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Originally Posted by Barbie1964
Again, this thread is going because of people's hatred towards immigrants. Most of the posters are good Christians, with no tolerance. Hmmmm, what would Jesus say?
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I don't hate immigrants. I don't hate illegal aliens. I DO hate what their doing to this country's infrastructure, as my taxes are being used to subsidize their illegal presence here.
As for what Jesus might say, let me leave you with this...
Biblical immigration
Deut. 19:14
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Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
("Landmark" refers to territory, boundary, or border.)
Moses further declared in Deut. 27:17
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Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Deut. 32:8
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When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people.
(Notice that God "separated the sons of Adam." God "set the bounds of the people.")
Acts 17:26
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And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.
(There's those pesky borders and boundaries again. )
Titus 3;1-2
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Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
Luke 2;1-5
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And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
(Even Jesus' parents followed the secular law and submitted themselves to the taxing authority of Rome.)
Acts 24;16
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I am exercising myself continually of committing no offense to GOD and men.
(That means not breaking man's laws.)
Rom 13;1-4
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Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will you not then be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and you shall have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid: for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon he that does evil.
1Pet 2;13-15
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Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.
This last one kinda sums the whole thing up for me...
Lev 19:33-34
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And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
So the contrast here is between the rules that apply to 1) the stranger passing through, versus the rules that apply to 2) the stranger who was dwelling with the Israelites.
The point of the passage was INTEGRATION into the Israelite community by the stranger.
The passage is saying not to apply the same criteria to the one who is merely stopping in versus the stranger who is to be considered a part of the community.
Now here is the point that matters: in order for the stranger to be considered part of Israel, the attitude of the Israelites was that they were required to "love him as thyself"...which is a high standard.
What did that "Stranger" have to do in order to be considered PART OF ISRAEL FIRST?
The answer is that the stranger had to:
1) Become an Israelite
2) Agree to be Bound by ALL the laws of Israel
3) Agree to follow ALL of the rules of Israel
4) Agree to the SAME penalty as those who were part of Israel.
That may sound casual to those who read this today, but there are two very important points:
1) Part of the Israel Law had "Death by Stoning" for many offenses, so joining the tribes who will stone you to death for breaking the rules has serious consequences.
2) The other part - is that in order to join Israel, he had to be circumcised.
So, instead of the responsibility being on Israel to treat that PERMANENT stranger as part of the tribe, YES - that is what they had to do,
But ONLY AFTER that stranger had agreed to abide by ALL OF THE LAWS OF ISRAEL, with death following shortly for many infractions.