Recently, an Oregon Church wrote a deceitful letter to President Trump. Their Facebook post says it is not about politics; it is about faith. The ending of the first paragraph of the letter reads. "We raise our voice to you not from a place of partisanship, but from the conviction that flows out of Scripture, which calls us to justice, mercy and humility before God."
Clearly the letter is about politics, and it is entirely partisan. As it is filled with Progressive political statements.
"Throughout the Bible, we are warned about governments that send troops into cities to silence their citizens." Really, where is that found? No reference at all is given.
"You are not making us safer. You are not making America great again." Now, where have we heard that before? Oh right at practically every protest by the left.
Of course, no Adventist letter would be truly Adventist without fear of upcoming persecution. So the letter seems to equate the National Guard to the Revelation 13 Beasts who are to persecute God's people. They even think that because they wrote this letter, "Must we expect, even by writing this letter, to have a National Guard presence in front of our own church building?" So far, the National Guard presence has been in front of Federal Buildings, particularly ICE facilities, where they carry out the USA immigration laws, which were voted on by the legislature of the Federal government. That is the place you go if you don't like the immigration laws: Congress. Just because the past administration did not carry out the immigration laws does not mean that the laws were done away with.
But the woes of the letter continue: "We recently conducted an evangelism series intentionally designed to serve our neighbors who speak Spanish. Many were afraid to come because of ICE raids and fear of deportation." Again, it is political left propaganda as ICE does not raid churches.
Even the left leaning Vote Common good says: Legally, ICE cannot enter houses of worship without a judicial warrant. Most ICE warrants are administrative and do not grant entry. https://www.votecommongood.com/how-to-protect-people-during-ice-raids/
You can also see on the ICE website that they don't go to or near places of worship.
But apparently, the letter writer forgets this, or again is just deceitful. Then the letter asserts that there are efforts to dismantle federal assistance programs. Which programs are being dismantled? Members of the church, the letter says can no longer afford their medication. So now the letter has told us that the administration is dismantling assistance programs, and it has already affected members of the church. That was fast!
Then the letter says: "You adorn the White House as a Babylonian King, surrounding yourself with opulence while the most vulnerable are left to suffer." Apparently, having contributions to build the Ballroom addition to the White House at no cost to the taxpayers is Babylonian opulence!
The second page of the letter moves from their fear of persecution to their declaration of divine judgment against President Trump. "
Mr. President, you stand under the judgment of Almighty God. A government that crushes the poor, oppresses the stranger, and silences its people cannot escape divine accountability."
So now, following the United States immigration law, which includes deportation and has done so for as long as anyone can remember, is oppressing the stranger. We just had the second "no kings" demonstration, so it does not seem that people are being silenced. Another Progressive lie is included in the letter.
The letter then begins with the Bible Speaks Community SDA church's demands. "That you immediately cease the brutalization of peaceful protesters at the ICE facility in Portland." Probably not really peaceful protesters that are being brutalized. The protesters seem to be the ones doing the violence.
Police declare riot at Portland ICE facility, multiple arrests made . Again, more Progressive propaganda, from the people who declare ICE Nazi's.
Then the letter says: "That you end the indiscriminate deportations and family separations that tear apart communities and deny the justice of due process. While criminals should be held accountable under the law, it is not justice to treat every immigrant as a criminal. That is injustice."
Again, a progressive lie. Many taken by ICE are already under judge-ordered deportation orders, and all get the due process of the law. Certainly, there are no indiscriminate deportations of illegal or legal immigrants. If they write a letter filled with lies, what kind of church are they? Has this church never heard of not bearing false witness? It is one of the 10 commandments.
My friend wrote a comment on Facebook that he wished his church would write such a letter. I would not be part of any church that wrote the following letter. It is full of false information and false demands that they think God is directing. If God is a part of their organization at all, I am beginning to suspect it is just another false statement.
