King Herod's Plan B
Now is the time of year when a liberal church somewhere in America makes national headlines by displaying a nativity scene where baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are separated in cages designed to resemble ICE detention facilities. Mainstream media reliably tout the symbolic significance of the scene. The Los Angeles Times recently published a letter to the editor which argues that “yes, we would put Jesus the refugee in a cage.”
Liberal activists enjoy insinuating that American immigration policy would have prevented the divine family, who were fleeing the tyranny of King Herod, from finding refuge in America. The obvious falsehood of this claim given America’s rules about asylum hardly matter. The image makes the rounds, the implication is endorsed, and most regular Americans roll their eyes at the familiar bias of the mainstream media.
But, instead of worrying about whether America might be a refuge for those fleeing King Herod, perhaps we might better consider whether or not our domestic policies have turned America into King Herod. After all, Herod was not the only tyrant in the world to feel threatened by the prolific birthrate among his lower-class subjects. Nor was he the only immoral monster to put his own convenience and economic security above the lives of other human beings.
These days, it is extremely unlikely that the legally compliant Mary and Joseph would have found themselves detained by American law enforcement. But, you can be certain that a young Mary would have felt enormous pressure from her American friends and family to see the fulfillment of her pregnancy as a “punishment” and to end it in the most convenient way possible. Moreover, she would be surrounded by institutions eager to make her feel "comfortable" with her decision to abort God's plan.
King Herod would have been lucky to have American institutions like Planned Parenthood on his side.