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A little bit of quoting - probably applicable to those of religious bent:
We will all be strangers, sometime
The Bible affirms – strongly and unequivocally – the obligation to treat strangers with dignity and hospitality.
The Old Testament. Glenn Twiggs, CC BY-NC-ND
In “Love the Stranger,” an article written for the annual meeting of the College Theological Society in 1991, biblical scholar Alice Laffey stated that in the Hebrew Bible, the words “gûr” and “gēr” are the ones most often glossed as referring to the “stranger,” though they are also translated as “newcomer” and “alien” or “resident alien,” respectively.
In the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the word “gēr” appears almost 50 times, and the fifth book, Deuteronomy, delineates a number of specific provisions for treating “the stranger” not just with courtesy but also with active support and provision.
For example, the book of Deuteronomy sets out the requirement that a portion of produce be set aside by farmers every third year for strangers, widows and orphans. In the “temple sermon” attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, the Jewish people are exhorted to “not oppress the sojourner.”
Within the Hebrew Bible the requirements of hospitality are sometimes affirmed in very striking ways, as in the story from the book of Judges in which a host offers his own daughter to ruffians in order to safeguard his guest.
Of course, the Israelites themselves were “strangers” during their enslavement in Egypt and captivity in Babylon. The Hebrew Bible recognizes that every one of us can be a stranger and, for that very reason, we need to overcome our fear of those who live among us whom we do not know.
The stranger is Jesus in disguise
Within the New Testament, which Christians read in continuity with the Hebrew Bible or “The Old Testament,” the most often cited passage dealing with welcoming the stranger is from Matthew 25: 31-40.
The stranger is Jesus in disguise.
This section speaks of the Final Judgment, when the righteous will be granted paradise and unrepentant sinners will be consigned to eternal fire. Christ says to those at his right hand that they are “blessed” because
“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
The righteous then ask,
“When did we see you, a stranger, and welcome you?”
Christ replies,
“‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
As Matthew 25 makes clear, the Christians should see everyone as “Christ” in the flesh. Indeed, scholars argue that in the New Testament, “stranger” and “neighbor” are in fact synonymous. Thus the Golden Rule, “love your neighbor as yourself,” refers not just to people whom you know – your “neighbors” in a conventional sense – but also to people whom you do not know.
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Summary - you are not a Christian if you don't treat these people as you would a neighbor or as you would want to be treated ...or have your family treated....should they ever find themselves in a strange place.
So, who is going to eternal fire here?
I think a decent human being.....or decent human beings...whoever are the ICE or other agents seeing this, should en masse turn in their badges and travel to DC and tell the Justice Dept they refuse to be part of this.
What a country we would have if NO ONE would do that job....it would be like the nuke launching teams refusing to launch the nukes at Mexico because Trump was pissed they wouldn't pay for the wall. There is a time when people must resist the Police State.
You completely mischaracterize the incident. And by "mischaracterize" I mean lie. Sessions answered criticism from Christian clergy calling his policies immoral by talking about morality in the context of Christian scripture, a completely appropriate response. No, he did not say U.S. policy is based on Biblical teachings. He said that, contrary to the bishops' claims, it is not immoral.
And exactly what is the problem with Session's citation. I don't care if this came out of the Necronomicon, they are good words to follow. Not believing in a religion does not mean you can't take anything good from it whatsoever. I am neither Muslim nor Christian, but I have read both the Holy Bible and the Koran. And within those books there are a lot of good messages that can absolutely be applied to everyone's daily life, no matter what they believe in. Would you be as outraged if Sessions had quoted something from another book, perhaps a quote from an essay by Henry David Thoreau or a verse from James Joyce? Here is the quote from your link.
"I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes," Sessions said. "Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves. Consistent, fair application of law is in itself a good and moral thing and that protects the weak, it protects the lawful. Our policies that can result in short-term separation of families are not unusual or unjustified."
Fair and equal application of the law. That was the central theme here. The biblical reference means nothing unless you are a believer, in which case you could look at the chapter and verse Sessions mentioned and take solace in those words written in your holy book. However, if you aren't a believer, you can simply leave that part of the message at the door, and look at the rest of the totally reasonable statement. That's how this should be approached. The constant need for outrage has got to be brought under control here in America. It's almost as if people don't put any real thought into these issues anymore, and the media knows it. It's almost as if they go out each day, and when they hear certain things they are like "BINGO!!!" this is gonna stir up the masses nicely today. And people just eat up the headlines, and leave critical thought completely out of the equation. We have to do better.
PS. On the issue of these children being separated from their parents, I did have one question. I am a US citizen, bound to the laws of our great land. If I break the law, maybe rob a bank or something, will I get to bring my kids with me? Equal application of the law folks. Period. Leave the sob stories at the door. No one would care if it were me going to jail and my kids being stuck in limbo. And why should they, I broke the law and I have to pay for my crimes. Just like these people must also be held accountable for and pay for their crimes. It's truly as simple as that.
Fair and equal application of the law. That was the central theme here. The biblical reference means nothing unless you are a believer, in which case you could look at the chapter and verse Sessions mentioned and take solace in those words written in your holy book. However, if you aren't a believer, you can simply leave that part of the message at the door, and look at the rest of the totally reasonable statement. That's how this should be approached.
It's almost as if people don't put any real thought into these issues anymore, and the media knows it. It's almost as if they go out each day, and when they hear certain things they are like "BINGO!!!" this is gonna stir up the masses nicely today. And people just eat up the headlines, and leave critical thought completely out of the equation. We have to do better.
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I have put a LOT of thought into these issues for 50 years or so.
My question to you is very simple.
Do you understand that people like Trump have committed 100's of frauds, crimes (civil and criminal matters) and massive amounts of other corruption and got away with it due to threats, lawyers, vast payoffs and other similar actions - many illegal in themselves???
If you agree that this is true (and it is, beyond any doubt), your words fall of deaf ears. You only believe in the order and justice for the poor and lower classes. It doesn't apply to those with money or who are tied in with the right pols or LE.
Can you really state with any honesty that the quoted part applies to Trump...or, for that matter, to Cohen or Flynn or Manafort. Sure, eventually these people may be subject to some tiny part of this "law and order", but certainly not at a equal level as would an average person.
"Consistent, fair application of law is in itself a good and moral thing and that protects the weak, it protects the lawful."
Explain to me in plain English, Scripture or not, how you translate the protection and exclusion from punishment of the rich and powerful and the complete opposite to "the weak and poor" as being consistent to this statement.
Also include how POTUS pardons of someone like the Sheriff - who was convicted for Civil Rights Violations against the poor and weak, fit into this statement.
IMHO, money and power protect the lawless and God Forbid the weak and the poor do something unlawful to survive.....they will be thrown in cages and their lives ruined.
I don't think that's the idea of JC.
Maybe I missed the part in the Scripture which talked about whether laws are just or not....or which said that if you know the right people, the right lawyers, the right publishers and have a big bank account...this rule does not apply!
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