THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
JUNE 16, 2018


THIS NIV (NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION) TRANSLATION OF THE VERSES MENTIONED IS MAINLY THE SAME AS THE WAY I READ THE KJV, BUT NOT QUITE. I SEE NOTHING HERE IN NIV EXCEPT A TOTAL REPUDIATION OF “REBELLING” IN ANY WAY, AND OF COURSE ONLY IN THE LAST TWO HUNDRED YEARS OR SO HAVE GOVERNMENTS BEEN SUBJECT TO THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE, OR EVEN TO THE RULE OF LAW AT ALL. ALMOST NOBODY IN THIS GENERATION OF AMERICANS BELIEVES THAT.

AFTER THIS NIV QUOTATION, GO ON TO THE KJV (KING JAMES VERSION) BELOW THAT. THERE IS ROOM FOR INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT IN THAT ONE, AND I BELIEVE THE GROUNDS FOR PRINCIPLED CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE. SEE VERSE 3, 5 AND 8, ESPECIALLY, WHICH REFER TO OBEDIENCE TO CONSCIENCE AND TO LOVE FULFILLING THE LAW. IN VERSE 3, IT SPEAKS OF GOOD AS BEING BUILT INTO THE CONCEPT OF EARTHLY AUTHORITY, WHICH IS MANY TIMES INACCURATE AT BEST.

WHEN, HOWEVER, IT IS NOT, AND WHEN THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED, IT IS MY VIEW THAT THE DUTY OF AN AMERICAN CITIZEN IS TO DO THAT – VERBALLY WHEN POSSIBLY, BUT THROUGH CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE WHEN WORDS AREN’T EFFECTIVE AND OBEDIENCE DOES NOT BRING JUSTICE. THESE BIBLE VERSES ARE, OF COURSE, CHOSEN BY AUTHORITARIAN THINKERS IN THE PERSONS OF JEFFREY SESSIONS AND DONALD TRUMP, BECAUSE THEY ALMOST TOTALLY PROHIBIT ANY VESTIGE OF DEMOCRATIC DECISION-MAKING AND SELF-GOVERNMENT. IN A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT, ALL RULES MUST BE MODIFIED WHERE THEY DO NOT APPLY ACCURATELY AS WRITTEN. EVEN THE APOSTLE PAUL SPENT TIME IN PRISON FOR DISOBEYING THE ROMAN LAW.

NIV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+13%3A1-7&version=NIV
Romans 13:1-7 New International Version (NIV)

Submission to Governing Authorities

13 1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


KJV
http://www.biblecloud.com/kjv/romans/13/1-7 -- KING JAMES VERSION

Romans 13

1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.



THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO SHOWS THE UPDATE ON THE TRIALS OF DETAINED IMMIGRANTS --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtXd4QiVGXM. IT IS A NEWS VIDEO OF A TRIAL OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, IN GROUPS OF 70 OR 75 IN THE MORNING AND THE SAME NUMBER IN THE AFTERNOON. THEIR LAWYERS HAVE SOME 5 MINUTES WITH THEM BEFORE REPRESENTING THEM IN COURT. THIS IS JUST NOT “THE AMERICAN WAY.”

THIS CNN COMMENTARY ON THE SESSIONS QUOTATION OF A BIBLE VERSE IS DETAILED AND ANALYTICAL. IT IS VERY INTERESTING, AND WELL-CONSIDERED IN MY VIEW. THE TROUBLE WITH READINGS OF THE BIBLE, OR OF ANYTHING ELSE WHICH HAS ANY COMPLEXITY TO IT, IS THAT INTERPRETATIONS VARY FROM PERSON TO PERSON. A LAW OR INTERPRETATION OF A LAW, SHOULD NOT BE BASED SIMPLY ON THE BIBLE, IN MY OPINION. BASE IT ALSO ON THE COMMON LAW, THE CONSTITUTION AND FROM THAT, THE CURRENT SUPREME COURT RULINGS. EVEN IN THOSE CASES, I BELIEVE IN THE INDIVIDUAL’S RIGHT TO DISPUTE THE MEANING OF A LAW OR THE APPLICABILITY OF IT, OR TO JOIN IN GROUPS FOR THAT PURPOSE. I SAY THAT, AS ONE WHO DOES INDEED BELIEVE THAT ORDER, IF IT IS FAIRLY ENFORCED WITHOUT VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS, IS A GOOD THING; BUT OPPRESSION IS PART OF THAT CONTINUUM, AND THEREFORE NOT TO BE OBEYED. THE AUTHORITIES SHOULD ABIDE BY CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS AS WELL.

AS A SOLDIER OR POLICEMAN SHOULD APPLY RULES IN A CONSIDERED WAY RATHER THAN WITH BLIND ACCEPTANCE THAT THE USE IS ONE OF GOOD RATHER THAN ABUSE, I DON’T BELIEVE THAT ANY RULE SHOULD BE ENFORCED IN A SPIRIT OF “ZERO TOLERANCE,” AS THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE IS BOASTING ABOUT IN THIS CASE, BECAUSE HUMAN NEEDS SHOULD ALWAYS BE CONSIDERED. YEARS AGO, WHEN AN ANTI-WAR FRIEND TOLD ME THAT THE MILITARY PHRASE “COLLATERAL DAMAGE” DID NOT REFER TO BUILDINGS, BUT TO HUMAN LIVES, I WAS HORRIFIED; AND THAT IS THE VERY PROCESS THAT I SEE GOING ON IN THE SEPARATION OF DEPENDENT CHILDREN FROM THEIR PARENTS. WHAT A SANITIZED VERSION OF THE IDEA THAT IS.

BY THE SAME TOKEN, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT AN AUTHORITARIAN REGIME SHOULD BE OBEYED WITH NO RECOURSE TO BOTH THE LAW AND THE RIGHT TO DEMONSTRATE OUR POLITICAL AND SOCIAL BELIEFS AND ASPIRATIONS FOR THE SOCIETY. I DO NOT BELIEVE, IN OTHER WORDS, THAT A BIBLE VERSE, OR A LAW OF THE NATION, SHOULD PREVENT THE FREE EXERCISE OF OUR HUMAN RIGHTS. WHETHER OR NOT AN “ILLEGAL” HAS ANY “AMERICAN RIGHTS,” THEY DO HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS. THAT DEFINITELY INCLUDES FREEDOM FROM HAVING A NURSING BABY PULLED FROM THE MOTHER’S ARMS, AS ONE OF THE IMMIGRANTS CLAIMS. I DO BELIEVE, THOUGH, THAT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A BORDER PATROL AGENT COULD BE UNAWARE OF THAT FACT IF THE CHILD’S FACE WAS COVERED UP, AND THE WOMAN’S BREAST ALSO WAS, OUT OF MODESTY. I THINK IT WOULD TAKE A POOR EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN TO DO THAT.

ON THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE, I AM, OF COURSE, AN AGNOSTIC AND GIVEN TO “THINKING” BEFORE I “BELIEVE;” SO, I BELIEVE THAT THE BIBLE IS NOT “THE DIVINE WORD OF GOD,” BUT A COMBINATION OF HISTORY, FOLK BELIEFS, AND PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGS. ANCIENT FOLK HISTORY IS NOT USUALLY "FANTASY," BUT FRAGMENTARY MATERIAL WITH MEANING AND TRUTH IN IT, WHICH OVER TIME HAS BECOME DISORGANIZED AND REORGANIZED IN THE RETELLINGS. BUT I DON’T EXPECT IT TO MEAN SOMETHING THAT ISN’T ABOUT HUMAN FAIRNESS AND DECENCY. I FURTHER BELIEVE THAT GOVERNMENTS SHOULD ABIDE BY THE CONCEPT OF “DECENCY,” AS MUCH AS INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS SHOULD. IF THEY DON’T, THEN THE CITIZENRY SHOULD OBJECT.

WHEN A BIBLE VERSE OR A MODERN LAW IS BEING USED TO JUSTIFY SLAVERY OR THIS UNGODLY SEPARATION OF CHILDREN FROM THEIR PARENTS; THEN IT IS NEITHER APPROPRIATE TO THAT TASK, NOR THE FINAL – AND ONLY – WORD ON THAT OR OTHER EARTHLY MATTER. I DON’T BELIEVE IN HEAVEN AND HELL, OR SPIRITUAL “BEINGS,” BUT I DO BELIEVE IN GOOD AND EVIL; AND THAT A LAW OR PHILOSOPHY THAT IS ABUSIVE IS NOT GOING TO PRODUCE GOODNESS. FASCISM IS, AFTER ALL, A PHILOSOPHY.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/15/us/sessions-bible-quote-apostle-paul/index.html
What does the Bible verse Jeff Sessions quoted really mean?
Daniel Burke-Profile-Image1
By Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor
Updated 9:50 PM ET, Fri June 15, 2018

VIDEO – “TRUMP: I HATE CHILDREN ARE BEING TAKEN AWAY” 1:38
VIDEO – NEW DEVELOPMENTS 2:20

(CNN)It's been called one of the most important and most misunderstood passages in the Bible: Romans 13:1-7.

"The most historically influential paragraph Paul ever wrote," in the words of one scholar.

Likely written by the Apostle Paul around 57 AD, Romans 13, including the snippet cited by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday, instructs Christians to submit to "God's servants." That is, the government.

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established," the passage says. "The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."

Romans 13 has been cited by Nazi sympathizers and apartheid-enforcers, slave owners and loyalists opposed to the American Revolution. Modern Christians have wrestled with how to apply the passage to issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and taxes.

Sessions cites Bible to defend immigration policies resulting in family separations

Thursday, Sessions cited Romans 13 to defend the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" prosecution policy on illegal immigration. In a speech addressed to his "church friends," Sessions said:

"I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended Sessions, saying, "It is very biblical to enforce the law."

In some ways, Sessions' citation of Romans 13 makes sense. Many of the "church friends" to whom the attorney general addressed his speech had quoted scripture to criticize current immigration policies, particularly the separation of children from their parents.

The Southern Baptist Convention, for example, passed a resolution Tuesday that cited Scripture six times to make the case for immigration reform. (Some Southern Baptists also cited Romans 13 in the controversial decision to allow Vice President Mike Pence to address their annual meeting.)

But what did Paul really mean when he wrote his letter to the Romans? Should Christians be expected to obey all human laws and cooperate with all regimes? And why would Paul counsel submission to a state power that had executed his savior?

Here are five ways Christians have tried to answer those questions:

1. The Bible is full of civil disobedience.

In citing Romans, Sessions made a small but telling slip. He said Paul commanded Christians to "obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them."

But Romans doesn't quite say that. It says obey the "governing authorities" -- that is, the government, not the laws. You could argue that one implies the other, but the Bible teems with examples of heroes who disobey the law.

The Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans has been cited through the centuries.

Take Daniel, for example, who was thrown to the lions because he wouldn't obey an edict requiring all subjects of King Darius to pray only to him. Daniel went home, threw open the windows for all to see and got on his knees, defying the edict. It was a blatant act of civil disobedience.

"Whenever laws are enacted which contradict God's law, civil disobedience becomes a Christian duty," the late evangelical eminence John Stott wrote in a Bible study on Romans 13.

2. Paul thought Roman spies were reading his letters.

Big Brother wasn't around in the first century, but life as a Christian, especially a Jewish Christian, wasn't free from state surveillance.

Just a few years before Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, the empire had expelled Jews from Rome for "rioting at the instigation of Chrestus," according to the Roman historian Suetonius. Some scholars believe Chrestus is a misspelling of Christ.

It's not too big a stretch to imagine that Paul, writing to a small band of religious subversives in the capital of the empire, would suspect that his letters could fall into imperial hands.

"Paul is probably writing to be read by government officials as well as by the church in Rome," John Piper, an influential evangelical pastor, said in a sermon series on Romans 13.

"He knows that this letter will find its way into Caesar's household and into the hands of the civil authorities. He wants them to understand two truths. One is that Christians are not out to overthrow the empire politically by claiming Jesus, and not Caesar, is Lord."

The other thing Paul wants the Romans to know, Piper says, is that their authority is based on God's.

3. Paul was talking about angels, not attorneys general.

Who, exactly, are the "authorities" that Paul is urging Christians to submit to?

Oscar Cullman, a New Testament scholar who died in 1999, posed an interesting theory: Paul was talking about cosmic authorities, not civil ones. Or rather, he was talking about both.

Theologian: Jeff Sessions misreads the Bible to justify separating families

As Cullman noted, some early Christians, like some first-century Jews, believed that guardian angels -- "the angels of the nations" -- sat above the earthly rulers, somewhere between God and man.

In other parts of the New Testament, Paul sometimes using the same Greek word to describe earthly and angelic authorities.

On a practical level, you could understand why Cullman, a Lutheran who lived in Europe during the rise of Hitler, would be attracted to this idea. It's easier to counsel submission to angels than to Nazis.

But many scholars have dismissed Cullman's theory, saying the "authorities" in Romans 13 refer to the earthly government. Later in Romans 13, Paul notes that Christians pay taxes to "God's servants" -- and, as we all know, the taxman is no angel.

4. Paul was worried about a Jewish uprising.

Much of Paul's letter to the Romans is about Jewish/Gentile relationships. This was a time when Christians were divided about whether "true" Christians had to be one or the other.

Some Bible scholars theorize that Paul feared Jewish Christians would rebel against the Roman authorities. He had good reason to be worried. Jewish Christians had just been allowed back into Rome after being expelled. A governmental crackdown could have crushed the small and fractious Christian community.

"Paul was not attempting in Romans 13:1-7 to write out a manifesto for Church-State relations for the next two or three millennia," writes Matthew Neufeld, a Mennonite scholar.

"His concern was pastoral and local. ... Paul was advising against anti-Roman and Palestinian nationalist sentiments among the Jewish Christians in Rome."
5. Paul was being ironic.

At first glance, writes British scholar T.L. Carter, Romans 13 may look like "an embarrassingly unqualified endorsement of the political status quo."

But Paul was likely aware of the Jewish expulsion from Rome, as well as other persecutions, Carter argues. So it's hard to fathom why he would portray the government as divinely sanctioned.

Paul's praise for government authority so over the top, it's possible that he meant to be ironic, Carter says. In other words, Romans 13 is not praise, it's a cleverly disguised critique.

"By using the technique of irony, Paul was able to express his criticism without fear of repercussions from the authorities, who may have been oblivious to the disparity between the ideal he portrays and the reality of their government."

Carter acknowledges that his interpretation is somewhat idiosyncratic. Many Christians take a more straightforward reading of Romans 13, even as they struggle to apply to modern life.

"It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the history of the interpretation of Romans 13:1-7," says New Testament scholar Douglas Moo, "is the history of attempts to avoid what seems to be its plain meaning."



THIS PROGRESSIVE VOICE NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION IN OUR TIME, WHEN MOST POPES THAT I CAN REMEMBER WERE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT DOCTRINAL VIRTUE AND LESS ABOUT INTERPERSONAL VIRTUE. AT LEAST SOME LIBERALITY IS THE TREND OF THE DAY, OF COURSE, EXCEPT FOR THE BAPTISTS AND OTHER PROTESTANT EVANGELICALS, AND THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. THIS POPE IS NOT TIMID. I REALLY LIKE HIM.

“THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT GOD ‘LOVES THE FOREIGNER RESIDING AMONG YOU, GIVING THEM FOOD AND CLOTHING. AND YOU ARE TO LOVE THOSE WHO ARE FOREIGNERS, FOR YOU YOURSELVES WERE FOREIGNERS IN EGYPT’ (DEUTERONOMY 10:18-19).” Pope Francis pic.twitter.com/Yt8i7b39VN”



WAPO WEIGHS IN WITH TWO INTERVIEWS AND A NEW CHRISTIANITY ORIENTED ORGANIZATION, BARNA*.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/06/14/jeff-sessions-points-to-the-bible-in-defense-of-separating-immigrant-families/
Acts of Faith
Sessions cites Bible passage used to defend slavery in defense of separating immigrant families
By Julie Zauzmer and Keith McMillan
June 15 at 5:49 AM

PHOTOGRAPH --Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks about immigration to law enforcement officers in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Thursday. (Mike Moore/Journal-Gazette/AP)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday used a Bible verse to defend his department’s policy of prosecuting everyone who crosses the border from Mexico, suggesting that God supports the government in separating immigrant parents from their children.

“I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes,” Sessions said during a speech to law enforcement officers in Fort Wayne, Ind. “Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves. Consistent and fair application of the law is in itself a good and moral thing, and that protects the weak and protects the lawful.”

Government officials occasionally refer to the Bible as a line of argument — take, for instance, the Republicans who have quoted 2 Thessalonians (“if a man will not work, he shall not eat”) to justify more stringent food stamps requirements.

But the verse that Sessions cited, Romans 13, is an unusual choice.

“There are two dominant places in American history when Romans 13 is invoked,” said John Fea, a professor of American history at Messiah College in Pennsylvania. “One is during the American Revolution [when] it was invoked by loyalists, those who opposed the American Revolution.”

The other, Fea said, “is in the 1840s and 1850s, when Romans 13 is invoked by defenders of the South or defenders of slavery to ward off abolitionists who believed that slavery is wrong. I mean, this is the same argument that Southern slaveholders and the advocates of a Southern way of life made.”

In May, Sessions announced a zero-tolerance policy in which the Justice Department would begin prosecuting everyone who crosses the Southwest border. Part of the policy shift meant that migrants traveling with children or unaccompanied minors end up detained instead of released; U.S. immigration law charges adults with a crime, but not the children, which means they’re held separately.

The Associated Press cited U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures from two weeks in May in which more than 650 children were separated from parents. Reports from the same month that the government lost track of 1,475 children sparked a national outcry; those reports were later disputed.

Sessions has said “we’ve got to get this message out” that asylum seekers or anyone else immigrating through unofficial means is not given immunity. He appealed to “church friends” later in Thursday’s speech in Fort Wayne, emphasizing that non-citizens who enter the United States illegally are breaking the law.

On the same issue, other religious groups and individuals have cited the Bible as well, to take the opposite side.

“Overwhelmingly, Scripture causes families to be kept together,” said Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. “Overwhelmingly Scripture causes us to defend families. As Evangelicals, we have a doctrine to be a pro-family-values people, you know. The Bible calls us to be pro-family, and I personally find it deeply lamentable that we are separating children from their parents at the border or anywhere.”

Likewise, on Thursday afternoon, the Migrants and Refugees Section at the Vatican tweeted a verse of Deuteronomy:

“The Bible teaches that God ‘loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt’ (Deuteronomy 10:18-19).” Pope Francis pic.twitter.com/Yt8i7b39VN

— Migrants & Refugees (@M_RSection) June 14, 2018
At a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Wednesday, the nation’s Catholic leaders strongly condemned the administration’s immigration policies as immoral, with one bishop going so far as to suggest that Catholics who help carry out the Justice Department’s policies are violating their faith and perhaps should be denied Communion.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a briefing Thursday that she hadn’t seen Sessions’s comments, but she backed his line of thinking.

“I can say that it is very biblical to enforce the law. That is actually repeated a number of times throughout the Bible,” she said. “It’s a moral policy to follow and enforce the law.”

Fea, the American history professor, said that after the Civil War, historians don’t see many references to Romans 13 because the essence of the passage — submission to authority — is regarded as un-American.

“America was built and born on rebellion and a sort of radical resistance to authority,” Fea said. “Whenever Romans 13 was used in the 18th and the 19th century — and Sessions seems to be doing the same thing, so in this sense there is some continuity — it’s a way of manipulating the scriptures to justify your own political agenda.”

The chapter itself can be interpreted in varying ways.

“Romans 13 says that the purpose of government is to pursue what is good, and it says that the government should not be a terror for those who are doing good,” said Matthew Soerens, U.S. director of church mobilization for World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals.

“You cannot read Romans 13 without reading Romans 12,” Salguero said, pointing to the prior chapter, which in part suggests that love must be the guide instead of evil.

“Laws are good, and order is good, but that doesn’t mean that separating families from each other is a good law,” he said. “There are good laws, and there are bad laws, and separating families from each other is a bad policy. We’re not against the law, we’re against bad laws and bad policies.”

Besides, as Soerens points out, the person in the Bible whom Sessions referenced ran afoul of the law.

“The fact that the Apostle Paul, who wrote Romans, wrote several epistles from jail suggests that he was occasionally on the wrong side of an unjust law,” Soerens said.

The evangelical polling group Barna* found that evangelical Christians’ attitudes toward immigration seem to be warming somewhat. In 2016, Barna found that 42 percent of evangelicals agreed with the statement “We allow too many immigrants into the country,” compared with 30 percent of American adults overall. By the next year, just 23 percent of adults overall and 31 percent of evangelicals agreed.

Hannah Natanson contributed to this report.

Read more:
The U.S. lost track of 1,475 immigrant children last year. Here’s why people are outraged.
Sessions defends separating immigrant parents and children: ‘We’ve got to get this message out’
Sessions vows to prosecute all illegal border crossers and separate children from their parents
Southern Baptists debate handling of a #MeToo case and hear a controversial speech from Pence



THIS ARTICLE GIVES ME NO INDICATION THAT BARNA IS A CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN, BUT I CHECKED IN WIKIPEDIA, AND I CONCLUDE THAT HE PROBABLY IS. HOWEVER, HE IS PROMINENT AMONG RELIGIOUS AMERICANS FOR RESEARCH AND FAITH-SOCIETAL TRENDS. THIS IS WHAT WIKIPEDIA SAYS OF HIS BACKGROUND:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Barna

“George Barna grew up a Catholic in New York City and Princeton, New Jersey, but has since engaged with evangelical Christianity.[4]

Barna has filled executive roles in politics, marketing, advertising, media development, research and ministry. He founded the Barna Research Group in 1984 (now The Barna Group) and helped it become a leading marketing research firm focused on the intersection of faith and culture before selling it in 2009. Through Barna Group, George has served several hundred parachurch ministries, thousands of Christian churches, and many other non-profit and for-profit organizations as well as the U.S. military.

He currently serves as the Executive Director of the American Culture and Faith Institute (a division of United in Purpose), and is President of Metaformation, a faith development organization.”


http://www.georgebarna.com/
GEORGE BARNA

A website containing research analysis, social commentary, and personal reflections by George Barna related to cultural transformation and individual growth.

George Barna has filled executive roles in politics, marketing, advertising, media development, research and ministry. He founded the Barna Research Group in 1984 (now Barna Group) and helped it become a leading marketing research firm focused on the intersection of faith and culture before selling it in 2009. Through Barna Group, George has served several hundred parachurch ministries, thousands of Christian churches, and many other non-profit and for-profit organizations as well as the U.S. military.

He currently serves as the Executive Director of the American Culture and Faith Institute (a division of United in Purpose), and is President of Metaformation, a faith development organization.

Barna has written more than 50 books, mostly addressing cultural trends, leadership, spiritual development, and church dynamics. They include New York Times bestsellers and several award-winning books. His works have been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages. He has sold more books based on survey research related to matters of faith than any author in American history.

His work is frequently cited as an authoritative source by the media. Barna has been hailed as “the most quoted person in the Christian Church today” and has been named by various media as one of the nation’s most influential Christian leaders.

A frequent speaker at ministry conferences around the world, he has been on the faculty at several universities and seminaries, and has served as a pastor of a large, multi-ethnic church as well as a house church, and has helped to start several churches.

After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two Master’s degrees from Rutgers University and has a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University.

After attending high school and college together, George and his wife Nancy married in 1978. They have three adopted daughters and two grandchilden, live on the central California coast, and attend Mission Church in Ventura. He enjoys reading, music, rooting for the Yankees and Lakers, and relaxing on the beach.

NOTE, BARNA IS ALSO CONNECTED WITH A SEGMENT OF MODERN CHRISTIAN THOUGHT THAT IS NEW TO ME – A NON-CONGREGATIONAL WAY OF PRACTICING THE RELIGION. GO TO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-congregational_narrative.


AS DOES THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE NEW YORK TIMES, NPR.ORG ALWAYS PRODUCES SOMETHING USEFUL. IN THIS CASE, THEY HAVE INTERVIEWED LOCAL PEOPLE IN CALIFORNIA ON THEIR VIEWS ABOUT IMMIGRATION, AND ESPECIALLY THIS TRUMPIAN VISION OF IT. THE RESPONSES GIVE ME MORE HOPE THAN MERELY WATCHING THE NEWS DOES, AND THAT’S A VERY NICE THING.

https://www.npr.org/2018/05/18/612441084/how-the-trump-administrations-zero-tolerance-immigration-policy-is-playing-out-i
How The Trump Administration's 'Zero Tolerance' Immigration Policy Is Playing Out In California
May 18, 20184:21 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
Kirk Siegler 2017 square
KIRK SIEGLER

It's unclear whether the Trump administration's new "zero tolerance" policy at the border will have its intended effect of deterring illegal border crossings. Some in the San Diego area welcome the crackdown, believing lax immigration enforcement plagues the border lands.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Next we're going to take a closer look at how the Trump Administration's new zero tolerance policy against illegal immigration is playing out in California. The administration says it plans to criminally prosecute anyone who crosses the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. That is a change from long-standing practice of simply turning back first-time offenders with no criminal records. As NPR's Kirk Siegler reports, there are plenty in the region who welcome the crackdown.

KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: As a general rule, the farther you travel away from the densely populated California coast, the more conservative the views get. In the deserts east of San Diego where the sprawl gives way to horse farms and ranches, Pine Valley is a tiny blip of a town. It's near a Border Patrol checkpoint along Interstate 8.

CORY PETERSON: Good morning. How are you?

SIEGLER: Major's Diner is a popular hangout for Border Patrol agents on break and the many retirees who have settled here lately, like Cory Peterson.

PETERSON: Might as well enforce it, you know, and keep the riffraff out as much as you can.

SIEGLER: Peterson says the Trump administration's zero tolerance means they're just following the laws on the books.

PETERSON: I feel like they should've done it a long time ago.

SIEGLER: Dianne Jacob has represented this area on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors since 1993. She says drug and human smuggling over the border has gotten more sophisticated and dangerous.

DIANNE JACOB: And we're not just talking about Mexican nationals. We're talking about people from other countries coming across to here. And their motives are not pure.

SIEGLER: Jacob says it's not like it was back in the '70s when she was a schoolteacher here when most people were just crossing the border looking for a job. She still has some sympathy for those folks.

JACOB: Somebody that's, say, coming over for work - it's wrong. It's illegal. You know, it's the law. But if they come across once just to find work, then, hey, give them a break.

SIEGLER: Jacob welcomes the Trump administration's crackdown. But like a lot of Republican leaders along the border, her tone on zero tolerance is nuanced.

JACOB: I'm not sure that the policy to do that could be effective just because of the resources that would be needed to prosecute.

SIEGLER: And she's not the only one asking that question. Ev Meade directs the University of San Diego's Trans-Border Institute. He points out that there is already a huge backlog of immigration cases on the order of 700,000.

EV MEADE: They would be taking on potentially thousands of prosecutions, and they would be thousands of prosecutions that would go into the regular court system. And they'd also have to provide counsel and defense counsel for all these folks.

SIEGLER: Meade says this could distract prosecutors from the serious criminal immigration cases. He thinks zero tolerance is mostly optics.

MEADE: It's the sort of shadow play of politics. It's, you know, making a claim to particular political constituencies in the United States that the administration is tough on the border and tough on immigration.

SIEGLER: Not so, says Dianne Jacob.

JACOB: I don't think it's optics, not with this administration. I think this administration means business, and I think that's good.

SIEGLER: Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently rushed 35 more criminal prosecutors down to the southwest border and assigned 18 more immigration judges to deal with the backlog. Now, that might not make a big dent, but it could send a strong message of deterrence to people who are trying to cross illegally or showing up at the ports of entry asking for asylum.

The administration's cause celeb was the recent highly publicized caravan of Central American asylum-seekers that were held up at the border in Tijuana. Despite all of the drama, most of the caravan has now been allowed into the U.S. detention system. And here in Tijuana today, only a handful of the members are still in limbo.

In this cafe, families are sitting on couches, looking stressed as they wait to talk to pro bono attorneys.

ERIKA PINHEIRO: (Speaking Spanish).

SIEGLER: Attorney Erika Pinheiro is advising them to apply for asylum here in Mexico instead. They either don't have a strong enough case for the U.S. or don't want to be separated from their families. So it would appear then that the zero tolerance is having a deterrent effect. But Pinheiro isn't convinced.

PINHEIRO: I've personally spoken with thousands of asylum-seekers. And despite the advisals* that, you know, you're going to be detained; your case might be rushed, the people who still make the decision to go tell me that if they stay, they'll lose their lives.

SIEGLER: Pinheiro says desperate people will try to cross no matter how difficult it becomes. Kirk Siegler, NPR News, San Diego.

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I ALMOST “SIC’D” THIS WORD, BUT DECIDED TO LOOK FOR THE DEFINITION FIRST. IT IS VERY, VERY UNCOMMON, BUT IT’S A WORD.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advisal

advisal
noun ad·vis·al \ əd-ˈvī-zəl \

Popularity: Bottom 20% of words

Definition of advisal
: an act or instance of giving advice
Truman consulted with lawyers around the country who advised that case law at the time showed that without an advisal from the court, an appeal could be launched at another time … —Felisa Cardona, Denver Post, 24 Feb. 2009

Love words? You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.