By Terry Loving
American Standard Version
“The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery; yea, they have vexed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the sojourner wrongfully.”
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It amazes me how wrongdoers love to find a Scripture verse in the Bible to justify evil. This is nothing new, and I fear this dark practice will continue as long as the present earth exists. If Christians are going to accept the Christian Bible as the Word of God, should we not accept all of it? True, there are some things difficult to understand, and this is how and when most of the misinterpretations are born. If you don’t understand it, make up something. Besides, how many Christians really read their Bibles? Because most do not study for themselves, anything a false preacher/believer says is accepted as Gospel.
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I refrained from getting involved in the politics of this nation because there is much confusion and it is unsettling. The spiritual warfare taking place in the world today is the work of the author of confusion, Satan. He has managed to turn the world away from God as in the beginning, and set hatred in the heart of mankind. Ever since the days of Cain and Abel, murder has not stopped – but increased. Injustice of every kind is destroying the hope of those who look to so-called Christian leaders to do what is right in the sight of Almighty God. Hope deferred truly “makes the heart sick.”
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Should there be control at the borders of the United States? Absolutely! Should all immigrants who plan to live in the United States do so legally? Absolutely! Are there times when people from other countries are so desperate they will take whatever risks to be free from horrible conditions and cross over illegally? Absolutely! Now let me ask you this – why won’t the rich of this country pool their billions together to secure the borders instead of taxing the poor and struggling citizens with this expense? Why just focus on the poor trying to escape hell on earth, and not the influx of drugs into the U.S.? Maybe that is why the borders are lax in the first place – Americans want to get high, and there is much money to be made selling drugs – especially within our corrupt system.
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If America is all about America, then should she not take care of her own? Many of the illegals who cross over are trying to escape from some of the same atrocities that American citizens’ face right here on our shores – drugs, violence, corruption, homelessness, lack of medical care, domestic violence, abuse, gangs, etc. The evils that exist in America are home grown for the most part. There may be illegals committing crimes and bringing their negative characteristics to our shores – but the daily injustices that we face was already here. Racism is a prime example is it not?
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Now, those who seek asylum due to domestic violence and gang warfare can no longer do so under the current administration. The abused in the United States try to seek refuge due to abuse and are counseled to “cook better,” “keep the peace,” “respect the abuser,” “go back home and try to work things out,” and much ungodly advice from supposed Christian leadership. Those who suffer will continue to do so.
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If the politicians are going to start cherry picking the Bible to support the laws they make, does this mean they are establishing Christianity as the religious law of this country? Are they now saying that America as a whole must abide by the Christian rules of conduct? Well how can this be when the so-called Christians themselves do not abide by or respect the laws of the Bible? Further, isn’t this thinking prohibited by the U.S. constitution?
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Why do Christians turn to the Bible when they are faced with an argument they must win? Abusers are very good at this tactic. When they feel that the abused wife does not listen to them, oh boy – here it comes – “God made me the head!” “You are supposed to OBEY me!” Abusers cite Ephesians 5:22, 1 Peter 3:1 and Colossians 3:18, but forget about 1 Peter 3:7 – which clearly state consequences for not treating your wife like the Bible says you should – hindered prayers – your petitions fall on deaf ears. God will not listen to the prayers of abusers.
Colossians 3:19
“Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.”
Ephesians 5:25
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her…”
Ephesians 5:28
“In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”
Ephesians 5:33
“Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” (My words – respect comes easy when a woman is treated as she should be.)
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The ceremonial laws of the Bible were “fulfilled” by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He shed His blood once and for all so that animal sacrifices are no longer required to forgive sins. The New Testament of faith did not cancel out the moral laws of the Old Testament. If so, would not the Ten Commandments be obsolete? The sacrifice of Jesus established God’s Word entirely. “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “commit adultery,” “bear false witness against your neighbor,” – do these commandments still stand? Yes they do!
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“I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill—Not to subvert, abrogate, or annul, but to establish the law and the prophets—to unfold them, to embody them in living form, and to enshrine them in the reverence, affection, and character of men, am I come.”
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Since Jeff Sessions is cherry picking, allow me to show the truth he skips over.
1Woe to those who enact evil statutes
And to those who constantly record unjust decisions,
2So as to deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor of My people of their rights,
So that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the orphans.
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“Unjust laws described in different versions of the Bible include:
“iniquitous decrees, unjust statutes, evil statutes, unrighteous decrees, crooked statutes, oppressive decrees, unfair laws, unjust decisions, grievousness, unfair regulations, writers that write iniquity; willfully prescribe tyranny, write misfortune which they have prescribed; writers that write perverseness; writing injustice.”
- “that decree unrighteous decrees, &c.] Better perhaps, that draw up mischievous ordinances and are continually writing oppression. The magnates are addressed not as judges but as legislators; their offence is that they embody injustice in arbitrary written enactments, which enable them to perpetrate the most grievous wrongs under legal forms.”
WOE UNTO YOU!
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The moral laws of the Old Testament are relevant today!
“Do not despise the Old Testament under any pretense whatsoever. Let us never listen to those who bid us throw it aside as an obsolete, antiquated, useless book. The religion of the Old Testament is the embryo of Christianity. The Old Testament is the gospel in the bud. The New Testament is the gospel in full flower. The saints in the Old Testament saw many things through a glass darkly. But they all looked by faith to the same Savior and were led by the same Spirit as ourselves.”
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“Also, beware of despising the law of the Ten Commandments. Let us not suppose for a moment that it is set aside by the gospel or that Christians have nothing to do with it. The coming of Christ did not alter the position of the Ten Commandments in the least. If anything, it exalted and raised their authority (Romans 3:31). The law of the Ten Commandments is God’s eternal measure of right and wrong. By it, is the knowledge of sin. By it, the Spirit shows men their need of Christ and drives them to Him. To it, Christ refers His people as their rule and guide for holy living. In its right place it is just as important as “the glorious gospel.” It cannot save us. We cannot be justified by it. But never, never let us despise it. It is a symptom of an ignorant and unhealthy state of religion when the law is lightly esteemed. The true Christian “delights in God’s law” (Romans 7:20). https://www.christianity.com/jesus/is-jesus-god/old-testament-prophecies/how-did-jesus-fulfill-the-old-testament.html
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Cherry picking the Bible is not only wrong, but it is used to justify sin. Because God is love, many use His love as a means to excuse sin and claim that He understands because He loves us. The Bible has been so watered down that cherry picking has become the norm. Whatever verses serve your purpose use them, if not disregard. We cannot claim to be Christians and only accept the parts of the Bible that are pleasing to us. Yes, some things are difficult, but if situations were handled properly, there would be more harmony within Christian circles, and perhaps this country.
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New American Standard Bible
“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Romans 13:10
“Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.”
“7:12-14 Christ came to teach us, not only what we are to know and believe, but what we are to do; not only toward God, but toward men; not only toward those of our party and persuasion, but toward men in general, all with whom we have to do. We must do that to our neighbour which we ourselves acknowledge to be fit and reasonable. We must, in our dealings with men, suppose ourselves in the same case and circumstances with those we have to do with, and act accordingly. There are but two ways right and wrong, good and evil; the way to heaven and the way to hell; in the one or other of these all are walking: there is no middle place hereafter, no middle way now. All the children of men are saints or sinners, godly or ungodly.”
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Separating those families at the border is wrong! We have laws that should be followed, more so by those who make them and those who share citizenship of this country. Having laws does not mean that we should treat people unjustly. Traumatizing those children is a sin before Almighty God. Forcing the children to take a variety of psychotropic drugs, to address the trauma of separation is EVIL!
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34“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are 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 something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, 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, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite 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 and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
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Melania Trump’s Latest Fashion Choice Is Downright Cruel
“I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO YOU?”
Romans 14:12
“So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
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Immigrant children forcibly given drugs in US centre: Lawsuit
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1 In 5 Immigrant Children Detained During ‘Zero Tolerance’ Border Policy Are Under 13
“The children are younger and will be there for a longer time and are deeply traumatized by being forcibly separated from their parents,” said Mark Greenberg, a former administration official at HHS’ Administration for Children and Families, which oversees the ORR. “All of that makes it much more difficult to operate the program.”
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Trump Order Ending Family Separation Likely Won’t Apply To Children Already Taken From Parents
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DOJ Takes First Steps Toward Indefinite Detention Of Families
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Process To Reunite Detained Children With Immigrant Families Is ‘Total Chaos’
“Immigration experts say there is no system in place to bring separated families back together.”
“Elissa Steglich, a clinical professor in the University of Texas School of Law’s Immigration Clinic, said that, for the time being, parents can only reunite with their children if their asylum process is successful. If they are deported, it could be very hard to find children who could be in government facilities or foster care.
“The trauma and the lasting harm to these children is just reprehensible,” Steglich said. “We really do owe it morally and legally to the parent to reunify them with their children immediately.”
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Government Calls It Forfeiture, But It’s Theft
“Seizure of property belonging to people never charged with wrongdoing looks a lot like stealing.”
America does not care for its own citizens. The police are allowed to brutalize, murder and steal from people with no consequences. When are the people going to rise up and say, ENOUGH!
Spiritual Side of Domestic Violence 
delbertdelbert
July 18, 2018 at 9:34 am
Hello, Terry! Time has aged since last we connected. I have read your article, “Cherry Picking The Bible Is Wrong!” and as always, your writing engages me. You excellently present your premises and then well fortify them with historic and present day data.
As you might recall: although the Church and its teachings provided structure to my young evolving life, as I aged, my thinking and feelings of ‘The Word,’ changed. That said, I enjoy your writings and shall intermittently peek over your shoulder.
“A rock, necessarily, is ‘not’ a hard place.”
FYI: Currently, I am retired and reside in Decatur, GA.
ssofdv
September 14, 2018 at 12:10 pm
Hello Delbert, so happy to hear from you and knowing all is well. I appreciate your comments as always. As yourself, my “thinking and feelings” have changed towards the “Word” but only in the way it has been presented. There are a lot of things we will never understand in this life, but I do believe there is more to life as we know it – the unseen. It is a shame what man has done to destroy the faith that so many rely upon. Welcome back Delbert! Stay well.