though they don\u2019t pay income tax, they pay other forms of taxes; yet that does not negate the destructive effects of large numbers of illegal immigrants being on the government dole in one way or another.<\/span><\/p>\n Currently in the United States, entitlements are drowning our federal government in debt.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 The debt problem cannot be solved without reigning in entitlements.\u00a0 <\/span>The Table\u2019s call to legislative action promotes a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens, but says nothing about legislation to change our entitlement system.\u00a0 The effect of granting citizenship to the illegal aliens when a large percentage of them are poor and uneducated\u00a0can only be to further expand the costs of the current entitlement system.\u00a0 Even though granting them citizenship means that more will pay federal income tax, those additional taxes cannot make up for the increased costs to the entitlement system that the pathway to citizenship will bring. \u00a0Whatever tax revenue\u00a0that illegal immigrants in California have generated, the revenue was\u00a0obviously not sufficient to keep those hospitals operating.<\/span><\/p>\n So despite the fact that the Table\u2019s legislative call to action says nothing about government welfare, by leaving the current system in place, the group is implicitly endorsing an expanded welfare state<\/b>.\u00a0 Consequently it should be no surprise that the group Sojourners, led by the admitted Marxist Jim Wallis, is included as a member of the Table.\u00a0 Although they tried to hide it, it should\u00a0not be surprising that the Table is funded by<\/b> <\/b>t<\/b>he<\/b>\u00a0National Immigration Forum, which is funded by George Soros<\/b>, the billionaire atheist global manipulator, Democrat Party funder, and big-government advocate, since Soros also funds Wallis’ Sojourners.[4]<\/a> \u00a0The Table cannot claim that their legislative proposal has nothing to do with how our nation cares for the poor, since they themselves highlight that issue by using the parable of the sheep and the goats as their signature Bible passage.\u00a0\u00a0 Nor can they credibly claim that their call for a pathway to citizenship does not have the effect of increasing the costs of an entitlement system that is bankrupting communities and the U.S. government.<\/p>\n Jay Leno, not long before he left the Tonight Show, made the joke that \u201cillegal immigrants\u201d Does caring for the poor require Christians to support citizenship legislation that undermines Christianity?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 The reason that these evangelical leaders are promoting self-destructive legislation is that they don\u2019t know the Scriptures and they reject parts that they do know.\u00a0 As God said through Hosea, \u201cI have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing\u201d (Hosea 8:12<\/a>).\u00a0 These evangelicals of the Table have jumped into the public arena with a superficial understanding of God\u2019s law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For the most conservatives who have endorsed the Table, their ignorance of God\u2019s law is a product of a pietistic theology that, for over a century, has rejected the teachings and obligations of the law of God in favor of preaching that is mostly limited to getting souls to heaven.\u00a0 As God also says through Hosea, \u201cMy people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; . . .\u00a0 you have forgotten the law of your God\u201d (Hosea 4:6).\u00a0\u00a0 Many modern Christian leaders don\u2019t know very much about large portions of the Bible or understand them because they don\u2019t think that they have to, and that\u2019s because those parts are not seen as relevant to their limited view of the goal of Christianity of getting souls to heaven.\u00a0 Those Christian leaders endorsing the Table obviously don\u2019t know the Bible very well because they quote Jesus\u2019 parable of the sheep and the goats to support their position, but that parable teaches nothing about criteria for citizenship or the state\u2019s duty to relieve poverty.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some Christian libertarians have appealed to the twin policies under the Law of Moses of open borders and the free market, which allows private property owners\u00a0to control immigration. \u00a0However, in the United States we have the first of the twins without the second. \u00a0Our free market system is significantly compromised by the welfare state. \u00a0Therefore, when an employer invites an illegal immigrant to work for him, many of the costs of that illegal immigrant are externalized onto the taxpayers. \u00a0The illegal immigrants use roads, schools, hospitals, and a variety of other taxpayer-funded benefits. The taxpayers are forced by threat of violence by the State to support the illegal immigrant, which is contrary to libertarian principles.[8]<\/a> \u00a0Although immigration restrictions with a welfare state is not the ideal legislative position, the immigration restrictions do serve to protect the property rights of taxpayers. \u00a0If a ruler of Israel had used state funds to import tens of thousands foreigners who disrespected the Law of Moses, godly Israelites would have surely raised their voices against the policy as undermining the Law of Moses.<\/p>\n The liberal church leaders who endorse the Table do so because of their low view of Scripture.\u00a0 They view the Bible as man\u2019s interpretation of God (contrary to what the Bible teaches about itself \u2013 Deut. 18:22, Jer. 23:16, 2 Peter 1:21), therefore it is a fallible human document, which allows them to think that they have the right to reject parts of the Bible that they don\u2019t like and redefine its terms to fit the latest trends in pop culture.<\/span><\/p>\n If Christians accept the invitation of the Immigration Table to meditate on the forty Bible verses of their \u201c\u2019I Was A Stranger\u2019 Challenge,\u201d plus examine other passages that the Table did not include, Christians should be led to the following conclusions about the Bible\u2019s teaching on immigration.\u00a0 The Table will agree with some of them, but ending the welfare state will surely be \u201ccounted as a strange thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The protection of personal property rights and low taxes commanded by God\u2019s law creates a free market economy, which, according to free market theory, provides the greatest prosperity for the greatest number when there is a free flow of goods and labor across political boundaries. \u00a0We can see this at work within the United States where people are free to move between states and work where they can find a job.[13]<\/a>\u00a0 This is the ideal we should strive to achieve in regard to international borders.\u00a0 But major changes in Mexico and the U.S. would have to happen for that ideal to be realized in regard to their shared border. \u00a0The civil government has a duty to protect personal property, which it fails to do when it allows immigrants to collect welfare benefits or allows criminals to immigrate, which is the problem the U.S. faces with many\u00a0Mexican immigrants.\u00a0\u00a0Immigration under a socialist system results in the tragedy of the commons, where everyone takes as much as they can because no one really owns the public goods.\u00a0 Immigration under our semi-socialist, semi-capitalist system in the U.S. results in immigration being semi-beneficial and semi-harmful.\u00a0 Ending the socialist part, so that immigrants pay their way except for temporary help from private charities, would make immigration a win-win deal for everyone.<\/b><\/p>\n Granting citizenship to illegal immigrants without strong border security or contraction of the welfare state, as the Evangelical Immigration Table advocates, will bankrupt the nation both financially and spiritually.<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0 The welfare state will not be rolled back until the Christian church carries out its responsibility of caring for the poor.\u00a0 This involves teaching the obligation of the poor tithe (a one-third tithe annually solely for the poor), and establishing other private charity that encourages and requires work and personal responsibility to the greatest extent possible in a given situation.[14]<\/a>\u00a0 Both immigrants and citizens need to be attracted to Christian schools so that they learn the biblical worldview, which is the only basis for responsible freedom.\u00a0Public schools may be the only option for some Christians at the current time because not every family is able to homeschool, and there may not be Christian schools in the area that are affordable or significantly Christian.\u00a0 But Christians should at least work toward the goal of allowing the secular, government schools to wither away as children from all races are attracted to Christian education.[15]<\/a>\u00a0 Churches should encourage\u00a0Christian schools to use their facilities during the week while they stand empty, and they should dedicate significant scholarship funds to help the poor attend Christian schools.<\/p>\n If we end the welfare state, we can end nearly all immigration restrictions, and then citizenship will not be tied to a humanitarian crisis because immigrants will be free to become residents of the United States and earn a living even if they are not citizens.\u00a0 They just won\u2019t have the right to vote until they complete the citizenship process.<\/p>\n In summary, the Biblical solution to the immigration issue includes the following:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a>[1]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tony Lee, “USDA Flyer: We Don’t Check Immigration Status For Food Stamps,” 4\/26\/13, http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/Big-Government\/2013\/04\/26\/USDA-to-Illegal-Immigrants-You-Can-Qualify-for-Food-Stamps.<\/a> \u00a0Phil Galewitz and Kaiser Health News, \u00a0“How Undocumented Immigrants Sometimes Receive Medicaid Treatment,” 2\/13\/13,http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/rundown\/2013\/02\/how-undocumented-immigrants-sometimes-receive-medicaid-treatment.html.<\/a> \u00a0Stephen Dinan, “Bungling bureaucrats dole out billions in tax credits to illegal immigrants,” 10\/14\/13, http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2013\/oct\/14\/tax-credits-to-illegals-likely-from-midlevel-repor\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[2]\u00a0 \u00a0“Illegal Aliens a Drain on U.S. Taxpayers, Report Says,” http:\/\/www.thenewamerican.com\/usnews\/immigration\/item\/12431-illegal-aliens-a-drain-on-us-taxpayers-report-says<\/a>. <\/a>[3]\u00a0 “National debt: Why entitlement spending must be reined in,”\u00a0http:\/\/money.cnn.com\/2011\/09\/05\/news\/economy\/national_debt_spending\/index.htm<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[4]\u00a0\u00a0“Evangelical Group Misleads On Funding Source For Immigration Ads,” http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/Big-Government\/2013\/06\/20\/Evangelical-group-misleads-on-funding-source-for-immigration-ads.<\/a> \u00a0On Soros funding to Sojourners, which Wallis lied about, see: \u00a0Dave Urbanski, “George Soros Sends $150,000 To Jim Wallis\u2019 Left-Wing Group Sojourners,”http:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/stories\/2011\/10\/12\/george-soros-sends-150000-to-jim-wallis-left-wing-christian-magazine\/<\/a>, and Chelsen Vicari, “Why Liberal Evangelicals Are Lying To Millennials,”http:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/contributions\/why-liberal-evangelicals-are-lying-to-millennials\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[5]\u00a0\u00a0“Great News: Republicans May Be Tempted to Embrace ObamaCare to Win Over Latino Voters,” http:\/\/pjmedia.com\/tatler\/2013\/04\/01\/great-news-republicans-may-be-tempted-to-embrace-obamacare-to-win-over-latino-voters\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[6]\u00a0 Gary DeMar, Whoever Controls the Schools Rules the World<\/i> (American Vision, 2007).\u00a0 Also see the Exodus Mandate organization at www.exodusmandate.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[7]\u00a0 William Shirer, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich<\/i> (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960), 249.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[8] \u00a0Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., “Open Borders: A Libertarian Reappraisal,”\u00a0https:\/\/www.lewrockwell.com\/2015\/11\/lew-rockwell\/open-borders-assault-private-property\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[9]\u00a0\u00a0“One-Third for the Poor Campaign,”\u00a0http:\/\/www.christianciv.com\/One-Third_campaign.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[10]\u00a0 Federalist Paper #51 agrees with this Biblical teaching: \u201cIf angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[11]\u00a0 Gary North, Healer of the Nations:\u00a0 Biblical Principles for International Relations<\/i> (1987) and Gary North, \u201cThe Sanctuary Society and Its Enemies,\u201d Journal of Libertarian Studies<\/i> 13:2 (Summer 1998), http:\/\/mises.org\/journals\/jls\/13_2\/13_2_7.pdf.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[12]\u00a0 James K. Hoffmeier, The Immigration Crisis:\u00a0 Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible<\/i> (Wheaton, IL:\u00a0 Crossway Books, 2009).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[13]\u00a0\u00a0“The Case For Unilateral Free Trade And Open Immigration,” http:\/\/fff.org\/explore-freedom\/article\/case-unilateral-free-trade-open-immigration\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[14]\u00a0 Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett, When Helping Hurts:\u00a0 Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . . or Ourselves<\/i> (Chicago:\u00a0 Moody Publishers, 2012).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a>[15] Starting a day care that grows into a pre-K thru 12 school is usually the best way to begin. See Ellsworth E. McIntyre, How to Become a Millionaire in Christian Education<\/i> (Naples, FL:Nicene Press, 1997).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing\u201d (Hosea 8:12). By Mike Warren mike@christianciv.com \u00a0 The Evangelical Immigration Table has issued an \u201c\u2019I Was A Stranger\u2019 Challenge\u201d to read … Continue reading ![\"Immigration](\"http:\/\/christianciv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ImmigrationsCautionSign-300x174.jpg\")
<\/a>should be called \u201cundocumented Democrats.\u201d\u00a0 The joke is funny because it is true.\u00a0 Granting illegal aliens a path to citizenship will expand the voting base of the Democratic party, and thus advance the agenda of the Democratic party.\u00a0 About two-thirds of Latinos believe in the welfare state.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 And while the Republican Party is not innocent of this, the Democratic Party is the party most committed to replacing America\u2019s Christian foundations with secularism.\u00a0 It\u2019s true that many illegal immigrants are Roman Catholic and not in favor of homosexual marriage, but that cannot hold up to a few generations of them being educated in government schools, which are dominated by secularist ideology.\u00a0Because the secularists control the education of the children, they own the future.[6]<\/a> \u00a0As Hitler recognized, government education is a valuable tool for promoting a statist ideology:\u00a0 \u201cWhen an opponent declares, \u2018I will not come over to your side,\u2019 I calmly say, \u2018Your child belongs to us already. . . . What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.\u2019\u201d[7]<\/a> \u00a0Therefore another implication of these Christian evangelicals demanding a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants is that it will accelerate the erosion of Christianity in the United States.<\/b>\u00a0 That is the opposite direction that the Great Commission commands \u2013 to disciple all nations to obey all of Christ\u2019s commands (Matt. 28:18-20), which includes Christ’s command to obey the moral law of the Old Testament (Matt. 5:17-19).<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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\n“Undocumented LA County Parents On Pace To Receive $650M In Welfare\u00a0Benefits,” http:\/\/losangeles.cbslocal.com\/2013\/09\/16\/undocumented-la-county-parents-projected-to-receive-650m-in-welfare-benefits\/<\/a>.
\n“Illegal aliens cost California hospitals more than $1 billion annually,” http:\/\/www.examiner.com\/article\/illegal-aliens-cost-california-hospitals-more-than-1-billion-annually<\/a>.
\n“‘Gwinnett Medical Center is operating in the negative,’ in part, because of illegal immigrants,” http:\/\/www.politifact.com\/georgia\/statements\/2011\/may\/11\/renee-unterman\/illegal-immigrants-hurt-hospitals-bottom-line-geor\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n