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James 1:27New International Version (NIV)
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Luke 6:31New International Version (NIV)
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Matthew 25:31-46New International Version (NIV)
The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Leviticus 19:34

The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

It's funy I can't find the passage that says don't help people if it's risky and only help Christians. Otherrs must know so please tell me.



Comments

BK said…
Joe, there are lots of verses about treating the foreigners fairly in the Bible. Of course, we are called to love our enemies, too. But we are also told to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16). We are told over and over again that there are those who are evil or who do evil in the sight of the Lord. These people are an abomination to the Lord. Proverbs 17:16 reads: "He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord." Proverbs 6:16-19 reads: "There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers."

Now, there is no question that we need to extend love towards the refugees who are really refugees. The problem, which is where the use of wisdom comes in, is to recognize that the Radical Islamist element has sworn to destroy us. They recognize that lying to infidels (a practice that they call Hudaibiya) is acceptable. So, the concern (based in wisdom) is the Trojan Horse ploy - sneaking in radicals intent on destroying with the people who we are more than happy to help.

I have not heard anyone saying we should only bring in Christians, only those who have pointed out that the Christians have not been being let in. Perhaps there are a few silly people out there who believe only Christians should be let in, but they are not even close to being the majority as far as I can see.

I appreciate your point of view as well as all of those who are pointing out our obligation to be open and helpful to refugees, but it needs to be done in wisdom in a very nuanced situation.
11/27/2015 07:26:00 AM
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