Minn. religious groups pray against Arizona immigration law

[...] legislation,” which will go into effect at the end of the month. Yes, this is a local issue. According to Andy Birkey, of the Minnesota Independent, several of Minnesota’s religious leaders are calling for this week of prayer, dubbed “Isaiah [...]

Just FYI – Isaiah 58 is the reading from the prophets for Yom Kippur every year. Verse 5 is also worth quoting:
“Is such the fast I desire,
A day for men to starve their bodies?
Is it bowing the head like a bulrush
And lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call that a fast,
A day when the Lord is favorable?”

Do you call that a fast? Indeed.

Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.

It’s not the role of the church to encourage breaking the government’s laws any more than it is the role of the government to encourage the breaking of the church’s laws.

Isaiah 58 has nothing to do with political activity which changing the law is.We have been all through this 2,000 years ago when GOD sent his son and the inhabitants of this planet thought Jesus would lead a revolution. But Jesus said his kingdom was in Heaven and prepared those FOR Heaven. Changing law is a political activity and religious organizations that use GOD’s name to further a Political Agenda, drive others from the Word and FORCE THEIR WILL ON THE MAJORITY will find that road to HELL.

I think you miss Jesus’ point, Dennis. Caesar may have stamped his image on a coin, but we’re created in God’s image. Let Caesar keep his damn money, we belong to something bigger.

I Cor 12. Check it. The state’s declaration of certain people as “illegal” is in conflict with basic Christian teachings. To which authority, then, do we submit? For Christians (and other people of faith), the answer is clear as God’s own image.

I just can’t stand the dishonesty from the proponents of illegal immigration. At the least those against illegal immigration are straight up about their opinion and as a result are roundly criticized as uncaring and worse. What dishonesty and deceipt? The caption on the picture with this article shows a mother and young child and describes the mother as an illegal, and her child as a US citizen. True, but it leaves out the fact that because the mother is from another country her child is ALSO a citizen of THAT country. This is a deliberate attempt to portray the situation as a real dilema if the mother were deported because the child could not follow. How dishonest and absurd. It is her MINOR child and DOES NOT BELONG TO THE STATE JUST BECAUSE THE LEFT WOULD LIKE ALL OF OUR CHILDREN TO BELONG TO THE STATE. All you bleeding hearts out their with children who buy into this are you ok with the state taking your children because you feed them pizza instead of vegetables? Tell me the difference. As for your moralizing, as you abdicate your charitable acts to a secular DC government you worship like a god, the most compassionate solution is for all of these families not to have to flee the beautiful country of Mexico. You should be organizing marches weekly with hundreds of thousands condemning the corrupt Mexican government and corporations. This network would also allow you to raise millions to help those in need IN Mexico. No you have some other agenda and are filthy for hiding it within your use of scripture.

Joel, to which authority do you submit your compassion for others? It appears that it is to the federal government which ultimately collects it’s power to fund your compassion at the point of a gun. Amazing.

Jesus’ crack about Caesar was in answer to whether his followers should pay taxes to the government since they swore allegiance to Him and not Caesar. Jesus rightly advised his followers that he was not here to usurp government and that they should pay their taxes.

Other than that, Jesus didn’t have too much to say about sovereignty that I recall, but I think we can all agree that it’s not the role of the church to define who is legal and who isn’t in the eyes of government.

Remember that the Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus into calling for insurrection against the Roman occupation. In his usual style, Jesus didn’t take the bait, but turned the question on its head to reveal a deeper truth — or at least a deeper question. If you give everything to God which belongs to God, what exactly is left for Caesar?

So whether or not Jesus was actually instructing his followers to pay taxes is an open debate. In contrast, the Hebrew and Christian scriptures are crystal clear on how we should treat foreigners: try Ex 23; Deut 10:17-18 or Matt 26 for starters. Not only does the AZ law conflict with these core biblical teachings, it makes it a crime for Christians, Jews and Muslims to act on those teachings.

Eric Holder’s lawsuit says: “As other states and localities go their own ways, we face the prospect that different rules for immigration will apply in different parts of the country…”

Which means of course that if he prevails, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, San Francisco and other municipalities that have designated themselves as sanctuary cities, are in direct conflict with federal immigration rules for which DOJ claims exclusivity.

So it seems to me that the mayors and their local church groups who are providing sanctuary for illegal immigrants should be hoping that Arizona wins its case.

Ironic, isn’t it?

Mr. Birkey has now ordained himself as a Torah scholar.

It would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.