Right-wing blogger Matt Walsh, last seen defending Alabama’s cruel anti-abortion law because it would prove rapes occurred, gleefully illustrated how little he understands about the very book he claims to hold dear.

Responding to the criticism of Republicans’ treatment of refugees by saying Jesus and His family were refugees in their time, Walsh argued that was untrue:

Joseph and Mary went to their ancestral home in Bethlehem for a census. In no sense did Jesus “come into this world as a refugee.” There’s also no reason to think that Joseph was particularly impoverished. So nothing about this tweet is correct. https://t.co/KNOCzvb4dc — Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) December 26, 2019

And no He wasn’t a refugee in Egypt either. Egypt was a Roman territory at the time. The Holy Family was fleeing the persecution of the client king of Judea, not the Roman Emperor. — Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) December 26, 2019

This is the very definition of “splitting hairs.” It’s irrelevant which territory Egypt was technically part of at the time because the whole reason Jesus’ parents fled the scene, according to the Bible, was because their lives were in danger. It’s the same reason scores of refugees are willing to undergo a dangerous journey from their countries of origin into this one. When the alternative is almost certain death, you’ll do anything to spare your family.

Thankfully, plenty of people on Twitter were eager to correct Walsh’s historical revisionism.

Oh, so persecution only counts so long as it comes from the very top. Localized persecution is just an HOA disagreement? Who did the angels announce to? What does Luke 1:52-53 say? What does that imply about his goals? Sigh. — Bonhoeffer's Child (@bonhoefferchild) December 26, 2019

Trying to negate His humble origins, the fact that Herod sought to kill him, or the fact that His family fled that persecution to ding a candidate is not only stretching but misusing the person foundational to our faith. But … anything for click-bait, I guess. — Bonhoeffer's Child (@bonhoefferchild) December 26, 2019

I wonder if there's a term for people traveling somewhere in order to flee persecution. — Cody Johnston (@drmistercody) December 26, 2019

Herod was having an entire category of people murdered because of who they were and anyone escaping that would have been a refugee under any definition, do you think you've made some kind of point here — Matt Cameron � (@matt_cam) December 26, 2019

Let's see. Would Jesus have been killed if he stayed where Herod could reach him? Yes. Was he safe in Egypt? Yes. Once again, he and parents became refugees in Egypt. This isn't hard. — Tejanarusa (@Tejanarusa) December 26, 2019

Leave it to a self-proclaimed follower of Christ to use Christmas to argue in favor of separating families at the border. For a guy who loves Nativity scenes, he still hasn’t learned the basics of that story.

