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Posts Tagged ‘Immigration’

Immigration, Citizenship, and the Bible Part 9: Immigration Reform and the Conservatives, a Review of Peter Brimelow’s Alien Nation

Posted in Book Review, Immigration, tagged , , on January 29, 2017| Leave a Comment »

 

Ruth_and_Naomi_Leave_Moab

Ruth and Naomi Leave Moab, 1860, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872).

Although the mainstream media (MSM) is firmly committed to the proposition that that the entire world has the right to immigrate to the US at taxpayer expense, conservatives have increasingly raised their voices in opposition to this practice.

 

This installment of Immigration, Citizenship, and the Bible (ICB) is an attempt to examine various conservative arguments for immigration reform in light Gordon Clark’s Scripturalism, the system of thought that asserts the Bible and the Bible alone is the Word of God and is the textbook to prepare the man of God for every good work, including the good work of immigration reform.

My critique of conservatives is presented here in the form of a review of Alien Nation: Common Sense About America’s Immigration Disaster by Peter Brimelow.

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The Week In Review 1/28/17 – Build That Wall?

Posted in The Week In Review, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on January 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

 

trump_build-that-wall

President Trump sigs the executive order for the border wall, 1/25/17.

Well, one full week into the new Trump administration, and, despite all the hyperventilating from the snowflakes, it appears that the world indeed has not come to an end.  Who knew?  So what shall we say about this surprising state of affairs?  Let’s find out. 

Build That Wall

Ask any Trump supporter, or for that matter any Never-Trumper, what he thinks the candidate’s most important campaign promise was, and I suspect many, if not most, respondents would say “Build that wall!” This, of course, refers to Trump’s promise to build a roughly 1,900 mile long border wall between Mexico and the US to prevent illegal immigration across the nation’s southern border.

It’s an audacious plan. And one that has outraged the entire establishment, everyone from Pope Francis, to the progressive secular left, to the RINO Republican right, to the former president of Mexico. Some observers have tried to argue that Trump didn’t mean he intended to build a literal wall. All that was just talk, you see. It was promise to fire up the base, which would soon be dropped when the realities of governing set in.

Well, apparently Trump was entirely serious about what he said, as Wednesday “he signed executive orders instructing construction of a wall on the southwest border, a crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities and directives that would make effectively every undocumented immigrant a priority for deportation,” as the Huffington Post reports.

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Radio Lux Lucet #14: Immigration, Citizenship, and the Bible Part 8 – The Immigration “Debate”

Posted in Radio Lux Lucet, tagged , , , on January 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

See the article “Immigrants fear changes in U.S. policy” using this link  http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/01/08/immigrants-fear-changes-us-policy/96322318/

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Immigration, Citizenship and the Bible Part 8: The Immigration “Debate”

Posted in Immigration, tagged , , , , on January 15, 2017| 2 Comments »

 

Ruth_and_Naomi_Leave_Moab

Ruth and Naomi Leave Moab, 1860, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872).

Among the more frustrating aspects of the immigration debate is that, at least as far as immigration and related issues are discussed in the mainstream press, it is not a debate at all.

 

In general, reporting on immigration issues takes the form of a lecture, in which proponents of keeping and/or expanding the current immigration/refugee/aslyee/migration system are posited as the defenders of all that is just, right and holy, heroically fighting against nativist, racist, xenophobic bigots who complain that current immigration laws do not serve the interests of the American people.

This sort of reporting often has a Kantian undertone to it, by which I mean that in many cases immigration to the US is explicitly or implicitly presented as, on the one hand, a right to which is due to the entire non-American population of the world, and, on the other hand, a duty owed by American people to them. The notion that US immigration policy should serve the interests of the American people – a point that Donald Trump explicitly made part of his immigration platform – is considered beyond the pale of polite discussion. Further, anyone so foolish as to attempt to argue that the interest of the American people should be considered when making immigration policy is immediately scorned and dropped into Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” from which there is no escape.

There is a second annoying aspect of the immigration debate, the tendency of immigration proponents to commit the informal logical fallacy known as appeal to pity. An appeal to pity is where one argues that you should accept his conclusion, not because of any sound logical reasoning requires that you accept it, but because you feel sorry for him. One example of this sort of argument runs, “If this man is given the death sentence, who will take care of his children?” (Norman Geisler, Come, Let Us Reason, 96). And how many times have we heard this sort of thing from immigration enthusiasts? “You can’t deport X, because you’re breaking up X’s family!” But feeling sorry for someone is not a sound basis for making immigration policy. For example, one can always reply, “Yes, but X should have considered the possibility of deportation before electing to enter the US contrary to American immigration law. No one made him violate the law. He chose to do so. Therefore, the breakup of his family is his own fault.”

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Immigration, Citizenship, and the Bible Part 7: The Refugee Racket

Posted in Immigration, tagged , , , on January 8, 2017| 3 Comments »

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“An Ohio State University student posted a rant shortly before he plowed a car into a campus crowd and stabbed people with a butcher knife in an ambush that ended when a police officer shot him dead, a law enforcement official said.” Thus read the headline on the NBC News website on November 28, 2016.

That same day, CBS ran a story titled “What’s known about the OSU attack suspect Abdul Razak Ali Artan”. According to the article, “A Somali-born Ohio State University student plowed his car into a group of pedestrians on campus and then got out and began stabbing people with a butcher knife Monday before he was shot to death by a police officer.”

As it turned out, the November terrorist attack at OSU was a relatively minor example of what has become an all too common pattern of violence by Muslim immigrants and refugees throughout the US and Europe. In the case of the Ohio State attack, the only death was that of the attacker himself. But sadly, this is not always the case.

The Ohio State attack makes a good lead in to the discussion of what I have termed the “refugee racket” for several reasons.

First, it strikes close to home. OSU is located in Columbus, Ohio, about 90 miles up the highway from where I live. It’s bad enough to read about Islamic violence in faraway places. But it hits home all the more when it’s in your backyard.

Second, the attack fits a larger pattern of refugee violence in the West.

Third, there is a direct connection between the OSU attacker and Catholic Charities, by far the largest taxpayer funded refugee resettlement organization in the US.

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2016 Year In Review

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »

2017

Out with the old and in with the new. Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time when we flip over our calendars. For some of us it’s a time of making resolutions. For others, a time for avoiding them. In my case, it’s a convenient time to look back at the prior year in blogging as well as an opportunity to consider the year ahead.

In the first place, I would like to that the Lord for providing me with this wonderful forum for writing. Perhaps because I didn’t grow up with the internet – I’ll be 51 in March, so yes, I’m an old guy! – I’m still constantly amazed at the reach even a small blog such as this one can have. Never before in history has a single Christian had the opportunity to, quite literally, reach the whole world and never so much as venture outside his front door. There is much that is evil on the internet. As Christians, it is our job to be salt and light to the world. And through website, blogs, and podcasts God has provided an amazing tool for believers to fulfill the Great Commission.

Secondly, my sincere thanks are due to you, the readers of this blog. Even though I began writing this blog in 2009, I’m still amazed to think that anyone would take the time to read my words. It has been my honor and privilege to serve you in 2016. And it has been my prayer that this blog has, as the name suggests, helped to bring the light of Christ to the various subjects under consideration.

Now with all that said, let’s take a look at this past year in blogging.

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Taking Counsel, but Not of the Lord

Posted in Scripturalism, tagged , , , on December 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

egyptAmong the besetting sins of Old Testament Israel was an unfortunate tendency do what seemed right in their own eyes. When faced with a difficult situation, many times the Israelites, both the common people and the leadership, chose to wing it rather than to seek God’s face.

Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God condemned this way of thinking in no uncertain terms.

“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD,

“Who take counsel, but not of Me,

And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit,

That they may add sin to sin;

Who walk to go down to Egypt,

And have not asked My advice,

To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,

And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!” (Isaiah 30:1, 2)

Some commentators believe that the likely targets of these words originally were King Hezekiah’s counselors. Assuming that is the case, how can we apply these words to what is going on in our own day? To do this, a little history is in order.

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Election 2016 – The Big Issues

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

As the current presidential election cycle draws to a close, it seemed good to me to put down in writing what I see as the big issues at that will be determined by the November 8th vote.

It’s not uncommon to hear the upcoming election described in superlative terms such as “the most important ever,” or “the most revolting ever.” For my part, I try to steer clear of such statements, if only because I’m not sure how prove that they’re true.

But if I hesitate to say that the 2016 election is the most important ever in American history, I am willing to go on record and say that it may very well be the most important election of my fifty-year lifetime. I do not recall any previous election in which there were so many major issues at stake, issues, which depending on how the vote goes, that very likely will determine the course of our nation for a long time to come.

With that in mind, today’s post is intended to be more high-level, addressing the major overarching themes of this election, which I have cast in these terms: Oligarchy vs. the Rule of Law, Feminism vs. Patriarchy, and Globalism vs. Westphalian Sovereignty.

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Donald Trump v. Hillary Clinton: What is More Important, What is Less Important, and What is Not Important at All – Part 1

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , , , , on October 16, 2016| 4 Comments »

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The Bible distinguishes knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is the ideas taught in Scripture either by direct statement or by implication. Wisdom, on the other hand, is the correct application of knowledge to the particular men and circumstances that we encounter in our lives.

As a way of getting them to apply their knowledge, John Robbins sometimes would tell people they needed to decide what is more important, what is less important, and what is not important at all. This approach can be a helpful way for Christians to think through a host of different issues, including the decision how to vote in elections.

And given the stakes inherent in any presidential election, maybe especially this election, it is important for Christians to have a Biblical framework for evaluating the candidates.

For my part, I have struggled with the election more than any other. There are numerous reason why I would never consider voting for Hillary Clinton. Some of them I have outlined below.

On the other hand, the thought of voting for Trump presents challenges as well.

One Christian writer, put off as he is by the release of a video with Trump making lewd sexual remarks, has equated support for Trump with idolatry and a decision that harms our witness for Christ, “Enthusiasm for a candidate like Trump gives our neighbors ample reason to doubt that we believe Jesus is Lord” (Andy Crouch, Speak Truth to Trump).

Over at World, Marvin Olasky penned Unfit for power, an editorial calling for Trump to step aside as Republican nominee.

One suspects that the arguments put forth by both these writers reflect the thoughts of many Christians. And it is not hard to understand their agreement with Crouch and Olasky.

My view is different. As I shall argue, I believe both these gentlemen miss the mark with their commentaries. Given the circumstances, In my opinion a vote for Trump, rather than being idolatry, may very well be an act of good judgment.

Concerning the call for Trump to step down, it’s worth asking whether there have been any calls from World for Mrs. Clinton to step aside for her many, blatant and serious crimes, not to mention several other significant problems that make her unfit for office.

Before presenting my argument, there are a few points I would like to make.

First, what I say in this post is an opinion. I do not offer it up as a necessary deduction from Scripture. I do not claim it as knowledge. As one who’s spent more than a year struggling with what to think about Trump, and to some extent avoiding commentary on the subject, I can appreciate Crouch’s and Olasky’s concerns and do not doubt their good intentions.

Further, there are many good brothers and sisters in Christ who, as a matter of conscience believe they cannot vote for Trump. This post is not aimed at them. If someone believes voting for Trump is wrong, he should by no means go against his conscious. To do so would be sin.

Third, I acknowledge my own biases, sinfulness and ignorance and realize that all of these shortcomings color any analysis that I do. A Hillary Clinton administration will be, in my view, a heavy burden upon the American people. Perhaps my own intense dislike for her has unfairly colored by assessment of Trump. In light of this, it is possible that I am wrong and those who oppose a Trump presidency are right. That I will leave for others to decide.

Fourth, I write what I do in good faith in the hope that the body of Christ may find it edifying. It is not my intention to castigate those who come to conclusions that are at odds with mine. And if I’ve made errors in my reasoning, perhaps at least some of what I’ve set forth will stimulate thought concerning the election choice facing the nation.

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