Do Unto Others

I am working on a couple of items concerning Pope Francis but the Paris atrocity has taken center stage and on my Facebook page, a relative called me out because I had previously posted a message about our moral obligations to the displaced of the Middle East who are also victims of ISIL. After Paris, how could I now defend my position?

What follows is my response. It's a bit harsh, but  Christians envision a judgment of God much harsher than any words I can write.

In my opinion, anyone who claims to be a Christian who can turn his or her back on the plight of those being driven from their homes is at best a hypocrite. At the worst they should await the judgment: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,  I was a stranger and you did not welcome me..." Matthew 25: 41-43

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, all of the "good" people passed by the stranger in distress, no doubt fearing that he may be a robber or some such. The Samaritans were a people despised in Israel because their religion was a heretical hodgepodge of Jewish and pagan belief.

I have had Moslem-American clients. They were hard working Americans and some were quite successful. Many of them began running newsstands and some of them wound-up owning restaurants.

There was a very touching story about the impact of the Paris atrocity on American Moslems published on the Huffington post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/message-of-support-for-muslims_56479bfbe4b08cda34891bcf  Read and weep. Many did.

That doesn't mean we should clasp vipers to our bosom. It does mean that we should vet as carefully as we can those who seek shelter. I would think we should get their fingerprints, their picture of sufficient resolution and maybe even a DNA sample before admittance. That will take some work and expenditure. Maybe some will object but we do require visas of even casual visitors.

But the sleeping giant of an issue is climate change because the dislocation of millions of people has started and will become the greatest challenge of the next generation. It is predicted that by 2100 the Persian Gulf area will be uninhabitable because temperatures will be in the range of 170 F or so. That's about 80 million who will be displaced.

I don't have to worry about that except that I have grandchildren who I care about who may be around then (Or their children if they as lucky as Rene and I).

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