In View of The Recent Shootings Catholic Statement Highlights a Dilemma;

The Thanksgiving Eve shooting of two National Guardspeople by an Afghan refugee recently granted asylum once again creates a dilemma for some of us who wonder how the church is to respond compassionately to immigrants.  The US Catholic Bishops have issued "A Special Message" in response to the deployment of guardsmen affirming the governments right to control it's borders but reminding Christian people of our need to be winsome and compassionate toward immigrants.

 What difference does a statement of the Catholic bishopric make to Protestant evangelicals? The Catholic Church is the largest religious body that names Jesus Christ as its founder and for most of church history it was the only formal Christian body. Protestants have a long historic connection to Catholicism; we were birthed from it; we share much doctrine and polity in common with it. Unlike most of evangelicalism the Catholic church believes it has a responsibility to address public policy issues. Many evangelicals are greatly influenced by Catholic church statements because many evangelical churches believe that making the gospel primary requires neutrality on politics and ethics.  

Political neutrality creates confusion and leads to an uncertainty about how bible-believing-people are to engage a moral political world. Many in our families and churches are either Catholic or very influenced by Catholicism, and the media accepts Catholic teaching as descriptive of Biblical morality and ethics. Evangelicals who are confused about how they should respond to our governments immigration policy often take their cues from Catholicism or the secular media. Some protestant and evangelical movements seem to have little connection for history or culture and give the impression that the Bible offers few answers for social questions. When evangelicals fail to apply biblical themes to moral and political issues many church members look to Catholicism, academia of the media for guidance.

Samson's Jawbone exists because the message of redemption has implications for every of our lives -- personal, corporate, social and political. The gospel is the principles of the kingdom that Christ is building. A confession of Christ carries with it moral principles applicable to every area of life. When Jesus called on Peter to salvation, he charged him to help build his church. [18] "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [19] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18–19ESV), which clearly was a granting of moral authority to the message of the gospel. (Matthew 18:18&19). " We are negligent in proclaiming the gospel if we neglect calling our responsibility "to bind and loose" all realms of life to the kingdom message. All though no one comes to church to hear a campaign speech. The message of the gospel defines our political views as well as our theology.

 We neglect the message of the gospel if we fail to join our catholic friends in speaking to the important ethical, social and political issues of the day.  Samson's Jawbone to once again define a biblical response to the immigration crisis.

First, there are several issues we must address about this Special Message:

1.  We agree with the statement that a country's immigration policy must protect its sovereignty, and preserve its laws: 

   We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good. Without such processes, immigrants face the risk of trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks..."

   National sovereignty and borders are part of the divinely ordained cultural mandate. Civil society is one of the means God uses to advance his kingdom purposes " And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place..." (Acts 17:26ESV). God establishes governments to bring about his purpose so that people might live in peace and harmony with each other (Romans 13) and with other nations. Governments are granted divine authority to organize orderly social relationship and punish wrong doers, and to use the sword to implement those just precepts. Christians are commanded to be engaged citizens in whatever country we live. "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:7ESV)." While we are no longer under the theocracy established in the Old Testament, we can observe some principles for ethical governance from Israel's civil law. 

2. The Bible also teaches that government, though having an authority from God, has limitations. Jesus taught that God had created both divine and human jurisdictions. (Matthew 22:21; Mark 12:17) The apostle Paul taught that governments had authority to make laws and enforce them, and that people are to obey them (Ecclesiastes 8:3; Romans 12:1-5.) The Bible also teaches that the kingdom of God is a higher moral authority than human government:

10  Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11  ^gServe the Lord with ^hfear,

and ⁱrejoice with ^htrembling.(Ps 2:2)  

 

For the Lord, the Most High, ^zis to be feared,

^aa great king over all the earth.

3  He ^bsubdued peoples under us,

and nations under our feet.

4  He chose our ^cheritage for us,

^dthe pride of Jacob whom he loves. (Ps 47:2)

[11] Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. [12] Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great a to give strength to all. [13] And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. (1 Chronicles 29:11–13ESV)    

       

             When the government exceeds or abuses its authority our responsibility is             to obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). The preaching of gospel and the             is a message that carries with it moral authority and social                                    responsibility (Matthew 16:18-20; 18:18-19; Matthew 22:39). The                     church, therefore, is obligated call government to do what is right, and to             instruct believers on ethical engagement of culture and government.                     Jesus said. Moral, ethical and political neutrality is not an option for the                 church:

[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed, (Luke 4:18ESV)

           We welcome and agree with the bishops that the church as the                              representative of the kingdom of God on the earth must advocate for a just            and righteous society that advances liberty and human rights. That we must         treat immigrants with respect, justice and due process.  Christ's Great                Commission mandate to teach disciples to obey all that has commanded                includes instruction on how we are to govern ourselves ethically. The gospel         truth of the gospel transforms us spiritually, and all spiritual transformation            defines our ethics, and all ethical actions are political. A gospel that is neutral         on politics is an incomplete gospel. We can no longer be silent and sit on the         sidelines of the current immigration crisis in our nation.           

3. We agree with the Catholic bishops that our borders and controlling the flow of immigrants to our country is the duty of a responsible government. And that part of the mission of the church is to advocate for an immigration system that is orderly, humane and that advances our national prosperity, preserves our culture and helps the poor and oppressed within our borders and abroad.

While the statement emphasizes the need for a compassionate and just response to immigrants and decries unjust and random deportation it offers little guidance for a civil and fair immigration policy. While it decries family separation, it offers little guidance for the application of an ethical immigration policy. A more biblically centered message as found in a Protestant understanding of the gospel can provide a reasoned ethical approach to immigration.

There are some defining biblical principles that can help our churches and government engage with the immigrants among us.  The term "immigrant" is nowhere used in scripture, however, there are many references to welcoming, and caring for foreigners, sojourners or aliens (the biblically equivalent terms) who are living among us (Gen 23:4; Deuteronomy 10:9, 27:19; Leviticus 19:34; 1 Chronicles 16:19-22; Job 29: 15-17: Psalm 146:9; Jeremiah 7:5-7: Ezekiel 47:22; Zeh 7: 9-10; Romans 12:13; Col 3:11; Hebrews 13:1-3 et.al).

We can make some observations from Israel's treatment of immigrants that can guide current ministry and government engagement of the foreigners among us. Immigrants living in our land are to be treated with respect, compassion, fairness and justice. We are called to welcome, winsomely, immigrant families living in our neighborhood, or attending our child's school, or working in the cubicle next to us. We are to care for them, assist them in adapting to our culture and help them when they are injured or persecuted in the same way the Good Samaritan took care of his neighbor. We are to help immigrant families among us find adequate and safe food and housing. Churches can and should help aliens learn the language and legally and responsibly assimilate into our society. We are to welcome them into our churches and homes and present the gospel to them. But does a compassionate and just response require that we harbor those who are here illegally. Are we to cooperate immigration enforcement?

Are we to cooperate with government requirements for entry, assimilation and removal? Several years ago after I raised this question in a bible study, I was teaching.  A pastoral colleague admonished me that the Old Testament "always required Israel to accept the immigrant" based on need only. He said it was immoral for a nation to turn away the poor and needy or coming to our borders under any circumstances. He lovingly and respectfully challenged whether my teaching was an accurate portrayal of God's word or whether I was interpreting the scripture through my conservative political bias.  He suggested I examine how the Old Testament used the term "aliens." 

I agreed to do a study of how the Bible word "alien" was used, and report to the group the next week. Here's what I discovered: When you trace the word "alien" through scripture you discover that Old Testament established clear immigration principles and practices.  Alien entry was never based on need, alone. Certain ethnic groups were never allowed into Israel; they were to remain separated (Ex 34:11- 16) forever. They were permanently banned from immigration. Refugees and Immigrants were sometimes prohibited from either participation or entry into the country. Immigrants could only participate in the sacrifices, if they became circumcised (Ex 12:48) and assimilated into the culture. 

•The Old Testament civil law included controls on immigration to protect the safety and sovereignty of the nation. Aliens from enemy nations were viewed differently under the law than those from Israel's allies. 

•Some ethnics groups were prohibited from entering the country. Some aliens who entered the country were never allowed to enter the covenant. They remained non-citizens.

•Some non-Jewish aliens accompanied the Jews during the Exodus; they were required to give up their religions and assimilated into Jewish culture (Exodus 12:38; Numbers 11:4; Jos 8:35).

•Some aliens who lived among the Jews were considered intruders. Some laws were exclusively applied to them (Lev 12:19; 17:10,15; 18:26; 20:2; 24:16); restrictions were placed on their beliefs and practices. Foreigners who chose to worship Jehovah and live under the Jewish law became members of the covenant and full citizens of the Jewish nation but there were still some legal restrictions placed on them. 

•Some ethnic groups were not allowed to become citizens for up to 10 generations (Exodus 12:48; 34: 15- 16 Deuteronomy 7:1-4; 23:3); in at least one case the Lord told the Jews to annihilate an ethnic group (Deut 14:21). God judged ethnic groups related to Israel based on how they treated Israel (Ob11).

• Some families were separated to protect national sovereignty and purpose. The leaders of Israel even on occasion divided families to secure the nation. The High Priest Ezra commanded Jews who had intermarried with other ethnic groups that practiced pagan religions to dissolve their marriages; the spouses and children of those marriages were repatriated to their home culture. (Ezra 10). 

The role alien people's were allowed to play in the nation of Israel was strictly regulated to preserve the religion, to secure the culture, to keep the nation healthy and safe, and to provide for the ascendancy of the Messiah.  While taking care of alien's, oppressed people and refugees is always incumbent on believing people. It was never required that any foreigner cross the borders of Israel based on their need alone. While there is no biblical expectation that requires a country to admit people into it based on need alone. Some immigrants were welcomed into the community.

People who enter the country legally often benefit our country and enhance our culture, illegal immigration dose not. Someone who is here illegally and has a job is either working illegally or has stolen someone's identity. This denies health care, opportunity and education to our citizens and deportation may be a just and appropriate consequences of their actions. Illegals who are not working are often engaged in criminal activity. Government deportation policy must be built on the biblically supported principle that citizens, legal residents and legal immigrants are victims of illegal immigration. Deportation is sometime an appropriate and fair government act. But do we need to give special consideration to refugee who is seeking asylum.

Refugee resettlement is not always the most compassionate option. Repatriation often has better results than resettlement. The Center for Immigration Studies has documented the cost of resettling a refugee in this country is $65,000 per person per day. The United Nations Commission on refugees can repatriate refugees for about $1500 per person per day. Some cultures history and heritage make assimilation more difficult than others, and some cultures are incompatible with Western civilization. Ministry can be more efficient and effective when done in native languages, involving national churches and where the native culture is predominant.  Governing authorities are responsible for building a just and fair society, for preserving culture, and national identity. The needs and security of the nation can be considered in the asylum process

The problem facing current administration and which the Catholic bishops fail to address is not so much policy, but what we do with those who are here. We are aligned with the bishops' sentiments. "We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones." 

Is family separation ever acceptable? Sometimes God commanded Isreal to separate from certain peoples. When Israel intermingled with these groups it harmed everyone. When those principles were violated sometimes family separations occurred Households were separated to protect cultural identity and national sovereignty.

A clear understanding of Biblical teaching provides clarity to the immigration dilemma:

• Jesus's command to love our neighbor as ourselves requires that we be intentional in engaging with immigrants with provision of need and the message of the gospel. We are to be friends with our foreign neighbors and welcome them and help them become assimilated into our culture, our communities and our churches. 
• Churches can support government action to implement a just and fair immigration system that protects our political and economic interests and to enforce it. We recognize that such enforcement may necessitate deportations.
• While we are not to provide sanctuary for those who have broken the law. We are not responsible for enforcement or to report our neighbors. 
• The church should engage with government officials on immigration. We should insist on fair, humane treatment and due process from immigrants even for those who are being deported. Those who have engaged in criminal activity should be processed appropriate to their offenses. Those whose only crime is entering the country illegally whose only crime is employment offenses should be treated appropriately to their circumstances. The punishment should match the crime.

In view of the recent shootings the Catholic statement does highlights a dilemma for all believers. A careful understanding of the biblical record of Israel's dealing with foreigners helps us to arrive at an understanding of immigration can guide our public actions and political choices.