A Biblical View of the Refugee Crisis

[Stranger]

Well, it certainly didn’t take long for stranger to enter this thread with his far-right bile and being applauded for it.

Over here in Europe, where all major churches help refugees, such positions are mostly held by atheists and I wouldn’t necessarily expect an atheist to know any better. But to hear somebody who claims to know and love Christ bashing His great commandment is – how shall I put it – especially sickening. Christians should be the salt of the earth, those who start living according to the rules of the Kingdom right here and now so that we may shine His light into the darkness of this world.

I know of many refugees who’ve turned to Christ because they saw Him mirrored in His follower’s acts of love and compassion. Would they have turned to Christ if the Christians they had met had greeted them with indifference or fear, envy and hate? Probably not.

What is sickening is your constant effort to use Christianity, Christians, and the Bible, to further your liberal and leftist politics concerning immigration and Christianity. Again, nations do not run as a missionary organization, or a church.

Your churches in Germany, you say, open their arms to immigrants. Was it the churches who created the safe zones for your women to protect them from the immigrants you open your arms to?

Oh Gee, you know many refugees who have turned to Christ. How sweet. How many do you know who have committed crimes against Germans and Europeans? How many of the Germans and Europeans do you know who have been violated by refugees?

You like to present yourself as Christian and spiritual because you open your arms to immigrants and encourage countries to do the same. And those who do not, must not be Christian or must not be doing the Lords work. It's easy to see that your goal is not to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, which I question whether or not you even know what it is. Your goal is to get as many doors open to refugees that you can and to use the Church and Christians to do it. Are you a refugee? Are you an immigrant also? Are you from some third world country?

Your last question is nauseating. It spins on guilt and sentiment. Oh my, if I don't receive these refugees with open arms then they may never come to Christ. And that means I would be guilty of turning one away from Christ. How stupid. You can take your violin and play that sad song somewhere else.

Stranger

 

[junobet]

Well there in lies you problem. Holding on to the tradition of the reformation fathers with their demonization of the Roman Catholic Church with the connection to the Roman Empire being the link.

What’s the Roman Catholic Church got to do with the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire long before Constantine made Christianity an official state religion? Nothing. So how do you get the idea that I bear a grudge against Catholics? I don’t.

Quite the contrary: concerning this thread’s topic I very much appreciate Pope Francis’ firm stand:

“Dear brothers and sisters!

“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34).

Throughout the first years of my pontificate, I have repeatedly expressed my particular concern for the lamentable situation of many migrants and refugees fleeing from war, persecution, natural disasters and poverty. This situation is undoubtedly a “sign of the times” which I have tried to interpret, with the help of the Holy Spirit, ever since my visit to Lampedusa on 8 July 2013. When I instituted the new Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, I wanted a particular section – under my personal direction for the time being – to express the Church’s concern for migrants, displaced people, refugees and victims of human trafficking.

Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age (Matthew 25:35-43). The Lord entrusts to the Church’s motherly love every person forced to leave their homeland in search of a better future.[1] This solidarity must be concretely expressed at every stage of the migratory experience – from departure through journey to arrival and return. This is a great responsibility, which the Church intends to share with all believers and men and women of good will, who are called to respond to the many challenges of contemporary migration with generosity, promptness, wisdom and foresight, each according to their own abilities.

In this regard, I wish to reaffirm that “our shared response may be articulated by four verbs: to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate”.[2] (…)“

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees (15 August 2017) | Francis

 

[aspen]

When you have no empathy, it is easy to be tribal and reject outsiders. Not so easy to follow Christ.....

 

[bbyrd009]

Again, nations do not run as a missionary organization, or a church.

again, your country runs as a destabilizer of democratically elected governments, and sows Chaos as a means of control

and while this is surely the last thing you want to talk about, prolly even feels like an accusation or criticism of you personally, this is because that is where your heart is, i guess, and believe me i have nothing but sympathy for you, bc it is you who is going to pay

"The popular narrative had been that North Vietnam attacked a U.S. destroyer, but after the declassification of an NSA file in 2005, it was revealed that things happened the other way around."
might describe one's whole world-view, basically.

 

[bbyrd009]

How stupid. You can take your violin and play that sad song somewhere else.

hey, let's be honest, you would have been banned from here long time ago if you did not send a check every month lol
i'd burn that hood while you still can bro

 

[junobet]

When you have no empathy, it is easy to be tribal and reject outsiders. Not so easy to follow Christ.....

I'd even go as far as to say that it is impossible to follow Christ without empathy and compassion. He was compassionate enough to die for us. We love Him by passing His love on to others. Without that we're just a clashing cymbal.

 

[Jay Ross]

I'd even go as far as to say that it is impossible to follow Christ without empathy and compassion. He was compassionate enough to die for us. We love Him by passing His love on to others. Without that we're just a clashing cymbal.

Yes, we need to follow Isaiah 58's direction with respect to helping to lift the burdens of other people, however, Christ also advised that if we enter a house and our offer of peace is not returned to us, then we should pull up our sticks, or to put it another way, to shake the dust of their house off of our feet, and move on to another house where our offer of peace is received and returned.

There in lies our dilemma. The Middle Eastern refugees do not come seeking peace except on their terms and as such, they demonstrate that the "god" that they worship is far greater in strength than the God the people of the book worship.

They are coming, not to seek help but to force the Islamic religion onto others. A typical outcome for where ever a Muslim goes.

This is what they are programmed to do. The Little Horn is their prophet and main influence in their lives.

Shalom

 

[junobet]

Yes, we need to follow Isaiah 58's direction with respect to helping to lift the burdens of other people, however, Christ also advised that if we enter a house and our offer of peace is not returned to us, then we should pull up our sticks, or to put it another way, to shake the dust of their house off of our feet, and move on to another house where our offer of peace is received and returned.

There in lies our dilemma. The Middle Eastern refugees do not come seeking peace except on their terms and as such, they demonstrate that the "god" that they worship is far greater in strength than the God the people of the book worship.

They are coming, not to seek help but to force the Islamic religion onto others. A typical outcome for where ever a Muslim goes.

This is what they are programmed to do. The Little Horn is their prophet and main influence in their lives.

Shalom

I’m afraid you speak from a position of prejudice rather than out of personal experience. I met many Muslim refugees over the past few years and none of them has spoken disrespectfully of Christianity or tried to force their religion on me.

Quite the contrary. To tell you just one little story that touched my heart last year:

Our foster-son goes to the local Catholic school that has also taken up many Muslim refugee-kids. When he asked me whether his friend xy would also come to the school’s traditional lantern festival in memory of St. Martin, I said: “I don’t know, xy is Muslim and this is a Christian festival.” But behold, not only were xy and his Dad in church, but even the kids of the most observant Muslim family I’ve ever met. All of them proudly holding their lanterns and singing songs in praise of St. Martin’s charity. Truly a good role-model for people of any religion:

St. Martin's Day - Wikipedia

 

[twinc]

it seems my post at No 18 was wasted and not even worthy of consideration - I wonder why ? - twinc

 

[Stranger]

I'd even go as far as to say that it is impossible to follow Christ without empathy and compassion. He was compassionate enough to die for us. We love Him by passing His love on to others. Without that we're just a clashing cymbal.

Love whoever you like. You don't dictate who I am to love. I am showing love to my brethren in coming against your insane views of love and compassion. You place my brethren at risk and danger in your supposed direction of 'love'. I don't think your brethren and mine are the same.

Stranger

 

[Stranger]

I’m afraid you speak from a position of prejudice rather than out of personal experience. I met many Muslim refugees over the past few years and none of them has spoken disrespectfully of Christianity or tried to force their religion on me.

Quite the contrary. To tell you just one little story that touched my heart last year:

Our foster-son goes to the local Catholic school that has also taken up many Muslim refugee-kids. When he asked me whether his friend xy would also come to the school’s traditional lantern festival in memory of St. Martin, I said: “I don’t know, xy is Muslim and this is a Christian festival.” But behold, not only were xy and his Dad in church, but even the kids of the most observant Muslim family I’ve ever met. All of them proudly holding their lanterns and singing songs in praise of St. Martin’s charity. Truly a good role-model for people of any religion:

St. Martin's Day - Wikipedia

Yes, yes, you always have a story that touched your heart. And it always involves accepting muslim immigrants. How many stories do you think can be told to you of how muslims have killed and murdered and destroyed people lives? Their tears would be real and not fabricated.

Stranger

 

[junobet]

Love whoever you like. You don't dictate who I am to love. I am showing love to my brethren in coming against your insane views of love and compassion. You place my brethren at risk and danger in your supposed direction of 'love'. I don't think your brethren and mine are the same.

Stranger

In all honesty I can't say that the thought that you and I don't worship the same God hasn't crossed my mind also.
My God is not a racist. He created every single human being on this earth in His image.

 

[junobet]

it seems my post at No 18 was wasted and not even worthy of consideration - I wonder why ? - twinc

Because your suggestion was unrealistic. Where are these vast stretches of land that you were talking about?

In fact arable land and drinking water gets scarcer and scarcer. There are densely populated regions that won’t be habitable in a couple of decades due to climate change.

Question is what is the Christian thing to do in this situation: go to war over resources or act in the sharing spirit that Christ demonstrated in John 6:1-15?

One thing you said was true though: one can’t force oneself to love. We can only love in as much as Christ dwells in us.

 

[Stranger]

In all honesty I can't say that the thought that you and I don't worship the same God hasn't crossed my mind also.
My God is not a racist. He created every single human being on this earth in His image.

Yet the Jews are the chosen people of God.

Did God create the races?

Stranger

 

[Jay Ross]

I’m afraid you speak from a position of prejudice rather than out of personal experience. <snip>

Oh, you did not understand what I had written. I quoted/referenced a passage from the Gospels and you then accuse me of being prejudice against the Muslims refugees. It would seem to me that you are prejudice against fellow brothers in Christ who do not hold to your views on social justice or whatever you call it with respect to the cover of the "forced invasion" of Islamic refugees into other countries..

The idea of settling the refugees in land that can be successfully turned into farmlands seems to me to be a great solution to the problem. Sadly, other Muslims do not see this as a solution and so they continue to blame others for the problems that the Islamic countries are creating themselves by making no attempt to solve the problem and moving on. Their cry in the Middle East is rising in volume and as God foretold just over 4,000 years ago, that the iniquity of the Ammorite people, against the God of Abraham, will come to completion just after the return of some of Abraham's descendants to the Land of Canaan. It is there in the Bible that you possibly read cover to cover, without leaving any of God's word out. But then it comes down to seeing what God wrote and understanding the truth that He imparted in the scriptures.

Some Saints are called to minister in the area of refugees. Others are called to minister in the area of poverty in third world countries. While others are called to minister in the area of affluence within First World countries.

God wants to have us planted in the ministry field where He needs us to be. The soil in which he would have us planted is the right one just for each individual and God will tend to our needs and grow us and prune us so that we become refined to be His discovered face within the community in which we rub shoulders with the people that live around us. Where I presently live, there are no Muslim refugees living in my community. Last year I lived in the poverty of a third world country for three months and shared in their needs and desires and the experience was not cheap for me and my wife. It was costly but well worth the expense. This third world country is where God is focusing my heart to minister in. I am happy from what you are saying that God has focused your heart on the Muslim Refugee problem within the country that you are living in.

Shalom

 

[amadeus]

it seems my post at No 18 was wasted and not even worthy of consideration - I wonder why ? - twinc

I see two likes given to you for that post. It seems that at least those two considered it.

 

[aspen]

there really should be no problem if tackled properly - knowing and accepting that one cannot and should not be forced to love - the dream is being denied to build a world power that cannot and will not dominate or dictate - there are vast areas of uninhabited land available and empty that could be built on by a joint effort etc and the deserts made to bloom again etc - imho - twinc

Your post is poorly written, antiChristian and appears to advocate setting up deserts for people that are unlovable.

So do you get to decide who is unlovable? Are you volunteering to live in the desert? Western Culture rewards white men and attractive white women - are they the lovable people who get to live in the best places?

Seems to me, Jesus didn’t provide criteria for neighbors worthy to receive love........and he tended to love the unlovable so there is that

Hope my recognition of your post is helpful

 

[twinc]

Your post is poorly written, antiChristian and appears to advocate setting up deserts for people that are unlovable.

So do you get to decide who is unlovable? Are you volunteering to live in the desert? Western Culture rewards white men and attractive white women - are they the lovable people who get to live in the best places?

Seems to me, Jesus didn’t provide criteria for neighbors worthy to receive love........and he tended to love the unlovable so there is that

Hope my recognition of your post is helpful

there seems to be a desperate effort to keep the crisis going and even blindness to be able to see the vast areas of deserts that with modern aid and technology be made into many an 'oasis' to bloom again in itself providing a united[nations]effort of labour and resources and later by its multi cultural/multi nationals safe and acceptable refuge and sanctuary - please reconsider seriously and petition our nations and the united nations in particular - btw in some cases, it appears, the desperate and beggars want to be choosers and some even to hurt and harm the hospitable as unacceptable and hostile - twinc

 

[junobet]

Oh, you did not understand what I had written. I quoted/referenced a passage from the Gospels and you then accuse me of being prejudice against the Muslims refugees. It would seem to me that you are prejudice against fellow brothers in Christ who do not hold to your views on social justice or whatever you call it with respect to the cover of the "forced invasion" of Islamic refugees into other countries..

Sorry, but referencing a passage from the Gospel followed up by prejudice against a certain group of people, doesn’t make the prejudice less of a prejudice. Remember that “there’s no partiality with God”. There are many Muslims whose works and deeds speak more of God’s “law written in their hearts” than those of some self-declared Christians (Romans 2).

As for my own prejudices: I surely have many. But I’m always glad not to have them confirmed. Hence this thread.

The idea of settling the refugees in land that can be successfully turned into farmlands seems to me to be a great solution to the problem. Sadly, other Muslims do not see this as a solution and so they continue to blame others for the problems that the Islamic countries are creating themselves by making no attempt to solve the problem and moving on.

It wasn’t Muslims who drew borders in the Middle East with a ruler. The problems we now see in the Muslim world are very much caused by Western colonialism followed up by George W. Bush’s insane war in Iraq that left Saddam's old Ba'aht-fighters humiliated and with nothing to do but to radicalize (How Saddam's fighters help Islamic State rule). The children that now drown in the Aegean sea are innocent of any of this.

As for that ‘Muslim settlement’ you suggest: where should that be? And would you yourself like to be exiled there?

​

Their cry in the Middle East is rising in volume and as God foretold just over 4,000 years ago, that the iniquity of the Ammorite people, against the God of Abraham, will come to completion just after the return of some of Abraham's descendants to the Land of Canaan. It is there in the Bible that you possibly read cover to cover, without leaving any of God's word out. But then it comes down to seeing what God wrote and understanding the truth that He imparted in the scriptures.

Again you’re reading scripture as if you were gazing into a crystal ball rather than listening to the word of God that calls us to compassion with the stranger and to meet the need of the needy in the very same way that we’d want our own needs to be met.

Some Saints are called to minister in the area of refugees. Others are called to minister in the area of poverty in third world countries. While others are called to minister in the area of affluence within First World countries.

God wants to have us planted in the ministry field where He needs us to be. The soil in which he would have us planted is the right one just for each individual and God will tend to our needs and grow us and prune us so that we become refined to be His discovered face within the community in which we rub shoulders with the people that live around us. Where I presently live, there are no Muslim refugees living in my community. Last year I lived in the poverty of a third world country for three months and shared in their needs and desires and the experience was not cheap for me and my wife. It was costly but well worth the expense. This third world country is where God is focusing my heart to minister in. I am happy from what you are saying that God has focused your heart on the Muslim Refugee problem within the country that you are living in.

Shalom

Yes, all of us have different callings and the Lord can be served in many ways. I very much admire the effort you and your wife made to serve Him. However, if I insulted the people you ministered to or said their misery is their own fault, you’d probably be very right to call me out for such unchristian demeanor.

 

[junobet]

Yet the Jews are the chosen people of God.

God promised Abraham, that all nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 18:18). This promise got fulfilled in Jesus Christ, in whom there is “neither Jew nor Gentile” (Galatians 3:28).

Did God create the races?

Stranger

Don’t you believe all races descended from Adam?

So Stranger, tell us, does the God you believe in value white people over black ones?