Should the Refugees Be Helped?

Nan Christianity, News, Religion, , ,

This from the CHRISTIAN bible … Matthew 25:41-46 (NRSV):

Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Can it be made any clearer?

ANY Christian that believes and lives by the words above and then declares the U.S. should not accept and help the refugees is, by Jesus’ own words, “accursed” and will “go away into eternal punishment.”

66 thoughts on “Should the Refugees Be Helped?”

  3. I recall a detailed theological discussion once on seeking to clarify exactly who were the ‘least of these’. But such an attitude shows the commentators had lost sight of the trees for the forest.

    When I still called myself a Christian This passage from Matthew used to seriously challenge me as I always thought, ‘oh how little I do’.

    The irony is that it is the liberal Christians who reach out to the stranger and the marginalised with no strings attached. The fundamentalist Christians, if they reach out at all, have a very clear agenda to their compassion. There seems little love for compassion’s sake among the fundamentalists.

    I was interested to see some reports recently on the attitude of the rest of the world to the Jews trying to flew Germany prior to World war II. Most though they should not be accepted and that the threat to them was over stated, it was someone else’s problem. Well we know how that ended up.

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  4. Islam is NOT a religion of peace! Recommended reading “The Life of Muhammad” written by the Muslim historian Ibn Ishaq in 768 AD. The book gives an accurate picture of Muhammad… The very violent and aggressive military commander who fought and killed neighboring tribes into submission.

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    • Are you aware of how Charlemagne converted the Saxons? How about the Spanish Inquisition? Islam doesn’t have a monopoly on forcible conversion. By your own reasoning, Christianity is just as bloodthirsty as Islam is.

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      • What Islam has is that it is written and demanded required in their scriptures to force people into Islam. Islam. The translation of the word Islam is submit. This is an unequivocal demand without question it is a forced religion. What Islam is doing is the letter of their law. Was Charlemagne did was a corruption quit early that was not modeled in the life of Christ. Look at Jesus you will never find anything wrong with him he was not a murderer like Muhammad but he allowed himself to be murdered to save us there is no comparison.

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        • “Look at Jesus you will never find anything wrong with him he was not a murderer like Muhammad but he allowed himself to be murdered to save us there is no comparison.”

          I think what you’re really saying, CCT, without being aware of it, is that someone WROTE that your Yeshua ‘allowed himself to be murdered to save us’ – you have no idea who the person or persons were who wrote that, what their credentials were, or where they got their information, all you really know, is that they were not eyewitnesses to any of the events that they purport to describe, and therefore cannot produce reliable testimony.

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          • In fact, CCT, if you’ll look to Isaiah 53, you’ll easily see a story laid out, material lying ready for a first century author to use to concoct his own legend, fabricated from nothing, but proof positive to the primitive mind, that Isaiah’s prophecies had indeed come true!

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        • Okay, if you want to change the goalposts, then fine.

          How does one achieve salvation in Christianity? By submitting to its deity through accepting the sacrifice of Jesus. Refusing to accept that sacrifice results in eternal damnation. More to the point, there are plenty of church teachings involving submitting to God’s Will. Some even have companion Bible verses.

          As for Jesus, a lot of his parables involved the use of slavery common to Roman times. The idea was simple: sell yourself to Jesus to get to Heaven. So, while Jesus wasn’t a murderer, he was quite familiar with human trafficking.

          But let’s assume for a moment that you’re truly following a loving deity. How is anyone supposed to know that when the accusations you make serve as an excuse to leave children in war zones, or worse, to die on foreign shores in desperate attempts to find freedom? If that’s the love of Jesus, it’s not enough.

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          • Jesus came to save us from the element you described that causes slavery he did not condone slavery. Judas betrayed Jesus many believe because Jesus did not take a militant approach to overthrowing the Romans, he was more concerned with winning the hearts of men. He did it through self sacrifice.

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          • Okay, while Jesus didn’t actively advocate for the practice of owning other human beings, it’s not like he spoke out against it, either.

            As for the position on Judas, do you have a source for your speculation? Because there are different reasons given in the Bible…

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          • “As for the position on Judas, do you have a source for your speculation?” His speculation comes from Martin Sorsese’s “The Last Temptation Of Christ” which gets its references from the novel by the same name which gets its references from “The Gospel of Judas”, which no true christian believes in as it isn’t canon. Thus, CCT is showing he isn’t a “True Christian” by his reference to non-canon texts and his absolute, undeniable hatred of his fellow man. And, thus, CCT is not a “True Christian” but a bigoted, uneducated (as far as christianity goes) hate-filled man. WWJD? He’d send CCT straight to Hell for his evil. deep felt hate of his fellow human beings.

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          • As for what you call submission, look at it like a relationship. All close relationships head conditions. If you are in a relationship with someone you want that person to be faithful to you to love only you. God show his love for us when he became a man unlimited a very humble life like the least of us and then sacrificed himself for us to meet the requirements that he had established himself. He doesn’t force us. All he asks is that we except his gift of love. He does not force us to accept it else we could not choose to accept it. He took responsibility for our sins. We have a choice, but if we reject it then the outcome is our responsibility.

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          • Okay then, let’s move the posts again.

            Let’s treat it like a relationship. If you don’t accept being in a relationship with your deity, then one gets to be tortured through eternity in hell (there are other variations, but the general theme is similar, that is, rejection is bad).

            Alright, so what kind of person am I when I tell people if they’re not my friend, then they’re going to get their toenails pulled out by pliers every morning? There’s a word for it: abuse.

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          • God came down to save us from all this violence and took it all upon Himself on the cross. Jesus modeled humility and love that will forever stand in stark contrast to who and what we are and what we do to ourselves in our fellow man

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          • Okay, so which Christians are adhering to Christ’s standards? Are they the ones wanting to accept refugees, or are they the ones not wanting to accept them?

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          • So now the refugees are enemies? They worship the same deity you do, except they don’t venerate a triune concept of that deity.

            Bottom line is that they’re human beings, CCT. The religious differences you’ve mentioned can be argued with other Christian sects in addition to Muslim ones.

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          • “These three are one. I dare say you can grasp that concept if you care to.”

            Didn’t they start their own manufacturing company?

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          • Christ is not God incarnate to Islam. You are not offered salvation if you choose in Islam. They say your good deeds must outweigh your bad deeds in Islam. Or you can die defending Allah on Islam. I suppose the virgins idea was Mohammad’s invention to get the young male zealots to do his bidding. But Allah is not love in the Koran, he is not a father in the Koran. He is a benevolent benefactor only. Christ did not die for our sins in Islam. They say it inly appeared he did, it was someone else who died. And all of this is only scratching the surface. Women are owned a subjugation to male muslims. Islam is forced. If your child leaves islam for Christianity you are to honor kill them. This is happening in Britain and all of Europe. Child brides and more. Here in the USA, people in Hamtramck wake to the sound of call to prayer over load speakers at 6AM every day, and then 6 times throughout the day. Commerce is leaving Hamtramck and won’t go there. Its the least prosperous city in Michigan. These are moderate muslims in general.

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          • Oh look, a bunch of speculation with no quotes from the Koran. Do we know the refugees are going to practice all of this stuff for sure? Can’t different people be different?

            Are all Christians the same? How would you like it if everyone based their assessment of Christianity based off of the Westboro Baptist Church or some other fringe group? Because that’s what you’re doing.

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          • The analogy still stands. You’re making speculative comments based off of terrorist groups and other extreme practices. However, there are also Muslims who advocate for women’s rights and for the rule of law.

            Bottom line is Muslims are taught different things, just like Christians are taught different things. You have more in common with them than you care to admit.

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        • Christ also commanded his followers to convert people. Matthew 28 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” ” And it’s not real specific on how to do that. And throughout history plenty of Christians have tried to make others submit. Missionary work alone is simply tricking simple natives and hunter gatherers with shiny toys or extra food so that they can give them a bible to read too. Whether by force or manipulation it’s still wrong.

          But if conversion was important to Jesus then it should be important to all Christians. And if you believe that Christians only do it in a peaceful way, what better way to have them hear your wonderful Christian message than by showing them the compassion Christ asked you to bestow upon all people in need. If Christian morality is superior wouldn’t it be best to actually demonstrate it to these Muslims who you seem to believe or so lost as to what peace, love, and mercy is all about?

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          • “Missionary work alone is simply tricking simple natives and hunter gatherers with shiny toys or extra food so that they can give them a bible to read too.”

            “When the white missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land.”
            — Desmond Tutu —

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          • You wrote this and accuse me of bigotry?!
            “But however unjustified, these attacks were the result of certain causes – causes that the USA itself largely put into motion through arrogant, selfish and short-sighted foreign policy. While it is absurd to say the USA deserved 9/11, the fact remains that the attacks were in large part the product of its government and that this government was the product of the people. ” I suppose you think you are being even handed by saying these things? All you did is take back with one hand what you gave with the other. God help us. You are like them more than you know.

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          • My only argument was that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. We always reap what we sow. Violence is always terrible. I neither condone violence or revenge. Such acts are wrong defeating. I’m sorry you don’t seem to understand that. You’d do better to read more about Christ.

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          • Yeah, I happened to be in the middle of watching the movie Gandhi. Had this been some sort of publication I would have cited the source, but I figured as this was just a comment on a blog I would just use it for those who might be familiar with it because I find the statement to be quite accurate. Jesus understood the power of forgiveness, compassion, and sacrifice without retribution. As someone who represents Christ Centered Teaching I am sure you understand that.

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          • And he forgave even his executioners knowing what would happen to him. And “us” refers to all of us, not just white Americans, but people everywhere regardless of what they may currently believe. And Jesus gave very specific instructions on how you should treat those in need and those who are foreigners.

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          • “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:32 The Good Shepherd spares the flock from wolves in sheep’s clothing too.

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          • As so you’ve chosen the selective verse method of Christianity as opposed to the verses that actually preach compassion and treating foreigners as though they were one of your own?

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          • “Matthew 25:32” – Written 45 to 50 years after Yeshua allegedly died, by an anonymous author who wasn’t there, never met Yeshua, and copied 90% of his material from the book of Mark, yet another anonymous author who never met Yeshua.

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          • “We were doomed from birth because of the change in the fall.” – What nonsense! That would imply an actual, physical ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve,’ which anyone with any degree of intellect knows is sheer foolishness by one who clearly knows nothing about the origin of the human species.

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          • Even more to the point … there was no “fall.” It is a made-up story (like so many others in the so-called “holy book”) to reinforce the early doctrine (by Paul) that “we are all sinners” and thus need “Christ” to save us. Hogwash.

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          • “No evolution in your heart.” – No forseeable reason for further evolution, as it is a perfectly functioning pump that has been doing its job for more than enough years to prove its efficiency.

            Were you the one who was saying that our relationship with your god should be like a marriage? It was either you or a theist on another site – which was it?

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          • Also I never wrote those words. I simply reblogged somebody elses blog on mine because I thought it made some interesting points. Next time you should also try to argue the points I’ve made in direct response to you, rather than redirect. It makes your arguments look weak.

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  5. CCT, your comment is a diversion. The message is to welcome the stranger and provide food, water, and comfort. To make exclusions is to ignore the instructions of your leader.

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  7. Nan, the goddites insist we can’t have morals without their god. Here you have quoted an instance where we would expect them to at least follow their god, but we see them fighting so hard to make that god know it was wrong in its directives

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  8. Good post, Nan. I agree; I’ve been thinking a lot about that this past week, how ironic it is that the most conservative and supposedly Christian politicians are the ones calling the most loudly to close the borders to the Syrian refugees. They (and their Christian supporters) are the ones that believe they’ll have eternal life — the most they can lose is their earthly one. So putting that all together, how do they justify ignoring their leader Jesus’ teachings to help those most in need, and prioritize their own safety above that? “WWJD” is so cliche, but seriously, what do they think Jesus would do, if he was making this decision?

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    • Brent, your comments echo what I’ve been thinking related to the “conservative and supposedly Christian politicians.” In fact, I’m considering writing a post on that very topic. 😉

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  9. How ironic that ‘Christ Centered Teaching” would be advocating anything but what Christ actually taught – that we should love our neighbours AND our enemies.

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    • The question becomes — how can a person use the title “Christ Centered Teaching” and then ignore those very teachings? It doesn’t matter WHAT Islam teaches. Jesus did not say … love your neighbors EXCEPT those nasty people who follow the Islam religion.

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      • He is actually proving one aspect of the teaching of Jesus – people are hypocrites.

        I have an excuse I no longer believe, but what is his?

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    • But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; (Matthew 5:44-45)

      Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink, for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.(Romans 12:19-21)

      Now Jesus says that those who love him will obey his commands, so I can only assume that Christians who don’t act in line with this intent and others like the good samaritan do not love Jesus and therefore are not true disciples.

      All this really goes to prove is that there is nothing special about Christians, they are just people like everyone else. They are prone to human xenophobia and fear. They clearly are not empowered by the Spirit of an almighty deity (at least those who comment on these issues like our friend CCT here).

      It is just more evidence that Christianity is false.

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  10. There are plenty of verses that support taking in the Syrian refugees. If they really believe in the teachings of Christ, how sad for them that they have fooled themselves into think that God will judge them good Christians when their time is up here on Earth. It almost makes me wish it were all true so that I might have a chance to see the looks on their faces when they are told they are going to hell for not actually listening to a single word Jesus said. lol

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    • The Final Judgment
      “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left………. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”       (Matthew 25:31-33, 41-46)

      This seems fairly clear to me. it also shows that those who are dammed are surprised they thought they were good Christians.

      Thankfully no one will be dammed. I am just glad that I am not reliant on the love and charity of the Christians we come across on these blogs.

      I don’t want to run down Christians generally. There are some really good and loving folk who are Christians, just as there are with all groups of people.

      When I was at University, my best friend was a Muslim, he knew I was a Christian and we respected each other and did not let religion be a difference. He was from India and never expressed any hatred or judgment of others.

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