BreakPoint | A ‘No Truth’ Zone?
As hard as this issue is for our leaders, it’s even harder for Christians. We’re commanded to be good citizens who are committed to the welfare of the city in which God has placed us to live. The porous borders that have enabled 11 million people to settle in this country illegally raise obviously dangerous security concerns. Those same borders allowing people to seek a better life for their families allow terrorists to come in to destroy us. We need to tighten border security. And we must oppose blatant disregard for the law. If immigration laws are too restrictive, the answer is to amend them, not ignore them.
But along with these concerns, we also need to recall God’s command to welcome the foreigner and sojourner in our midst. The Scriptures tells us that hospitality toward the aliens in its midst is the hallmark of a good society. In fact, extending the hand of friendship toward those who are different from them is a way the people of God distinguish themselves from their unbelieving neighbors.
While this kind of hospitality doesn’t require that Christians advocate open borders, it does require us to be salt and light in the debate over immigration reform. At the very least, we should work to elevate the level of discourse and prevent the demonizing of the
4 responses so far ↓
1 Scriptfox // Aug 16, 2005 at 6:51 am
Yep, the way I see it is as follows:
1. Determine a realistic number of visas (something to match the actual numbers coming in)
2. Set up a program to process and track that many people.
3. Enforce the border- for REAL- and prevent illegal crossings.
4. Handle the issue of people already in this country, either by deportation and/or amnesty.
There is no call for amnesty when the borders are uncontrolled. Afterwards, let’s talk.
Too much rhetoric (on the extremes of both sides) ignores the central ground that a majority of people will agree upon: immigration is good, illegal immigration is bad. And as for the difference, a line from an old Batman movie illustrates the point:
Catwoman: Admit it, Batman, there’s something between us.
Batman: Yes, and I’m afraid it’s the law!
Using euphemisms for blatant illegality only contributes to the decline of respect for the law. It serves as a sort of ‘original sin’, with the illegal immigrant forever being a) outside ‘legal’ society and b) in defiance of the law for simply being there. It’s a no win situation, casting him or her into an adversarial role.
2 Paula // Aug 17, 2005 at 10:30 am
Great site! You don’t know me, but I’m a fellow blogger. Today I am trying to get as many comments left on http://www.thehalftimeband.com as a love note from me to my Hubby. He plays the bass in the band and is the site administrator. I would so appreciate you visiting their site and leaving a comment today, if you have the time.
Blessings,
3 the daily missive // Aug 17, 2005 at 6:08 pm
You make a few good points, however, we need to make sure our immigrant population is becoming “American”.
Enough with the multi-culturalism already.
4 Stones Cry Out // Aug 19, 2005 at 5:04 am
Friday Blog Review: The NCC, Porous Borders, Condotels, and more
A quick look around the blogosphere: The Church of the Latter-Day Leftists: Jacob Laksin at OrthodoxyToday.com writes about the leftist agenda of the National Council Churches. (h/t: Father John) A sample: This should not be taken to mean that the…