The Left Loves The Bible When It Serves Their Purposes
In late February, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported that some 180 alumni from the Frisch School, an Orthodox Jewish high school in Paramus, New Jersey, wrote an open letter to Jared Kushner, an alumnus of the school and son-in-law and advisor to President Donald Trump. The letter addressed Trump’s refugee moratorium and asked Kushner to use his influence to convince Trump to ease the moratorium. The letter also used Bible verses to strengthen its position, the most notable being the verse appearing multiple times in the Torah (Old Testament) commanding that we “love and welcome the stranger, for we too were once strangers in Egypt.”
However, as an Orthodox Jew who studies the Torah, I can say that the comparison of “loving the stranger” and taking in unvetted Muslim refugees is asinine, if not an outright lie.
The letter blatantly takes the verse out of context for political purposes. Anyone who learns the Bible and sees this verse in context knows that “the stranger” refers to one who wants to join the Jewish nation in its faith, mission and worldview. In fact, before the Jews left Egypt, God told Moses explicitly that he should not accept a specific group of converts from Egypt, known as the “Eirev Rav,” because they may have ulterior motives. Unfortunately, Moses didn’t listen, and the Jews ended up building the Golden Calf due to the group’s influence.
This is the reason why, even today, converting to Judaism is a very long, difficult process; to make sure that a prospective convert is going through the process for pure motives.
But unlike the case of the Jewish convert, with the proof being what we’ve seen in Europe and even in the United States in the last few years, much of the Islamic population has no interest in assimilating.
In fact, rape and terror attacks have skyrocketed in many European countries, due to the influx of Muslims who have every intention of keeping to their own traditions and doctrines which allow what the rest of the world sees as atrocities. In the U.S. and Canada, we’ve seen countless examples of imams preaching hate, terror and conquest of Western Civilization.
Frisch claimed that the letter wasn’t speaking on behalf of the school and that the letter purposely misrepresented the school’s views. As an alumnus of the school myself, I can say with full confidence that I believe them and that the teachers know what the verse means.
The Left twists Bible verses frequently in order to meet its ends. Never mind that they abhor religion and religious liberty; the ends justify the means. Any commandment of charity, specifically the commandment of tithing, is proof to the Left that God, through Moses, commands socialism. They use Jesus as an example for this as well, arguing that according to the New Testament and the Gospels, since Jesus was charitable and commanded love, he was a socialist.
For the Left, nothing else God or Jesus said matters. Christian bakeries will be forced to bake cakes for gay weddings or get shut down, with the owners’ livelihoods destroyed in the process. Christian businesses will be forced to cover contraceptives in their health plans. Mangers or the Ten Commandments may not be seen anywhere in public. There are countless examples.
The Left claims to love the Bible and progressive politicians even use one at their swearing-in ceremonies. But when the Bible goes against Leftist doctrine, the Bible will always lose. Progressives may use the Bible in their arguments, but they will do their best to twist it as far as they can to fit their worldview. Otherwise, it’s just an antiquated book.
Follow Jeremy Frankel on Twitter at @frankeljeremy
