New Yorkers today found a special copy of The New York Times today – from the future! The July 4, 2009, edition shouts: "Iraq War Ends" along with headlines like "Court Indicts Bush on High Treason Charge," "All Public Universities To Be Free," "
"New York Bike Path System Expanded Dramatically," and "Maximum Wage Law Passes Congress." It's kind of like the Focus on the Family Action letter from 2012, only liberal, happy, and less bloody. (Gawker says it's the work of The Yes Men, a liberal prankster group.)
A bit of an odd note was struck, however, but this item: "Evangelicals Open Homes to Refugees: Up to a million Iraqi exiles – nearly half the total – will find sanctuary in Christians homes throughout the U.S., vows the National Association of Evangelicals. Other denominations are expected to follow suit."
Get it? Evangelicals caring about refugees – especially Iraqi refugees – is about as likely as a 100% car recall! Tee hee.
Let's put aside for a moment the fact that the NAE is not a denomination but a network that includes a number of denominations, among other groups. The parodists seem a bit in the dark about just how much personal advocacy and public policy work the NAE has done on refugee settlement (including and especially Iraq refugees since the beginning of the invasion). But it's not just public policy work. World Relief, launched by the NAE in 1944, has been working with churches to house, settle, and welcome refugees since 1979. It's not close to a million refugees yet (it works with about 10,000 refugees a year), and it's generally settling refugees in their own homes rather than in church members' homes. But church members are indeed giving sacrificially to help refugees.
Oh, and as for "other denominations expected to follow suit"? Yep, yep, yep, and yep.
Joke's on you, Yes Men. The future is not yet fully realized, but it's already here.
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