BY STEVE DUNN
Saturday a good friend of mine and highly regarded Churches of God pastor, Andrew Draper posted this on his Facebook timeline:
Obama: "Scripture tells us, we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger. We were strangers once, too."
Exodus 23:9: "You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt."
We can debate the
hermeneutic choice, disagree about the extent of presidential authority,
and even wonder about appeals to the Bible in public policy. However,
it seems like a pretty accurate paraphrase to me."
Andrew is the Senior Pastor at the Urban Light Community Church in Muncie IN, a graduate of Winebrenner Theological Seminary, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Christian Education at Taylor University. I think his hermeneutic credentials are more than solid.
Within a few hours 67 persons clicked the LIKE box and 16 others commented on the post, some objecting to the assumed endorsement of President Obama but NONE debating the accuracy of the scriptural teaching.
The reality is that the current policies of this nation and the general political mindset of our nation are at variance with the clear teaching of the Word of God. I am not saying that the nation's policies are obligated to follow the Bible (although our nation would find its elusive healing and hope if we did). But I object strenuously to Fox News (which claims to be the most truthful of media) and the Southern Baptists (who should know better) misrepresenting an important prophetic truth from God's Word.
I understand the necessity of the rule of law and the need to affirm obedience to the laws of a democratic nation. I hear the complaints about jobs being taken from honest Americans by the "illegals", although the evidence is mounting that these aliens are holding down jobs that honest Americans eschew. But I urge Christians, especially politicians who claim to be Christian, to remember that God of the Bible is the Protector of the alien and stranger in our midst and seek some solutions which are true to that truth by which we as Christians and we as a nation will ultimately be judged.
Andrew is the Senior Pastor at the Urban Light Community Church in Muncie IN, a graduate of Winebrenner Theological Seminary, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Christian Education at Taylor University. I think his hermeneutic credentials are more than solid.
Within a few hours 67 persons clicked the LIKE box and 16 others commented on the post, some objecting to the assumed endorsement of President Obama but NONE debating the accuracy of the scriptural teaching.
The reality is that the current policies of this nation and the general political mindset of our nation are at variance with the clear teaching of the Word of God. I am not saying that the nation's policies are obligated to follow the Bible (although our nation would find its elusive healing and hope if we did). But I object strenuously to Fox News (which claims to be the most truthful of media) and the Southern Baptists (who should know better) misrepresenting an important prophetic truth from God's Word.
I understand the necessity of the rule of law and the need to affirm obedience to the laws of a democratic nation. I hear the complaints about jobs being taken from honest Americans by the "illegals", although the evidence is mounting that these aliens are holding down jobs that honest Americans eschew. But I urge Christians, especially politicians who claim to be Christian, to remember that God of the Bible is the Protector of the alien and stranger in our midst and seek some solutions which are true to that truth by which we as Christians and we as a nation will ultimately be judged.
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