I’m talking to a guy who is a knowledgeable Christian, but has just been duped. His arguments are so bad they’re almost funny. Here is my last response to him.
You espouse the policies of Karl Marx and mock the policies of Thomas Jefferson, and I’m the traitor? You’ve been tricked into advocating socialism, and you don’t even realize it.
I think I responded to your arguments before you made them, but I will reiterate. The U.S. had completely open borders. The first limitation to immigration was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. One of the freest, most capitalist countries in the history of the world had open borders.
You’ll notice Rev. 21:25 says, “On no day will its gates ever be shut…” The gates are never closed. It’s saying that everyone is free to come and go. Ancient Jerusalem had a wall for defensive purposes, but there were Israelites outside the city. It wasn’t a border where they would keep people in or out. Using this passage is a really bad argument.
Maybe Matthew 16:18 better serves your argument: “the gates of hell will not prevail…” Hell is here described as having a wall with closed gates. You’re advocating the policies of Satan, Marx, Stalin, Kim Jung Un, etc.
There is another country that had a perfect law, and maximum human freedom, with civil laws written by God–ancient Israel. They had open borders. If you’re advocating government’s right to regulate non-sinful activities, you’re advocating for the government of the beast (Rev. 13:17).
Free markets with unmanipulated price action are what causes individuals to make the best decisions about where they should live so that their labor benefits society and their family the most.
1. Can you name a communist country that has/had open borders?
2. What acts (other than crossing a border) that aren’t sinful should the government be allowed to regulate (keeping in mind Romans 13:3-4 says they can’t punish good deeds, only evil deeds)?
3. What was the civil penalty for crossing ancient Israel’s border?
4. How were Israelites to treat sojourners?
