Plaintiffs in the case want the right to challenge deportations to countries other than their own because of the risk of persecution, torture or death.
The most straightforward one is from Leviticus (one of the books that has a bunch of laws for the Israelites, including stuff like “don’t wear mixed fabrics” and rules that evolved into kosher rules, along with stuff that’s cited for “don’t be gay” (though a lot of that comes from Paul’s letters too)):
Lev 19:33-34 “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 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.”
While there’s some truth to that, and MAGA Christians probably have some convoluted line of scriptural reasoning to support their anti-immigration stance, I would still hold that immigration/dealing with strangers is one topic where the entire Christian Bible (Old and New Testament) speaks with one very loud voice. Hospitality, welcoming strangers etc. are core virtues of a God-fearing life according to the Bible.
The trick is taking things out of context, picking and choosing tenets, using deliberately disingenuous interpretations, and historically, disregarding entire scriptures as not ‘canon’. It’s a very malleable document in devious hands. It can be fun to quote it back into their stupid faces though, so, even as an atheist, a working knowledge of the thing can come in handy.
I was watching some YouTube video the other night, and they made the point that ancient scripture isn’t special just because it’s ancient. It’s basically civilization’s cringey teenage diary. We’ve grown up a bit since then, you’d hope.
Curiously, does the Bible actually mention anything about this topic?
The most straightforward one is from Leviticus (one of the books that has a bunch of laws for the Israelites, including stuff like “don’t wear mixed fabrics” and rules that evolved into kosher rules, along with stuff that’s cited for “don’t be gay” (though a lot of that comes from Paul’s letters too)):
Lev 19:33-34 “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 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.”
On how to treat people? Mmmnnnnno, no i don’t think so. Maybe there’s some obscure fictional work from the 1700s we could reference.
I asked because I’ve never been Christian and I’ve recently seen some quotes completely opposite of what the right wing would quote
The Bible’s cool like that. You can find a verse that will support just about anything.
While there’s some truth to that, and MAGA Christians probably have some convoluted line of scriptural reasoning to support their anti-immigration stance, I would still hold that immigration/dealing with strangers is one topic where the entire Christian Bible (Old and New Testament) speaks with one very loud voice. Hospitality, welcoming strangers etc. are core virtues of a God-fearing life according to the Bible.
The trick is taking things out of context, picking and choosing tenets, using deliberately disingenuous interpretations, and historically, disregarding entire scriptures as not ‘canon’. It’s a very malleable document in devious hands. It can be fun to quote it back into their stupid faces though, so, even as an atheist, a working knowledge of the thing can come in handy.
I was watching some YouTube video the other night, and they made the point that ancient scripture isn’t special just because it’s ancient. It’s basically civilization’s cringey teenage diary. We’ve grown up a bit since then, you’d hope.
Sounds right.
Oh, you’re thinking about real Jesus. You need to read the Bible according to Supply-side Jesus. That’ll make more sense.