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Post by S.A.G. on Nov 5, 2018 21:32:29 GMT
The comments below video are thought provoking as well.
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Post by Admin on Nov 6, 2018 17:30:08 GMT
The building is carried on notwithstanding the opposition of their enemies. [1] And it came to pass, that when Sanaballat heard that we were building the wall he was angry: and being moved exceedingly he scoffed at the Jews. [2] And said before his brethren, and the multitude of the Samaritans: What are the silly Jews doing? Will the Gentiles let them alone? will they sacrifice and make an end in a day? are they able to raise stones out of the heaps of the rubbish, which are burnt? [3] Tobias also the Ammonite who was by him said: Let them build: if a fox go up, he will leap over their stone wall. [4] Hear thou our God, for we are despised: turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them to be despised in a land of captivity. [5] Cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thy face, because they have mocked thy builders. [6] So we built the wall, and joined it all together unto the half thereof: and the heart of the people was excited to work. [7] And it came to pass, when Sanaballat, and Tobias, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Azotians heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and the breaches began to be closed, that they were exceedingly angry. [8] And they all assembled themselves together, to come, and to fight against Jerusalem, and to prepare ambushes. [9] And we prayed to our God, and set watchmen upon the wall day and night against them. [10] And Juda said: The strength of the bearer of burdens is decayed, and the rubbish is very much, and we shall not be able to build the wall. [11] And our enemies said: Let them not know, nor understand, till we come in the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease. [12] And it came to pass, that when the Jews that dwelt by them came and told us ten times, out of all the places from whence they came to us, [13] I set the people in the place behind the wall round about in order, with their swords, and spears, and bows. [14] And I looked and rose up: and I said to the chief men and the magistrates, and to the rest of the common people: be not afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, and your wives, and your houses. [15] And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that the thing had been told us, that God defeated their counsel. And we returned all of us to the walls, every man to his work.
[16] And it came to pass from that day forward, that half of their young men did the work, and half were ready for to fight, with spears, and shields, and bows, and coats of mail, and the rulers were behind them in all the house of Juda. [17] Of them that built on the wall and that carried burdens, and that laded: with one of his hands he did the work, and with the other he held a sword. [18] For every one of the builders was girded with a sword about his reins. And they built, and sounded with a trumpet by me. [19] And I said to the nobles, and to the magistrates, and to the rest of the common people: The work is great and wide, and we are separated on the wall one far from another: [20] In what place soever you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, run all thither unto us: our God will fight for us. [21] And let us do the work: and let one half of us hold our spears from the rising of the morning, till the stars appear. [22] At that time also I said to the people: Let every one with his servant stay in the midst of Jerusalem, and let us take our turns in the night, and by day, to work. [23] Now I and my brethren, and my servants, and the watchmen that followed me, did not put off our clothes: only every man stripped himself when he was to be washed.
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[35] And Jonathan came back, and called together the ancients of the people, and he took a resolution with them to build fortresses in Judea,
[36] And to build up walls in Jerusalem, and raise a mount between the castle and the city, to separate it from the city, that so it might have no communication, and that they might neither buy nor sell. [37] And they came together to build up the city: for the wall that was upon the brook towards the east was broken down, and he repaired that which is called Caphetetha: [38] And Simon built Adiada in Sephela, and fortified it, and set up gates and bars.
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Post by S.A.G. on Nov 6, 2018 19:15:04 GMT
St. Thomas Aquinas disapproved of illegal immigration.
Even in the case of legal immigrants, St. Thomas expected them to fully assimilate themselves into the country’s culture
Why Saint Thomas Aquinas Opposed Open Borders
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D., Jan 31, 2017
Every nation has the right to distinguish, by country of origin, who can migrate to it and apply appropriate immigration policies, according to the great medieval scholar and saint Thomas Aquinas. In a surprisingly contemporary passage of his Summa Theologica, Aquinas noted that the Jewish people of Old Testament times did not admit visitors from all nations equally, since those peoples closer to them were more quickly integrated into the population than those who were not as close. Some antagonistic peoples were not admitted at all into Israel due to their hostility toward the Jewish people. The Law “prescribed in respect of certain nations that had close relations with the Jews,” the scholar noted, such as the Egyptians and the Idumeans, “that they should be admitted to the fellowship of the people after the third generation.” Citizens of other nations “with whom their relations had been hostile,” such as the Ammonites and Moabites, “were never to be admitted to citizenship.” “The Amalekites, who were yet more hostile to them, and had no fellowship of kindred with them, were to be held as foes in perpetuity,” Aquinas observed. For the scholar, it seemed sensible to treat nations differently, depending on the affinity of their cultures with that of Israel as well as their historic relations with the Jewish people. In his remarkably nuanced commentary, Aquinas also distinguished among three types of immigrants in the Israel of the Old Testament. First were “the foreigners who passed through their land as travelers,” much like modern day visitors with a travel visa. Second were those who “came to dwell in their land as newcomers,” seemingly corresponding to resident aliens, perhaps with a green card, living in the land but not with the full benefits of citizenship. A third case involved those foreigners who wished “to be admitted entirely to their fellowship and mode of worship.” Even here, dealing with those who wished to integrate fully into the life and worship of Israel required a certain order, Aquinas observed. “For they were not at once admitted to citizenship: just as it was law with some nations that no one was deemed a citizen except after two or three generations.” “The reason for this was that if foreigners were allowed to meddle with the affairs of a nation as soon as they settled down in its midst,” Aquinas logically reasoned, “many dangers might occur, since the foreigners not yet having the common good firmly at heart might attempt something hurtful to the people.” In other words, Aquinas taught that total integration of immigrants into the life, language, customs and culture (including worship, in this case) was necessary for full citizenship. It requires time for someone to learn which issues affect the nation and to make them their own, Aquinas argued. Those who know the history of their nation and have lived in it, working for the common good, are best suited to participate in decision-making about its future. It would be dangerous and unjust to place the future of a nation in the hands of recent arrivals who do not fully understand the needs and concerns of their adoptive home. When facing contemporary problems, modern policy makers can often benefit from the wisdom of the great saints and scholars who have dealt with versions of the same issues in ages past. Aquinas’ reflections reveal that similar problems have existed for centuries—indeed, millennia—and that distinguishing prudently between nations and cultures doesn’t automatically imply prejudice or unfair discrimination. Sometimes, it’s just the right thing to do. Source
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