Immigration and migration, what the Bible says (repost)

This was a fairly long post on what the Bible says about how to treat immigrants.

Thanks for reading, or re-reading.

Sunspots 882

 Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

The Arts: NPR has posted an essay that considers the question of whether there's too much TV -- it's impossible to watch it all.

Christianity: Relevant argues that boycotts by Christians don't really do any good.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that incandescent light bulbs are now supposed to be phased out.

NPR discusses the idea of removing Carbon Dioxide from the air to fight global climate change. There are downsides to this.

NPR tells us that California condors are increasing in number and range.

Health: Gizmodo reports that a bacterium can trigger the release of snot (mucus) which serves as a food source for the bacterium.

Politics: Relevant quotes US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said that churches that are trying to help refugees are "controlled by Satan." Really?

Science: (and Christianity) Christianity Today tells us what black holes tell us about God.

The Scientist reports that lots of kinds of fish can make sounds, and that making sound seems to be important.

Sports: (and health) NPR reports on how Muslims adjust to fasting during Ramadan.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 877

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

The Arts: Gizmodo ranks the 10 best original Star Trek episodes, and James T. Kirk's (William Shatner's) role in them.

Christianity: (and politics) Christianity Today asks why there are no evangelicals on the US Supreme Court.

Computing: A Gizmodo post on how big tech (especially Facebook) has not done what's best for most of us.

Environment: NPR reports that Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in grave danger.

NPR also reports on misinformation used to halt installation of wind turbines.

Finances: Gizmodo points out that Western oil companies paid for much of Putin's war.

Food: NPR reports on making pizza without yeast.

Health: (and politics) FiveThirtyEight on the miserable job of COVID testing by most of the states in the US.

Politics: Vladimir Putin has used the Bible to support his recent actions, according to Relevant.

A Christianity Today author points out the difference in how we treat Ukrainian refugees vs. our treatment of Syrian refugees.

Science: Nature has an opinion piece, arguing that testing the genetics of human embryos is questionable or worse.

Gizmodo reports on a study of the "plumbing" of Yellowstone's geysers. Some interesting underground connections and features.

Gizmodo reports on a really fancy (and, apparently, useful) tape measure.

Gizmodo also shows photos of 7 different kinds of animal camouflage.

The Scientist reports on how a man with no muscle control at all was trained, using a brain implant, to respond in computer-generated text.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 848

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Christianity: Relevant reports that a majority of self-identified Christians under 40 think that Christ isn't the only way to salvation.

Relevant also reports that a significant portion of guitar sales are for church worship purposes.

(and Politics) FiveThirtyEight on why white evangelicals have such a low COVID vaccination rate.

(and Politics) Relevant on what the Bible says about how to treat refugees. Christianity Today on the same subject.

Education: Grammarphobia explains why "duck" has so many meanings.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that, for the first time ever known, it rained in the heart of Greenland's ice sheet.

Gizmodo also reports that (surprise!) Texas isn't requiring big petroleum companies to follow practices that are supposed to be required, and would cut down on climate change effects.

Health: Gizmodo reports on a study indicating that the number of people with hypertension (high blood pressure), worldwide, has risen a lot in the past 30 years.

Science: Gizmodo reports on a study of types of rhinoceros, and their ancestry. The five species now alive are all in danger, from poaching or habitat destruction.

Gizmodo also reports that some paper wasps make fluorescent nests. Their function is unclear at present.

Gizmodo also has a good article on how fossils are dated.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight on how the NCAA treats women's sports poorly.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 754

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to

someone else:

Christianity: Relevant has an article about how the Bible says to treat refugees, with Bible quotes. They missed at least one. To quote my own blog: The Bible also says, in reference to a specific refugee crisis:
Isaiah 16:3 Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive! 4a Let my outcasts dwell with you! As for Moab, be a hiding place for him from the face of the destroyer. (This was in spite of the fact that the Moabites hadn’t always been good to Israel. See Joshua 24:9, Judges 3:12-30, 1 Samuel 12:9.)

(And politics) Christianity Today has an article decrying our current immigration policies. The article also points to a suggestion, endorsed by several evangelical leaders, that a path to citizenship, for illegals, be created, including restitution -- not amnesty.
 
Politics: Relevant reports that there were NO refugees settled in the US in October.

NPR on how the Chinese government is trying to control Tibetan Buddhists, for example in the recognition of the next Dalai Lama.
FiveThirtyEight discusses the electability of Pete Buttigieg, including a discussion of how his homosexuality might influence voters.
Science: The Scientist report on the use of CRISPR genetic engineering to alter cancer patients' cells, and the introduction of such altered cells back into the patients. The alterations were designed to attack cancer cells. It's not yet clear whether the treatment has successfully fought the cancer.
Gizmodo, and other outlets, report that a trap for catching mammoths has been discovered. It's a large trap.
NPR discusses the uses of Helium, the only chemical element that easily escapes the earth.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.
 
Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 748

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: The History blog reports that a painting by Cimabue was found in a kitchen in France. It will probably sell for millions.

Christianity: Christianity Today reports on another significant annual cut in the number of refugees that the US will receive, and points out that this announcement came almost at the same time that President Trump was extolling the value of religious freedom ad the UN. Many people, possibly including the President's (and my) ancestors, came to the US seeking religious freedom.
Christianity Today also has published another article on the effect of the cut mentioned above. It says that the results would be significant.


Computing: Relevant, and other media, report that men and women are not equal in how much they retain when reading the Bible digitally versus from a physical copy.

Gizmodo asks several experts what it would take to shut down the internet, if it could be accomplished.

Health: Gizmodo discusses the ins and outs of acne, and concludes that we aren't really sure how it works.

NPR reports that eating nuts every day helps prevent weight gain, and has other benefits.

Politics: Catherine Rampell reminds us of some of the ways that President Trump's actions, before and during his Presidency, have been driven by greed.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.
 
Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 734

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Relevant writer on what to do when you don't like reading the Bible.

A Relevant writer tells us some things that our culture tells us about love and marriage that are wrong.

A Relevant writer says that everything doesn't happen for a reason.

Relevant also tells us what the Bible says about treating refugees hospitably. See more such scripture here (there's some duplication).

Relevant (again!) reports that religious donations declined by 2 billion dollars last year.

Christianity Today reports that the latest tariffs on goods from China may make the prices of Bibles, in the US, go up significantly.

Christianity Today has an article on how to lessen the polarization that is all too common in our society today.

Education: (or something) Listverse tells us about the history of some special colors, such as why school buses are yellow.

Finance: Catherine Rampell points out that retail sales is the biggest business in the country, and it's hurting badly, partly because of tariffs on Chinese products. Both the owners and the workers are hurting, but no one seems to be making a crusade out of that. (She says that there are 20 times more department store employees than the number of coal workers.)

NPR on why hardly any shoes are now made in the USA, and why it would be hard to bring such  manufacturing back.

Health: A writer attempting to cover a national anti-vaccination conference describes that movement, and how she (and other reporters) was or have been kicked out.

Politics: Christianity Today points out that the international refugee crisis has hit a record high, while the US acceptance of refugees has hit a record low.

The Associated Press compares the President's statements, made at his campaign kick-off rally, with the facts.

Michael Gerson discusses the President's compulsion to disregard the facts, and to make himself look good. Sample: a) the Mueller Report was put together by Democratic enemies of the President and b) the Mueller report completely exonerates the President.


Science: Gizmodo tells us why it's been raining so much. (There are several causes.)

Gizmodo also reports on hybridization between beluga whales and narwhals, in the wild.

BioLogos presents 10 common misconceptions about evolution.

NPR reports on an experiment involving supposed lost wallets (the experimenters knew what was in the wallet, and tracked attempts at returning them.) The findings were surprising.

An article in Smithsonian about large, brightly colored squirrels.

Sports: NPR reports that a bacterial species, in the gut, that occurs more often in long-distance runners, helps mice to run better, when placed in the mouse's gut.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. 

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 693

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: CBS Overtime shows a young lady, not in high school yet, create a piano sonata from four random notes picked out by Scott Pelley.

Christianity: Relevant has a good article on how the Bible says to treat refugees. However, the article didn't mention Isaiah 16:3, which says "Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive! 4a Let my outcasts dwell with you! As for Moab, be a hiding place for him from the face of the destroyer." (This was in spite of the fact that the Moabites hadn’t always been good to Israel. See Josh 24:9, Judg 3:12-30, 1 Sam 12:9.)

(And politics) The current President of the Southern Baptist Convention is one of the evangelical leaders invited to the White House for a dinner. He recognized the possible pitfalls, and says that he did not sign a Bible for Mr. Trump, which contained an inscription including these words: "History will record the greatness that you have brought for generations."

Sojourners has an article with more to say about this meeting with President Trump, and a recent previous meeting of the President with African-American pastors. One thing that article points out is that James Dobson, and other evangelicals, called for the removal of President Bill Clinton, because of the Lewinsky affair, but are lauding President Trump, in spite of his affairs with several women.


Health: Scientific American reports on the dangers of earwax buildup, especially in the elderly.

Gizmodo on grudges. Animals can carry them for long periods of time. They can do considerable harm to us, if we carry them.

Humor: Listverse tells us about the 10 strangest roadside attractions.

(or clothing) The Pudding compares pocket size (and existence) in female vs. male clothing.


Politics: Gizmodo reports that there are controversies over whether to allow bobcat hunting, in Ohio and elsewhere.

A Yale opinion map, showing, by county, Congressional District, metropolitan area, or state, what people believe about global warming.

Thanks for looking!

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the Bible justifies his actions on immigration

It is no secret ("Build a wall!") that the Trump administration believes that too many people are entering the country, both illegally and legally. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been a cabinet officer that has tried to slow down, or stop, such immigration, with apparent enthusiasm. The Trump administration has drastically cut the number of refugees that will be accepted, and is in the process of deporting previously admitted refugees.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant body in the US, have both recently passed resolutions rebuking the Trump administration, especially for separating young children and their parents at the borders. Other Christians, in groups, and as individuals, have also done so. (See here for Franklin Graham's recent statement.) As they should have, such rebukes have been based on the Bible.

Attorney General Sessions has reacted. His argument is that the Bible teaches that we should obey, and enforce, the law, for the good of the overall society, implying that the recent resolutions of religious bodies and individuals, supporting immigrants and refugees, are not really based on the Bible, but that his actions and policies are.

Really? Consider:
1) In general, Sessions is right. We need to enforce traffic laws, and put bank robbers in jail, for the good of society. But some laws, and/or the penalties for violating them, are unjust. Laws that supported the institution of slavery were unjust, for example. Many people, including some Republicans in Congress, believe that laws that require young children to be separated from their parents are unjust, and even violate basic human rights. President Trump commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for a minor drug offense. As far as I know, he didn't say that her sentence was unjust, but perhaps a belief that it was influenced his decision.

2) Some laws are subordinate to higher, and more important, laws. If my wife is desperately ill, and I violate speed limits to get her to the emergency room, I wouldn't expect to be charged with speeding. In fact, if an officer knew what was going on, I would expect that officer to precede me to the hospital with siren and lights on.

It is true that the Bible generally indicates that we should obey the law. See Romans 13:1-5, and 1 Peter 2:13-17. But some laws are more important than others. In dialog with the religious rulers of His day, Jesus and these rulers said that the most important laws from the Old Testament were the two great commandments, namely to love God, and to love other people.

3) The Bible gives directions about how to treat immigrants, aliens and refugees, with kindness and generosity. See here for several Biblical statements on such matters. One such direction was that the Israelites were to provide sanctuary for refugees from another nation, and a nation which had sometimes gone to war with them.

Sorry, Mr. Sessions. You aren't acting and speaking Biblically on this issue.

Note: In many cases, law enforcement personnel must choose which laws to enforce. There are so many laws, covering so many aspects of life, and limited resources to enforce with, that it would be impossible to discover violations of all laws, and punish the law-breakers. The Justice Department, and other branches of the current administration, appear to have chosen to rigorously enforce laws relating to immigration, while other types of laws are not. All administrations have to make such choices, but which laws are attended to says something important about the law-enforcers.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 679

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: (and politics) Unfortunately, evangelical Christians are the least likely group to believe that the US should accept refugees, according to a poll reported in Sojourners.

Conversely, Relevant discusses reasons, including economic ones, why Christians (and others) should be more accepting of refugees.

Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength examines the nature of the Trinity.


Education: National Public Radio reports that some public school teachers, who thought they had received a grant to pay for their education, have discovered that it is being treated as a loan, that they have to pay back.

Health: Scientific American discusses the seriousness of losing a long-time pet.

Philosophy: Henry Kissinger (yes, that Henry Kissinger), writing in The Atlantic, tells us that we need to think carefully about the implications of artificial intelligence.

Politics: Michael Gerson on the intolerance of Donald Trump, and some other politicians.

NPR on how the Environmental Protection Agency's actions to give manufacturers more stability by rolling back regulations is actually causing unpredictability.

FiveThirtyEight on what might happen if Republicans keep control of both houses of Congress.

Several leading Christians are not at all happy with President Trump's statements about certain immigrants being "animals," according to Relevant.

Science: National Public Radio reports that some satellites measure changes in local gravity, and this can be used to study water flow, especially from melting ice.

FiveThirtyEight on the effects of e-cigarettes.


Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 675

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Benjamin L. Corey gives some good advice about coming through life's trials with a softer, not harder, heart.

A Christianity Today writer tells us about true hospitality.

Relevant says that the record of the US on taking refugees is shameful and unChristian. (We've taken 11 refugees from Syria in 2017. No refugee, out of thousands previously admitted, has perpetrated a terrorist act in the US.)

Christianity Today reports on a Pew Research poll, examining what people mean when they say that they believe in God.

Politics: Mick Mulvaney, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has acted again to protect financial institutions from scrutiny, rather than protecting consumers from being ripped off. Sigh.

For the first time ever, the Chaplain of the US House of Representatives has been fired, according to NBC and other outlets.

Science: Gizmodo and Scientific American discuss the Environmental Protection Agency's declaration that burning wood is Carbon neutral.

New Scientist reports that the ability to grow human brain tissue in labs raises lots of ethical issues.

New Scientist also reports that horses can remember whether you smiled or frowned at them the last time they saw you.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 673

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Christianity: Gizmodo reports that some Catholic priests are performing exorcisms over a phone connection.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that the European Union is proposing to give robots/artificial intelligences legal status as persons, much like corporations may have such legal status, but not be able to vote, and with other limitations. A number of AI experts, and other experts, don't think this is a good idea.

Finance: (or something) National Public Radio reports that those stickers and labels, saying "warranty void if removed," are illegal.

Health: New Scientist reports that people who stay up late are more likely to die.

(or something) FiveThirtyEight reports that suicides may be a bigger threat to police than various kinds of non-police angry people, but that no one is keeping track of police suicides, nationwide.
  
Humor: (and several other categories) National Public Radio remembers Carl Kasell, long-time newcaster with a splendid voice, and also part of its humor and news show, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, here and here.

Politics: Sojourners asks why many evangelicals still support Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, in spite of several ethically questionable actions.

More on Pruitt's questionable behaviors, which have been questioned by the EPA, itself.

We may be concerned, and should be, about the fate of Syrian civilians, but the US has accepted only 11 Syrian refugees this year, so far, according to NPR.

Relevant reports that Franklin Graham has questioned the Christianity of political progressives.

Thanks for looking!


Image source (public domain)

How the Bible wants us to treat aliens, foreigners and strangers.

Matthew 7:12 Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets. (The Golden Rule)

The Israelites were warned that they should eliminate non-Israelites from the Promised Land. (See, for example, Deuteronomy 31:3-6) However, this was not an absolute command. Most likely, those warnings were really against the false gods of these non-Israelites. Rahab, from Jericho, and Ruth, from Moab, were ancestors of David (and of Christ). They were both non-Israelite followers of God. Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba’s first husband, who lived in Jerusalem, and was part of David’s army, had Canaanite ancestry, and he seems to have also been a follower of God (2 Samuel 11). David placed the Ark into the care of Obed-Edom, the Gittite (2 Samuel 6:10-12). Some bible scholars believe that he was descended from the Philistines from Gath, where Goliath came from, but others believe that “Gittite” has another meaning in this case. David purchased the land, which ultimately became the site of Solomon’s temple from Ornan, a Jebusite, who may have been a non-Israelite (1 Chronicles 21:18-30, 2 Chronicles 3:1, Some Bible translations call him Araunah).

The passages below give further evidence that non-Israelites were allowed to live in the Promised Land. 

Exodus 22:21 You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:9 You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:10 You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God. (This command is repeated in other parts of the Bible.)

Leviticus 19:33 If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

Deuteronomy 10:19 Therefore love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Peter reminds the church of his day that they, too, are, in a sense, foreigners: 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify God in the day of visitation. 

The Bible also says, in reference to a specific refugee crisis:

Isaiah 16:3 Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive! 4a Let my outcasts dwell with you! As for Moab, be a hiding place for him from the face of the destroyer. (This was in spite of the fact that the Moabites hadn’t always been good to Israel. See Josh 24:9, Judg 3:12-30, 1 Sam 12:9.)

Ezekiel 47:21 “So you shall divide this land to yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 It will happen, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who will father children among you. Then they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel. They shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 It shall happen, that in whatever tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord Yahweh.

Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers*, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you are also in the body.

*The NIV Study Bible thinks “strangers” may mean “Christians that you don’t know.” The two commentaries I consulted did not say this. There are Christian refugees, that we don’t know, in our time.

Unfortunately, a recent poll found that only 12% of Christians say that they get their views on immigration from the Bible. 

Notes: 1) Refugees may become immigrants, but not all immigrants, legal or illegal, are refugees. The concept of border security probably was seldom considered in Bible times. In the verses above, “alien,” “foreigner,” and “stranger” seem to mean “non-Israelite.” Some of these would have been refugees.

2) Scripture quotations from the World English Bible, public domain. This post, on January 13, 2018, is a modified version of the original, which was posted July 27, 2017.

3) The United States is not equivalent to ancient Israel.

4) At least in Old Testament times, it seems that God would not have expected non-Israelites who came into the country for the purpose of subverting worship of Him, or to murder Israelites, to be treated as generously as the verses above indicate.

Thanks for reading.

Update, June 21, 2018:

Jeff Sessions, currently the US Attorney General, recently claimed that separating immigrant children from their parents is obeying the Bible, which says that we are to obey the law and the government. Well, usually, but Sessions has left out a lot of what the Bible says.

Update, December 23, 2018:

Job 31 gives a list of good things Job has done, and bad things that he has not done, as he justifies himself. One of the good things is in verse 32: “the foreigner has not lodged in the street, but I have opened my doors to the traveler ...”

And we shouldn’t forget that Jesus, Joseph and Mary were refugees in Egypt, fleeing a threat of violence.  

Update, February 26, 2020:

2 Chronicles 30 describes the revival during the reign of Hezekiah, many generations after the time of Ruth, or David. It includes this statement:  
30:25 All the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly who came out of Israel, and the foreigners who came out of the land of Israel, and who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 

Sunspots 611

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:
Christianity: Sojourners is not happy with efforts to slow down, or restrict, the entry of refugees to the US. Christianity Today has a related post and another one.

And Benjamin L. Corey reminds us, with scripture, that being hospitable to strangers (including refugees) is a heaven or hell issue.


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware has published an annotated list of the best free software to protect your system.

Food: Listverse reports on 10 foods made from poop, vomit or spit.

History: Scientific American gives brief biographies of the three African-American women that the current movie, Hidden Figures, is mostly about.

Listverse tells us about ways in which colors had (and still do) significance.

Humor: (sort of) Listverse tells us the answers to questions we might have had about 10 movies.

Politics: Scientific American reports that the National Park Service is resisting efforts by the Trump administration to stop its communications through social media. Other government agencies related to science have also been silenced, or have been asked to be less communicative.

Science: National Public Radio has an essay on science and facts.

Scientific American reports on why and how LSD works.



Image source (public domain)

Treatment of aliens/strangers in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy

Exodus 22:21 “You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Exodus 23:9 “You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Leviticus 19:10 You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am the Yahweh your God. (This command is repeated in other parts of the Bible.)
Leviticus 19:33 “‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.
Deuteronomy 10:19 Therefore love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

The Bible also says, in reference to a specific refugee crisis:

Isaiah 16:3 Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive! 4a Let my outcasts dwell with you! As for Moab, be a hiding place for him from the face of the destroyer.

The Moabites hadn't always been good to Israel. See Joshua 24:9, Judges 3:12-30, and 1 Samuel 12:9.

And, of course, there's always the Golden Rule: Matthew 7:12 Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

(World English Bible, public domain.)