WWJD? As If They Care

I don't know if I've mentioned this here in so many words, but have you noticed how evangelical "Christians" are oblivious to the teachings of Christ? I ran across two stories this morning that point that up, one directly, one indirectly, but first a couple of Bible verses to set the context. First, from the Gospel According to St. Matthew, Chapter 25:

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. 36 I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’

40 “The King will answer them, 'Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’

45 “Then he will answer them, saying, 'Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

(Emphasis added.)

I emphasized those lines because this post is about refugees (and, by extension, immigrants).

Add in that the Bible is replete with verses admonishing believers to welcome strangers.

Now, from Friendly Atheist, a recent poll:

When it comes to accepting the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the least of these — you know, the people Jesus loved — white evangelical Christians are the least likely people to lend a helping hand.

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that white evangelicals rank lowest when it comes to saying the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees. Only 25% of them approve of accepting people who escape their countries and seek a better life in the United States, compared to 43% of white mainline Protestants and 65% of people without organized religion.

And, via Digby, just to point up the way we treat refugees:

Now, we’ve uncovered tens of thousands of pages of evidence documenting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials physically, sexually, and verbally abusing children. The majority of these children are asylum seekers fleeing violence in Mexico and Central America. Some are teenage mothers. Some are escaping gang violence. Some are in need of medical attention. All of them have risked their lives to find safety – and tragically, CBP has shattered that dream for so many.

CBP’s abuses are not only unconscionably inhumane, but they also violate United States law and international human rights law, which give protections to migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers – no matter their country of origin.

The uncovered documents show CBP officials – including Border Patrol agents – committing the following abuses:

Threatening children with rape and death
Depriving children of food and water and holding them in freezing and unsanitary detention cells
Shooting children with Tasers and stun guns
Punching a child in the head repeatedly
Running over two 17-year-olds with patrol vehicles
Subjecting a 16-year-old girl to a search in which they forcefully spread her legs and touched her genitals

The violations are numerous. By law, CBP can’t hold unaccompanied children for longer than 72 hours. Children in CBP custody are entitled to safe facilities, adequate food and water, and proper medical care. And as federal officials, CBP officers are legally required to report all allegations of child abuse to law enforcement, child protective services, or the FBI.

I can't help but wonder how many of these ICE agents think of themselves as good Christians.

There's a petition at the link.