Good lord we need to bring back the days of posting obnoxious shit about our kids on Facebook. Seems like all people do with it now is share memes and grandstand on political issues. And it's always under the "I'm normally not political, but..." Shut up.
Here's a grand one from a Catholic Father (original post here). Now I guess because he's a priest or something he's an authority on matters of morality? Uh, no thanks. I mean, he's probably more of a moral man than President Obama, but so is a drug dealer.
Add to this that the post is written to reflect the irrational feelings of the same group of people (read: leftists) who... favor abortion, have no problem with children out of wedlock, support gay marriage, and shit on religion in general. Nice work, Father.
Here are his statements with my response:
Dear friends: I'm not by nature a political person, and I try to steer away from pure politics on this page as far as possible. But when a major presidential candidate calls for a ban on Muslims from entering our country, even for a period, as Donald Trump did today, it is time to make an exception and say something.
And you should, Father, and so will I. Now try to learn a bit about my (and Trump's) arguments without labeling me a bigot.
This is religious stereotyping at its worst, and should be rejected by every Catholic, indeed every Christian. For Jesus asks us in the clearest terms possible to care for the stranger: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." (Mt. 25:35).
Stereotyping at its worst? Seems like when anywhere from 12 to 30-something percent of Muslims support terrorism, there's a pretty decent chance that if you randomly draw a Muslim from a group, you're going to hit someone with terrorist sympathies or tendencies. Or an active terrorist. I'd call that pretty good stereotyping. If 1 in 10 white guys thought it was okay to kill Asians, for instance, I'd advise the Asians to steer clear.
Even when it is difficult. Remember: In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the man who stops to help had no idea if the the robbers who had beaten the man by the side of the road were still lying in wait. (Lk 10:25-37). And the point of that parable is particularly apt today. Jesus had been asked, "Who is my neighbor?" The answer, which surprised his Jewish audience, was a Samaritan, a member of a hated religious group. Jesus's message could not be any clearer. When it comes to the Christian path, there is no "other." There is just an "us."
Interesting use the Good Samaritan Parable. Christ used that parable to (among other things) counter the Jews' oppression and hatred for Samaritans. Please point out to me where we have oppressed foreign-born Muslims. Again, foreign-born. While you're at it, point out to me where any Samaritans had previously killed Jews or subscribed to a religion that advocated the subjugation of Jews. I wonder if the parable would have been as well received if Christ had used a Roman soldier as the injured man.
Even earlier, the Book of Exodus twice enjoins the Hebrew people to care for the stranger and the alien. "You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt." (22:21; 23:9) There is a clear tradition running throughout both the Old and New Testaments of caring for strangers. In fact, the very beginning of the three great religions has Abraham and Sarah rewarded for their hospitality to total strangers (Gen. 18: 1-15)
I know a bit about the Bible, too. I'm not sure how Muslims are being "oppressed" by us asking them to remain in their own country. It is not a human right to immigrate to someone else's country. We, as Americans, can pick who comes here and (surprise, surprise) most Americans prefer a culture, language, and religion similar to their own, For that matter, all people do, not just Americans.
American Catholics in particular should reject this kind of ugly stereotyping because they themselves--we ourselves--were subjected to this precise kind of treatment in past centuries. We were the "Catholic menace," dangerous because we were controlled by Rome, unfit to be considered good citizens. Such anti-Catholicism gave rise to the Know Nothing Party and numerous incidents of anti-Catholic violence.
Considering the history of the Catholic church and its oppression of native peoples and perpetuation of widespread ignorance among the masses throughout most of the Middle Ages, there's a good chance these people had the right idea in keeping the Catholics out, too. Let's not forget either that our country was founded by people fleeing an overbearing state religion. Might that be a reason to not want a large contingent of Catholics in your new country? Do these thoughts ever occur to you people or is thinking critically just, "nah"? However, it still might have been acceptable to allow some Catholics in because at least the Catholics were not from a culture diametrically opposed to the natives'.
Whether done to Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims (or any other religious group) blaming an entire religion for the sins of a few who claim the label of that religion is always wrong. And sinful.
Yeah, it's INSANE that Trump would not want to import people from countries that oppress Christians, women, gays, and other races. Or nations that produce radicals.
In the name of preventing evil, we risk doing evil.
It's shocking how out of touch people are with the state of the world. Talk to France about their no-go zones or their prison systems which are overwhelmed with immigrants. They are setting criminals free because the justice system is so packed with law-breakers (not native French people) they cannot offer speedy trials. Other than that, sound reasoning, Padre.
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