Article: Christian Today – Franklin Graham Defends Trump’s Ban On Refugees – ‘It’s Not a Bible Issue’
Franklin Graham is the son of famous Christian evangelist Billy Graham. He heads a charity called Samaritan’s Purse.
The parable of the Good Samaritan was Jesus’ response when a religious scholar was trying to find a loophole when asked to fulfill God’s law by “loving thy neighbor” in a way that was reflective of how he would take care of his own needs. In Jesus’ answer to the scholar’s question “who is my neighbor” he specifically compares the actions of religious people of the time (a priest, a Levite) to that of a Samaritan when it came to helping someone in need who could not help themselves. Historically, the Jews and the Samaritans were religious enemies, and were hostile towards each other. So choosing a Samaritan as the example of following God’s will was a very provocative way of making his point.
So if told in contemporary times, the parable would go something like this: thousands of refugees who are suffering and unable to help themselves were fleeing their country. The son of an evangelist who headed a Christian organization called Samaritan’s Purse heard this and said, “it’s not a Bible issue” and let the refugees continue to suffer. Next a White Conservative Born-Again Christian saw the suffering refugee, stayed quiet, and also did nothing. Finally, a Muslim, or Atheist, or Buddhist, or Democrat, or Liberal, or Catholic, or Progressive Pro-Choice Non-traditional-marriage affirming Christian, or Snowflake, saw their suffering and helped them in whatever way they could, and committed to continue to help until the refugee was safe.
When I grew up going to church, a Bible verse was often referenced to shame us into not dating or spending too much time with non-Christians. That verse is 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”
Now I see that this verse had nothing to do with my friends, but has more to do with something we are seeing right now, where Christians who hitch their wagon to White Nationalists are being yanked in directions that any good person can see is wrong.
God doesn’t put powerful people in power to advance his kingdom. His M.O. is laid out clearly over and over again in the Bible and in history. It is summarized in 1 Corinthians 1:27 “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
What would that look like in our modern world?
Things like a bunch of women in silly pink hats marching that trivialized a narcissist’s average sized inauguration. Twitter posts from nobodies that cumulatively shut down things like #alternativefacts and border taxes. A bunch of people paid to just entertain us being the voice of reason, insight, and inspiration, like Meryl Streep, Aziz Ansari, and SNL. Like a bunch of park rangers going rogue to defend Science. A press that keeps on reporting the facts, including Teen Vogue. And snowflakes. Lots and lots of snowflakes causing all sorts of discomfort for passive and irritated conservatives because they keep posting, and sharing, and liking all over your social media pages.
No Simple Answers 