Pilgrims Covenant Church - Barack, Benedict, and . . . Mathew?

It was not much more of a surprise that the deeply corrupted, doctrinally eclectic National Association of Evangelicals has been agitating and lobbying for the Romish version of "immigration reform." But it should likewise be no shock that some conservative evangelical leaders are now using their voices and influence to push for amnesty for the millions of Roman Catholic illegals in this country. And make no mistake about it, the fact that the illegals in question are Roman Catholic is the very reason those conservative evangelicals are now working for amnesty. This they have plainly stated, as I will soon show. The root and wellspring of this development is the ecumenical corruption of evangelicals with Rome. "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners" (1 Cor. 15:33). Just by way of clarification, I called those leaders "conservative"; I did not say they are orthodox evangelicals and Protestant in the true historical sense of the word. There is a critical difference.

For several decades, conservative evangelicals--who claim to hold to justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone--have nevertheless been spiritually and religiously fornicating with that lady spoken of in Revelation chapter seventeen. Those philandering evangelicals just cannot seem to resist Roma's pro-family, pro-life charms and sweet protestations of love. That whore of Babylon's incessant, powerful promotion of rank political and economic socialism, world government, anti-Americanism, illegal immigration, and worst of all by far, a false gospel and a multitude of blasphemous and idolatrous dogmas and doctrines does not matter to evangelicals deeply corrupted by their "evil communications" with popery. So they have willingly accepted anti-Christianity as true biblical faith, the antichrist as a man of God rather than the "man of sin" (2 Thess. 2:3), and his anti-church as just a denomination of the true church. They pray with Romanists; they work in ministry with Romanists; they present Romanists to the world as Christians. They also end up corrupted by popish philosophy and social doctrine.

But I will cut to the quick and get to the point. This week, the media reported that a group of conservative evangelicals, "influential political activists such as Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy wing, and Mathew Staver, dean of the Liberty University School of Law, will soon begin lobbying Republican leaders in Washington to support comprehensive immigration reform under President Obama" (CNN). That is, they will be lobbying for what could be called the Barack and Benedict amnesty plan.

Richard Land is a dyed-in-the-wool ecumenist and a big player in the pro-family, pro-life movement. Ditto for Mathew Staver, the dean of the Liberty University School of Law and host of several programs which air on conservative Christian radio and television. According to that same CNN report, others involved include "the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, an influential Hispanic evangelical figure, and Rick Tyler -- former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's longtime spokesman and head of Gingrich's new values-based organization." It is one of the ironies of these ironic times that Staver, the dean of an evangelical school of law, is one of the leaders of this new group which will be lobbying on behalf of amnesty for millions of lawbreakers!

Now Land, Staver, and company are not calling what they are lobbying for "amnesty." Far be it from them to support amnesty! Of course they are not supporting amnesty, and neither is Barack Obama nor the pope's U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). They are altogether working for--here it comes--"the pathway to citizenship." Consider, for instance, this quote from the CNN article: "'There's a misconception among people at the grass roots that the pathway to citizenship is amnesty, and it's not, but we have to overcome that,' said Staver, who heads the law school at the university founded by Jerry Falwell. 'There's a lot of work to be done.'" How many times have we heard Roman Catholic bishops use that code for amnesty--"pathway to citizenship"--and read it in official Roman Catholic documents?

The euphemistic "pathway to citizenship" is not the only tried and well-worn Romish phrase that appears in the recent draft of a document by the yet unnamed evangelical group headed by Land, Staver, Rodriquez, and Tyler. Anyone who has been listening to the "immigration reform" mantra of the Roman Catholic bishops and read the bishops' statements on "comprehensive immigration reform" has heard them for years repeatedly state just what is written in the draft of that document: "After securing our borders, we must allow the millions of undocumented and otherwise law-abiding persons living in our midst to come out of the shadows." A press release by Staver's Liberty Counsel organization contains the same statement along with other phrases we have read for years in Roman Catholic documents propagandizing on behalf of the rights of "undocumented migrants."

As I said, here Staver and co. are simply echoing their Romish tutors, such as Cardinal Roger Mahoney. For instance, here is Cardinal Mahoney quoted in CNS, January 12, 2009: "So I call upon the new administration and new Congress to take up and enact comprehensive immigration reform . . . Immigrants must be brought out of the shadows . . ."

Yes, isn't it simply horrible that millions of "otherwise law-abiding persons" who have knowingly committed a serious criminal act are living in "the shadows"? Are there not many "otherwise law-abiding persons" who have committed one act of, for instance, robbery or rape who are likewise living in the shadows? Isn't it incumbent on us then to better secure the 7-Eleven store and the safety of our women so that robbers and rapists can come out of the shadows? What sort of message does this "otherwise law-abiding . . . out of the shadows" doctrine promote, including to young people?

In a OneNewsNow interview, May 12, 2010, we have this quote from Staver: "We cannot condone lawbreaking. On the other hand, we have to deal with these 12-million or so illegals who are living in the shadows." So Mr. Staver, "we cannot condone lawbreaking," but we should grant amnesty for lawbreakers?

By the way, how is it "securing our borders" when we send out the message that we will, from time to time, grant amnesty to those who manage to cross those borders illegally? This would not be the first time amnesty has been granted, and certainly the signal sent would be that it will not be the last.

Of course, if it were not for public opinion against it at this time, the Vatican, by its foot soldiers, would dispense with the euphemistic double-talk and just insist the border between Mexico and the USA should be open. The long-held Romanist doctrine in that regard is free and open cross-border "migration" from Roman Catholic countries to Protestant countries, especially the United States of America. This is not speculation but easily documented, as we have done in other articles. To give just one example, the Justice for Immigrants campaign of the USCCB lists "criteria for the reform of the U.S. immigration system, including . . . abandonment of the border 'blockade' enforcement strategy."

By the way, do Staver, Land, and their evangelical partners realize that they are insulting many Americans, including Hispanics who have immigrated here the legal way or perhaps are the children of those who did? I am talking about true-blue Americans who are against amnesty for illegal immigrants, no matter what it is called. Yes, America should still be a place which takes in people--in a responsible, wise, and orderly fashion--from other nations. I am talking about immigrants who are seeking a better life and truly want to become citizens of our Republic. I am talking about people like my father's father who emigrated here legally from Norway, learned English, and flew just one flag, literally. That flag was the flag of the United States of America. Grandpa flew that flag until the day he died, and I have it now. That flag flew right through World War II when my father, age nineteen, was fighting the Nazis as a B-17 tail gunner with the 8th Air Force; and it was still flying when Dad came home after fifteen months in three different POW camps subsequent to being shot down over Germany on his eleventh combat mission January 29, 1944. All the rest of my ancestors came to this nation long ago. They were mostly of Scottish and English origin, the latter among the earliest settlers and the former coming here in 1776. All of that notwithstanding, none of my grandparents was any more grateful to be an American than the Norwegian immigrant who arrived here in 1915. And just as a footnote, even when the Nazis occupied the land where he had been born and had lived until immigrating here at the age of nineteen, the land where his parents still lived, it was still only the American flag which flew on the pole in Grandpa's front yard.

CNN also reports, "The conservative evangelicals pushing comprehensive immigration reform say that undocumented workers should have to pay fines, clear background checks, learn English and take a civics class before being granted citizenship." There are a few problems with that equation. First of all, and most serious, as former Border Patrol Supervisor David Stoddard pointed out on a recent edition of my "Heart of the Matter" program, the Mexican government does not have a database on the thousands of ruthless Mexican and Latin American gang members that have illegally entered and spread across our nation. If they did have one, they wouldn't share it with us anyway! So members of the brutal MS-13 and other gangs will sail right through a background check. Secondly, it is not exactly a disincentive to illegal immigrants to have them pay a fine when in return they can tap into all sorts of lucrative social programs or get a higher paying job than they might in Mexico. That is more like a small investment cost to get onboard a no-risk, high-return investment plan. As to learning English, that should be mandatory for all immigrants.

And finally, it seems a little on the comical side to tell people who have flouted federal law that now they have to take a civics class! That will teach them a lesson not soon forgotten! If they flunk, will they be deported? Not a chance! This will be an outcome-based education class. If the "pathway to citizenship" plan passes, look for a surge in illegal immigrants scrambling to take advantage of the situation. The conservative evangelicals backing it should keep that in mind. They are not only advocating rewarding criminal activity but also encouraging more of the same. This is hardly consistent with the word of God.

I should mention, before I close, that Staver and Land's group has also come out against the much misrepresented Arizona immigration law that has been in the news lately. In this, they also join with the Roman Catholic bishops who have not only condemned that law and are organizing resistance to it but have also lied about it in some cases. Not coincidently, the likes of Venezuelan strongman, communist Hugo Chavez and the Mexican government have also registered fierce opposition to the constitutional, lawful, and necessary steps Arizona officials have taken to safeguard the life, liberty, and property of the citizens of that state.

Another thing I should mention is that Land's and Staver's signatures have also shown up in a full-page ad run in Roll Call by the National Association of Evangelicals. That ad also calls for the same sort of "comprehensive immigration reform" which Barack, Benedict, and the new Staver group are working toward.

The plain fact is both the Roman Catholic bishops and the conservative evangelicals I have been talking about have a stake in amnesty for the illegal immigrants in this country. The bishops are working hard to Romanize America through illegal immigration of Roman Catholics from regions south of our border and by amnesty for those who are already here. Staver, Land et al. support amnesty because they see Roman Catholics as Christians and Christians who, in Land's words, "are hard-wired to be like us on sanctity of life, marriage and issues of faith." In other words, the ecumenically-corrupted Staver, Land, and their new group will now be working to also Romanize America with pro-life, pro-family "Christians" here illegally from Mexico.

Such is the blindness that sets in when the second commandment, comprehending our duties to our neighbor, is put above "the first and great commandment" (Matt. 22:38), comprehending our duties to God, and when political agendas, even legitimate ones such as efforts to outlaw abortion, supersede the glory of God, the doctrines of our faith, the purity of the church, and the salvation of souls. Such is the blindness that sets in when evangelicals corrupt themselves with evil communications.

"I tell the Mexicans when I am down in Mexico to keep on having
children, and then to take back what we took from them: California,
Texas, Arizona, and then to take the rest of the country as well."
--Roman Catholic Priest Paul Marx, the Wanderer, May 6, 1987

"In the north the emigrants, Mexicans and those who pass
through Mexico, are bearing the faith to the north of our continent."
--Mexico's Cardinal Norberto Rivera, El Universo, July 28, 2002