First off, this meme must be seen for what it very likely is, which is an attempt to get conservatives who are often Christian to not vote for Trump. It was likely written by atheists who permeate the Democrat ranks, so it is dishonest, which isn't very Christian. That said, I will tackle this meme on the premise that it is honest. I myself am a spiritual person with great interest in Gnosticism, Tibetan Buddhism, Jewish mysticism, and esoteric Christianity.
Regarding Jesus favoring the poor...
Jesus doesn’t seem to advocate anywhere either a pursuit of poverty or wealth to bring meaning to life, yet he cautions about the difficulty and challenges of wealth. Again and again Jesus points to the answer to our yearnings, which is much different from the daily barrage of advertisement and thoughts that go through our minds.More:
http://www.jesusmoney.com/2012/08/20/jesus-money-monday-does-jesus-favor-the-poor/
God ministers Justice equally to all- He treats all, rich and poor, fairly without partiality- with equity. God does not have a special love for the Poor- He loves everyone; He loves His Covenant People. God does not favor the Poor (as a class) over the Rich or over the Saints- we must not romanticize or idolize the Poor- some are saved, some unsaved, some are righteous, some evil.
The Law of God spells out Rights and Wrongs. Murder and Theft are murder and theft, etc. God is on the side of anyone who suffers Injustice- those who’s Rights are denied. It is more Scriptural if we say God is on the side of those who suffer injustice, rather than on the side of the poor as such. Not all poor suffer injustice. Many rich people do.
It is not valid to equate the Poor with the Oppressed (this is usually done using contemporary definitions of both words) More than 20 causes of Poverty are mentioned in Scripture. Injustice is a cause of Poverty, but not always. According to the Bible, poverty may also be caused by Disease, Death, War, Lifestyle Choices (Laziness, Addictions, Waste) and Ignorance.
More:
Regarding Trump favoring the rich/loving money...
Donald Trump is a very charitable and kind man. Don't believe me? Take a look...
Also, even though Christians believe that stealing is wrong, the government takes more money from Trump by force than his Democratic counterparts. This of course completely debunks the notion in the meme that Trump "doesn't pay taxes."
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| http://truthfeed.com/breaking-rand-paul-slams-bernie-for-paying-only-half-of-trumps-high-tax-rate/57467/ |
Trying to bring people out of poverty by giving them a hand up instead of a hand out is also arguably a very kind thing to do for the poor...
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| TrumpArea.com |
This page is dedicated to tracking that number of jobs that Donald Trump has saved, helped create or brought back to America due to his business friendly policies and negotiations...
http://www.trump-conservative.com/news/donald-trump-american-jobs-saved-tracker/
Related:
Aussie Business Leader to Invest $2 Billion in US Thanks to Trump: “Because of His Great Leadership” (VIDEO) - Australian business leader Anthony Pratt of Pratt Industries announced last week he would invest $2 billion to create 5,000 high paying jobs in the United States.
April Jobs Up 211,000, Unemployment 4.4% | CNBC - TRUMP EFFECT: Unemployment rate 10 year low. Illegal Immigration down by 70%
Watch Trump sign orders inside the factory - The executive orders he signed Saturday were designed to keep jobs and wealth in America.
PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNS THE BUY AMERICAN, HIRE AMERICAN EXECUTIVE ORDER! - Globalist Freak Out: New Trump EO To Favor American Workers, Businesses
Trump Adds Jobs While Dems Complain
Trump's First Full Month in Office Sees Biggest Jobs Gain 'In Years': Report
Trump's first full month brings massive employment boom - RUSH: Obama 'More Than Being IRKED' By Trump's First Month Job Numbers
You’re hired! Trump scores U.S. HUGE jobs deal
TRUMP ALREADY CREATING MORE JOBS THAN OBAMA
The Truth about the Jobs Obama Created
Ford to scrap Mexico plant, invest in Michigan; CEO cites Trump policies
Regarding Obamacare helping the sick and elderly. First off, God helps those who help themselves. Secondly, robbing Peter to pay Paul is not very Christian and not a nice thing to do to US citizens who in their private lives outside of government are the most charitable on the planet. Finally and most importantly, socialized government-run health care is demonstrably not good care.
Update: Here's the simple/perfect solution: MEDICARE FOR ALL? - BillsReflections.com
In the first video below Stefan Molyneux makes a thorough and compelling case for free-market health care. He makes a great point about how some people are good at making money while others are good at being kind. He suggests excelling at the latter if one is not expert at the former. Because if you are good at being kind, you will have an easier time getting kindness in return should deadly illness befall you and you need assistance. He paints a beautiful picture of why we should all want a helping hand from our fellow man when falling through the cracks in a free-market system, as opposed to relying on the power of the state in a tyrannical, subpar, enabling, facade of utopian health care. Those who fall through the cracks in America of course can always get medical help, it's just that they will accumulate debt.
The new health care bill seeks to keep noble parts of Obamacare like covering preexisting conditions, but sets out to foot the bill in ways other than using government force, such as high risk insurance pools.
More Info:
Regarding welcoming the outsider/foreigner...
Yes, of course Christians can support Trump’s immigration and refugee policies
The recent news about Donald Trump’s Executive Order seems to have created scores of new Biblical scholars. The interesting thing about these Instant Theologians (Instalogians, for short) is that many of them are secularists who regularly deride the Bible as a collection of childish fairy tales. But every once in a while they’ll take a break from sneering at it to suddenly appeal to its moral authority. Of course, the problem is that these brilliant academics have never actually read the “fairy tales,” so when they try to use it as a cudgel to beat conservative conservatives over the head, they more often end up smacking themselves. I’ve been called a “Bible thumper” many times, but I’ve never thumped anyone with a Bible. I prefer to stand back and let them thump themselves.
I’ve been observing this spectacle these last several days, as Leftists have chided Christians for “disobeying the Bible” and “betraying their faith” by refusing to join in the collective freak out over Trump’s policies on immigration and refugees. I’ve heard over and over again that my faith requires me to advocate for the immediate admission of illegal aliens and un-vetted refugees from terror hot spots. The Bible clearly commands it, they say. You can’t be a “real Christian” unless you’re an advocate for open borders and unfettered immigration. National security and sovereignty are heresies!...
...Let’s look at what the Bible actually says. Can a Christian be faithful to Scripture while also supporting Trump’s approach to Middle Eastern refugees and illegal immigrants? Are we compelled by our religion to denounce Trump for putting a hold on the Syrian refugee program in order to strengthen the vetting process? Are we betraying the very faith we profess when we argue in favor of temporarily prohibiting travel from terrorist breeding grounds while the government reassesses how it handles such travelers?The answers are yes, no, and yes. You can, it turns out, be an advocate for strong borders and national security while also being a sincere Christian. These two things are not in conflict. On the contrary, they’re quite in harmony. Scripture does of course say quite a bit about helping the poor and the downtrodden, but one must pay attention to how these instructions are phrased. A few examples:
Matthew 25:35-40: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
Matthew 5:42: Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Deuteronomy 15:11: For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
Luke 12:33-34: Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
James 1:27: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.Luke 10:25-37: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
You’ll notice a few similarities in these passages. For one thing, they tell us what we personally should go out and do for others. Christ did not say, “I was naked so you petitioned your congressman to come up with a state funded program that might eventually lead to someone other than yourself supplying me with some clothing.” No, He said, “I was naked so you clothed me.” You. You, personally. Not your neighbor. Not the State. You. Scripture tells you to provide for the less fortunate of your own accord and with your own time and resources. If you aren’t willing to do that, you shouldn’t feel that you’ve covered that base because at least you complained on Twitter about Republicans not instituting policies that might make up for your personal lack of charity.
Another theme: All of these verses deal with people who are physically nearby. “Your neighbor,” “In your land,” are the key phrases here. That isn’t to say that we should ignore other people’s neighbors in other people’s lands, but it does appear that Christ wanted us to particularly focus on those who are actually in our immediate vicinity. That ought to be our first priority, according to the Bible. Indeed, if everyone tended to that first priority, we would never need to have any priority other than the first.
As we can see, there is no way for an honest person to read these passages and arrive at the conclusion that they rule out things like border walls and temporary travel bans. These are measures the government takes precisely to protect those in our land, and certainly that ought to be the first (and second and third and fourth) priority of our government. It’s for this purpose — the purpose of protecting the people of its own land — that government exists, and it’s by God’s will that it exists and passes laws to that end.
Romans 13: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Yes, Scripture does clearly exhort us not to “oppress” the “sojourners” from other lands (Exodus 22), but is it a form of “oppression” when our duly elected governing authorities pass immigration laws and travel restrictions designed to protect its own people? I don’t see how a sane adult could interpret it that way. And if you do interpret it that way, then you’ve effectively argued that immigration laws are inherently immoral across the board. But if immigration laws are inherently immoral, that would make the government itself inherently immoral because one of the primary and most essential functions of government is to protect the nation’s borders and maintain its sovereignty. How could a nation have a government if it has no borders? Clearly, Romans tell us that governments are necessary, and if it tells us that governments are necessary then it tells us that borders a necessary. You can’t have one without the other.
So, if you feel that Scripture compels you to do something about the refugee crisis, I would suggest that you take your own money and send it to help those in need. If you feel that Scripture compels the government to admit all refugees without screening or filtering them, I would suggest that you go back and read the text again. And if you feel that Scripture compels conservatives to adopt a left wing approach to this issue — even as you openly deny the validity of Scripture and mock those who read it — I would suggest you find a better argument entirely.More:
http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/matt-walsh-yes-of-course-christians-can-support-trumps-immigration-and-refugee-policies/
- 4th Circuit Appeals Court Keeps Door Open For Enemy Forces - The Forgotten Context of Trump's Comments on Banning All Muslims
- BREAKING: 72 Individuals From Trump’s Seven Named Countries Have Been Convicted In Terrorism Cases Since 9/11
- TRUMP IS RIGHT ABOUT ISLAM HATING THE WEST
Christians Need To Stop Being So Naive About Muslim Immigration
The Bible has plenty of examples of God’s people taking measures to protect their communities. There’s no reason to fear every single Muslim we meet, but in looking at the bigger picture, there are perfectly valid reasons to fear the violence and political and cultural change a growing Muslim population can bring...
Are they not aware of the widespread problems with migrants assaulting women in Germany, one of the latest victims being the daughter of a European official, who was raped and drowned? Have they not heard about the sharia law courts Muslim immigrants have created in England and the schools where Muslim children are taught barbaric practices?...
We’ve been marinating in a theology that focuses excessively on grace and inner peace to the exclusion of other parts of the Bible that tell us evil is always on the march.
Both the Old and New Testaments make frequent use of words such as battle, soldier, and warfare in both the literal sense and in a metaphorical spiritual sense. But you will be hard-pressed to hear those words in sermons today. Many Christians have been lulled into a childish view of the world and think that deep down everyone is not too different from them. But history and the contemporary world should show us that fundamentalist Islam is radically different from the beliefs of Christians and other Americans. If we don’t fully wake up to this reality, we will pay a heavier price for our delusions than we already have.More:
http://thefederalist.com/2017/01/06/christians-need-stop-naive-muslim-immigration/
Surely, Jesus would not be OK with his followers being slaughtered. Being complicit in murder is something thou shall not do me thinks.
FLASHBACK Jul 26, 2014 Christians Being Slaughtered - and What is Being Done?
FLASHBACK The Truth About The Crusades
Regarding Jesus turning the other cheek...
Jesus is well known for His continued emphasis on love, forgiveness, and "turning the other cheek." It is therefore surprising to find Jesus advising the disciples to buy a sword in Luke 22:36: "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one." Did Jesus in this verse advocate the use of a sword for self-defense purposes?...
"TURN THE OTHER CHEEK" ALWAYS? It is true that Jesus said to turn the other cheek in Matthew 5:38-42. However, many scholars do not believe pacifism (or nonresistance) is the essential point of His teaching in this passage. These scholars do not believe Jesus was teaching to "turn the other cheek" in virtually all circumstances. Even Christ did not literally turn the other cheek when smitten by a member of the Sanhedrin (see John 18:22-23).
The backdrop to this teaching is that the Jews considered it an insult to be hit in the face, much in the same way that we would interpret someone spitting in our face. Bible scholar R. C. Sproul comments: "What's interesting in the expression is that Jesus specifically mentions the right side of the face [Matthew 5:39]....If I hit you on your right cheek, the most normal way would be if I did it with the back of my right hand....To the best of our knowledge of the Hebrew language, that expression is a Jewish idiom that describes an insult, similar to the way challenges to duels in the days of King Arthur were made by a backhand slap to the right cheek of your opponent."
The principle taught in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38-42 would thus seem to be that Christians should not retaliate when insulted or slandered (see also Romans 12:17-21). Such insults do not threaten a Christian's personal safety. The question of rendering insult for insult, however, is a far cry from defending oneself against a mugger or a rapist.
Self-defense may actually result in one of the greatest examples of human love. Christ Himself said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:14). When protecting one's family or neighbor, a Christian is unselfishly risking his or her life for the sake of others.
Theologians J. P. Moreland and Norman Geisler say that "to permit murder when one could have prevented it is morally wrong. To allow a rape when one could have hindered it is an evil. To watch an act of cruelty to children without trying to intervene is morally inexcusable. In brief, not resisting evil is an evil of omission, and an evil of omission can be just as evil as an evil of commission. Any man who refuses to protect his wife and children against a violent intruder fails them morally."More:
http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/qselfdefense.html
