'Shocking Violation of the Spirit of the Gospel': United Methodist Church Slams Jeff Sessions' Use of Bible to Justify Migrant Family Separations
Jeff Sessions has taken to quoting the Bible in defense of the widely condemned practice of separating migrant children from their parents and families at the border, and this move did not sit well with the United Methodist Church, of which Sessions is a member of.
In a statement that the UMC released last Friday, June 15, Rev. Dr. Susan Henry Crowe recalled how the church "watched with horror" as the Trump administration continued the implementation of its "zero tolerance" immigration policy at the borders of the nation, which have resulted to migrant children being forcibly taken from their parents or guardians as they are arrested.
It was a policy that the U.S. Attorney General attempted to justify by quoting the Bible.
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"Persons who violate the law of our nation are subject to prosecution. I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order," Sessions said in an appeal to the administration's "church friends" amidst mounting criticism from conservative religious figures and evangelical leaders.
It was a statement that was roundly criticized by the Methodist Church, as Rev. Henry-Crowe described it as "a shocking violation of the spirit of the Gospel."
Paul's Letter to the Romans, as the Rev. Henry-Crowe said in the church's statement, is the weightiest epistle as pertains to living the Christian life. It was also a verse that Sessions has taken out of context, according to the UMC.
"The commandment in Chapter 13 to 'be subject to the governing authorities' is bracketed by preceding and following passages containing the command to 'love,'" the statement affirmed, putting special emphasis on the part where Romans 12 and 13 exhorted Christians to "extend hospitality to strangers" and that "Love does no wrong to a neighbor."
The UMC firmly stated that the scripture should never be used in the justification of policies which "oppress or harm children and families."
