What is the Society's stand on illegal immigrants?

by cruzanheart 27 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  cruzanheart

  Does anyone know? I've been away long enough (thank GOD) that I don't know what the party line is anymore about this. When I was "in" I studied with a nice woman from Venezuela and, when my mom found out she was in the country illegally, she stopped the study and told Yomaira that we couldn't study with her until she got her immigration status cleared up. This was back in the late 1970's.

  HOWEVER, I spoke with a JW friend this past weekend and it was taken for granted that a family member's caregivers -- who are Witnesses in good standing going to the Spanish congregation -- are not here legally. WTF???

  So it's okay to pounce on us faders for any little infraction but they'll let the immigration thing slide. Anybody got "new light" on this?

  Kind of makes you want to call INS and suggest they visit the KH during a Sunday meeting and ask for green cards . . . That would make for a lively meeting!

  Nina
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  FlipThis

  They won't turn the 'illegal' in to the authorities, BUT they can't hold a position in the congregation either.

  and I'm sure if someone else turns them in, they'd experience sanctions themselves, of some kind...

  .
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  Dragonlady76

  I went to a spanish cong while growing up, I remember several families that were in the U.S illegaly, it was no secret to everyone, no one turned them in or said a word. I cannot recall if they held posts within the cong.
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  SixofNine

  From a "what is the purpose and authority of religion" standpoint, it would be wrong for any religion to put something as corporate and political as immigration status in the way of a person's relationship with god and their fellow believers.

  So if JW's are doing the right thing by not worrying about the immigration status of their membership, that may make them hypocrites, but only because they are so clearly wrongly pedantic on other issues.
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  minimus

  They work real cheap and can be prospective Bethelites.
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  nvrgnbk

  So if JW's are doing the right thing by not worrying about the immigration status of their membership, that may make them hypocrites, but only because they are so clearly wrongly pedantic on other issues.

  Very eloquently stated 6-o-9!

  Many of the Puertorican brothers( born as U.S. citizens) in the congregations where I served displayed a certain subtle hostility towards the undocumented Mexican brothers.

  It gets complicated. People take sides. The Society doesn't care. They want increased membership and freedom from lawsuits. People? Not so important to Watchtower HQ.
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  Terry

  From a "what is the purpose and authority of religion" standpoint, it would be wrong for any religion to put something as corporate and political as immigration status in the way of a person's relationship with god and their fellow believers

  What is "rendering unto Ceasar" if not respecting the Law?

  If every citizen disobeys inconvenient laws; what will a vigilante population mean for society as a whole?

  Due process tests the justice of any law. Without due process there is only anarchy on one side and fascism on the other.

  The purpose of religion can't be to break laws. The authority of religion can only stem from God's order and permission. Romans 13 demonstrates that Superior Authorities stand placed by God himself.

  Jehovah's Witnesses walk a tight rope if they turn a blind eye to illegals, and; without scriptural authority too.
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  SixofNine

  "What is "rendering unto Caesar" if not respecting the Law?"

  
  What is "god's things to god" if not a rejoinder to keep the church focused on spiritual things and leave politics outside?

  Reference > The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy > 3. Proverbs

  PREVIOUS NEXT

  CONTENTS · INDEX · GUIDE · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

  The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.

  Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s

  Keep politics separate from certain other fields, such as religion. This is part of a saying of Jesus in the Gospels; the full version is “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”	1

  The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

  
  

  and....
  
  
  

  Reference > The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy > 1. The Bible

  PREVIOUS NEXT

  CONTENTS · INDEX · GUIDE · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

  The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.

  Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s

  The response of Jesus when his enemies tried to trap him by asking whether it was right for the Jews, whose nation had been taken over by the Roman Empire, to pay tribute to the Roman emperor. He took a Roman coin that would be used to pay the tribute and asked whose picture was on it; his questioners answered, “Caesar’s.” The reply of Jesus implied that in using Roman coins, the Jews accepted the rule of the Romans, and so the Roman government had the right to tax them, as long as the Jews were not compromising their religious duties. Jesus’ more general point was, “Give to worldly authorities the things that belong to them, and to God what belongs to God.”	1

  The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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  choosing life

  They study with illegals with no questions asked. They can also be baptized. Quite a few illegals around here. I have heard they can't hold positions in the congregation, but have never seen any illegal progress to that point anyway. Mostly they are looking for friends in a strange country and possibly a few handouts.
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  SixofNine

  "If every citizen disobeys inconvenient laws; what will a vigilante population mean for society as a whole?"

  You should work that question, Terry. The answers, using logic, lead in a very different direction than you are taking. Alcohol is responsible for a heck of a lot of tragedy in this country, but that doesn't mean the population was wrong to resist prohibition.

  But "vigilante" IS a word that should send chills up your spine wrt the topic at hand.