Liberals argue Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 mitigate in favor of accepting immigrants graciously into American society.
In that passage, Jesus says that in the future his followers should treat poor sojourners residing temporarily in a land not their own like it was Jesus himself petitioning them for help or even residency: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.”
MAGA politicians like House Speaker Mike Johnson argue that scriptural passage was Jesus’ encouragement for individuals to act toward strangers, but not for the government to embrace them.
This shows how little American history, European history and ancient Israelite biblical history MAGA leaders know.
Individuals at the local level in a democratic government system actually function as the most important and fundamental level of government. If they are encouraged to welcome strangers, then the government at all levels is encouraged to do the same.
Here is the argument. As parents in families, individual fathers and mothers are given legal authority to make decisions dealing with their own children. For example, the Ten Commandments, the constitutional law of ancient democratic Israel, detail how democracy was to function on the local level. The Fifth Commandment specified, “Honor thy Father and thy Mother.” Fathers and mothers serve as government officials for half of the citizens of the nation.
The famous Dutch political scientist Hugo Grotius wrote, “He knows not how to rule a kingdom, that cannot manage a province; nor can he wield a province, that cannot order a city; nor he order a city, that . . . cannot guide a family.”
In fact, in early America, and in ancient democratic Rome and Greece, the family government system was so important that parents were given authority to serve as local court officials and mete out legal judgments against wayward children, employees, tenants, and visitors on their local family estates. They essentially acted as the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. Moses and Jesus understood that those under the landowners’ legal purview must respect and obey the landowners’ wishes, because they serve as fully empowered government officials.
So, in fact, MAGA evangelicals are making up their supercilious argument out of thin air. They just want to flatter our 47th President and take whatever position he wants them to take, even if it is against their own religion and against common decency. In order to do that, they have to ignore the history of the entire Western world, including American history, European history, and ancient Israelite history as chronicled in the Bible.
You lose this one, MAGA. Your scripture interpretation sophistication is on about the same level as Trump holding up a Bible for a photo op outside a chapel in D.C. to show what a good Christian he is. Not very convincing, people.
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