Immigration: Christian Courage OR Cowardly Conservatism (Part 1)
Image Attribution: Mark Rain/flickr/license
In order to have justice we must have courage. It is indisputably biblical to link these traits. This idea dodged around in my mind waving from a distance almost daily but never sat down to talk until seven days ago. That was when I began reading all the references to justice in the NASB:
On the other hand I am filled with power—with the Spirit of the LORD—and with justice and courage to make known to Jacob his rebellious act, even to Israel his sin (Micah 3:8) [Emphases added].
Micah says, “on the other hand” (so that’s where we get that phrase) he is filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and courage. It must be that in every age it is justice and courage that are “on the other hand.” Our sinful human nature leads us away from these virtues. The natural man is unjust and cowardly. It takes a man that is “filled with power—with the Spirit of the Lord” to resist cowardly behavior.
Unbiblical Evangelicals
Christians filled with God’s Spirit and power and courageously seeking justice are now in shorter supply than ammo at the Alamo. We are proving ourselves mindless, soulless, and impotent to effect even simple righteous works. Our leaders reach into their theological ammo bags but find them empty. They stumble dumbfounded before the microphones mumbling idiocies we are urged to accept however distant they may be from biblical direction. Concerning immigration, the pressing issue of the day, Franklin Graham is quoted bleating passively and unchristian:
“It’s not a biblical command for the country to let everyone in who wants to come, that’s not a Bible issue,”[Emphases added].
And,
We want to love people, we want to be kind to people, we want to be considerate, but we have a country and a country should have order and there are laws that relate to immigration and I think we should follow those laws [Emphases added]
If we are looking for leaders who will courageously seek justice, Graham and many other evangelical leaders will not do the work. Notice how Graham asserts that immigration is “not a Bible issue.” This is not a Bible issue? I’ll bet this is news to God. We typically talk about the idea with the phrase, equal treatment under the law, which is a Bible idea. Scripture emphatically insists that the laws of the land are to be the same for the citizens and for the aliens and sojourners. This quite obviously would mean that we cannot simply select large numbers of people for deportation based on random ideas. This is the very point of God’s many instructions.
The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you (Exodus 12:49).
In case we (and our graduate school educated ministers) might miss the directive God gave here He also insisted:
There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you (Numbers 15:16).
You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them (Numbers 15:29).
Scripture contains numerous references like these. We could say they are repeated repeatedly (and often, frequently, ever and anon, regularly, time and again) and without number but that begins to exaggerate. Nevertheless, men who have gone to the schools, sat through the classes, read systematic theology, written thousands of words about the Bible, and been payrolled to teach sound doctrine certainly know this simple stricture from God’s law. We are not talking about words their eyes never saw on the page. Why then would they want to make silly assertions like Graham did that “this is not a Bible issue’? Seriously? Yes it is a Bible issue. It is a Bible issue. We need to keep that straight.
Graham mentions that we have laws about immigration. Yes we do, but what we need to be asking is if those laws uphold God’s ideas of justice or only our own random ideas. We are busy trying to figure out how to either keep people out or how to throw people out. There is nothing in the Bible indicating these are good ideas. What we actually read in God’s Word are commands to treat foreign travelers and visitors with considered kindness. We are to apply to them the same laws we apply to ourselves. As a nation we are finding this to be difficult so this is where the nexus of justice and courage meets us.
Justice and courage are not where our conservative politics may take us. We think that our right-of-center politics will save us more surely than obedience to our Creator, but our conservative ideals will not save society. Conservatism is not the same as Christianism (not a word I know but it rolls off the tongue so beautifully). We shouldn’t confuse the two terms. Conservatism is what we get from talk radio and alternative media. Christianism, in other words, Christian thought and behavior, is what we get by studying Scripture and learning to apply it to current life and culture. It used to be called Christendom, a real word. Deciding to resist the direction of current culture or politics is what takes courage. Anyone can flow with the current but courageous people must turn the tide. We are supposed to be like the prophet Micah and seek justice—justice and courage. The need for us to exercise these virtues extends far beyond questions about immigration but immigration is the conversation of the hour, so this is where we make application
Immigration Justice vs. Socialism
It takes courage to talk about immigration biblically because cultural realities clash with biblical ones. Scripture repeatedly instructs us to show kindness to aliens and travelers among us:
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy (Proverbs 31:8–9).
On the other hand (that phrase again) American society affords, or ill-affords, most poor people a government sponsored tether to the good life. It is not only our native born who receive tax-supported education but immigrants as well. Immigrants also seem to be tapping into food stamps, low-income housing, emergency medical care, and a host of other benefits available to Americans. It appears that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is refilled by Uncle Sam no matter what the storms of life may send our troubled immigrant neighbors. By choosing to obey God and show kindness to the aliens and sojourners among us, we get our pocketbooks lightened. The more we obey God the broker we get. Maybe Jesus knew what he was talking about when He said we cannot serve both God and mammon.
On the other hand (thank you prophet Micah) maybe it is our sins that are finding us out. Where in Scripture did God command civil government to hand out any of that mammon in the first place? If you have never looked, I have, and the answer is no place. God never once instructs the government to give poor people anything. He does tell individuals, families, and churches to help the needy but never is the government supposed to do this work. It is due to our national disobedience to this principle that we are then made to feel we cannot allow open borders for the immigrating poor. The sins of our fathers who set up the welfare programs redound to the children of impoverished nations. It is an odd twist on God’s promises.
Clamoring for Justice
Much of the clamor we hear about stopping the immigrant hordes seems to rise from the practical results of our previous disobedience. Obedience under God is always this way. If we are not faithful in a small thing how will we be faithful in a larger thing? Initially those government welfare programs were designed to assist the poor. Now they are a source teaching us to mistreat the poor and to tell them to go back home. Disobedience is like that. We gaze straight into God’s compassionate eyes while kicking Him in the shins. If we are going to be just and merciful toward immigrants we have to work up the courage to manage our mammon according to biblical principle. We should be clamoring to get the government out of the mammon business and return that work to the individuals and institutions God ordained to handle them. It takes courage to call for such an overturn, but we should not be cowards.
——-
See the other articles in this series:
Do Open Borders Mean a Muslim Invasion? (Immigration, Part 2)
Who Should Help Aliens & Sojourners? (Immigration, Part 3)
Suspender Man™, Don Schanzenbach, has long been an outspoken advocate of recapturing culture for Christ. He holds a MA in applied Biblical studies and a doctorate in applied theological studies in the field of political philosophy and government from New Geneva Seminary. He has been thinking, writing and speaking on Christian culture for two decades.
Much is missed here dealing with immigration.Under God’s laws to Israel the strangers to live in their land had to give up their god’s and worship and obey the God of Israel so there be no Hindus, Muslims etc etc in the land.Also there where some restrictive laws that applied to the strangers like Deut17:15 no stranger (Nokri-of another race)could hold office.In Josh9:21 the strangers were made slaves in Neh9:2 Israel separated from all strangers. Under the laws of Moses Israelites were not to marry them they were also to live outside the camps of Israel.
Thank you, Don!
Biblical immigration and border law begins with the First Commandment and its respective statutes and judgments, which, in turn, requires that all gods not Yahweh and all laws not His be left at the border.
No Muslim, for example, would agree to such a law and would look elsewhere to immigrate and do their dirty work, including the proselytizing of our posterity.
Trump’s immigration sanctions will fall short of the mark until he realizes that Yahweh’s law, not the Constitutional Republic’s “laws,” should determine our immigration policy.
Graham, like most evangelicals and fundamental Christians, only makes matters worse by supporting the First Commandment-violating First Amendment as the law of the land.
For more, see online Chapter 11 “Amendment 1: Government-Sanctioned Polytheism” of “Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective” at http://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/BlvcOnline/biblelaw-constitutionalism-pt11.html.
This is Neophariseeism again. Ask you self a question: whose laws more closely resemble God’s laws, the U.S., or the laws being brought with the Muslim invaders? If it is the U.S. (whether or not we perfectly reflect God’s laws) are we not justified to turn those away who reject our laws? And there is no commandment that we have to admit people who we know will lie about acceptance of our laws just to gain entrance and continue there hijrah. And what law would you recommend to stop their proselytizing? Away with your flailing about with God’s law.
Darren, it would seem you do not realize your response makes YOU a Pharisee. The Pharisees were not denounced by Christ for keeping the law but for replacing Yahweh’s law for their own man-made traditions (such as, for example, the US Constitution). See Matthew 15:6-9, for example.
Or perhaps the same statement given in Numbers would apply: “The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.” (Numbers 15:16) But wait, there were laws regulating slavery…therefore we can conclude that this not a blanket statement meaning all laws stated in the bible will apply equally to all people on the face of the earth (even though we can certainly conclude that slavery is abolished under the new covenant). Same in the U.S. we can (except for the leftist fascism) claim that our laws do in some way parallel the biblical command and apply equally to all people WITHOUT that meaning that all laws apply equally to all people on the face of the earth and demand open immigration. It is nothing less than absurd to claim the these types of verse command open immigration. There were clearly restrictions on becoming a member of the nation Israel or a resident, and they cannot be claimed to be solely religious reasons.
I think you are confusing immigration with citizenship. My article does not delve into citizenship. Maybe it is easier for you to see that God’s law applies equally to everyone if you look at our own Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. It guarantees the right to life, liberty, and protection of property to everyone not just American citizens.Our own school kids used to know this.
God’s law doesn’t tell us to let people into our country whose laws say to kill all people who won’t succom to THEIR laws.
God’s law has no immigration policy except open borders. Foreign criminals ought to be dealt with the same as home born criminals. The law is the same for both home born and foreign born. With two or three witnesses a criminal can be convicted and punished. But, convicting people or punishing people who we suspect might commit a crime is not allowed for home born or foreign born. Although, we now allow our IRS and police through civil forfeiture to punish people only suspected of committing crimes so we have already crossed that line as it is. But we violate God’s law by allowing these things.
And God’s laws concerning treatment of invading armies? It seems to me that Muslim immigration is a very difficult one to sort out Biblically. The government has a God given mandate to defend the poor and needy from crime by use of the sword. Is it only to punish criminals after the fact? If you see an army coming for your innocent, it’s wicked not to say, “Come on in, so long as you obey our just laws?” So here we have individuals coming in from a dominant ideology that expressly wants America off the face of the earth and actively spreads murder and mayhem wherever it goes on the globe, including right here in this country. These individuals we’re looking at are not carrying weapons. Maybe they are truly seeking refuge. But they don’t need weapons when they’ve got airplanes and pressure cookers. They may not ever commit a crime themselves, but most of them will raise their children according to a religion that produces murder and mayhem. Labeling this sort of consideration “random ideas” makes it seem the Bible was not fully consulted about the issue.
God gave us the tools to deal with all of your concerns but we are unwilling to use them. If we actually enforced God’s ban of public worship of idols, of foreign gods, and if we prosecuted criminals according to His law we would not danger from an underground army. That underground army would not want to be here. Under biblical law an immigrant would not be able to vote for three generations. God’s law is wise and righteous altogether.
The term “Open Boarders” does not accurately reflect Biblical immigration policy since it it vague. Aliens who wanted to be assimilated into God’s Nation were vetted. The command not to oppress the stranger meant that on the basis of an individual not being an Israelite – on that basis – they were not to be discriminated against. It doesn’t mean “everybody come on in!” willy nilly.
A number of these blog replies rightly acknowledge that those that came into the land had to “leave their gods behind”. Mr Weiland is also correct when he says that the modern understanding of the first amendment has invalidated the First Commandment.
Until the fundamentals of Christianity is re-established in Western Civilization immigration will be the least of our problems.
Part 2 Coming Soon
Coming Soon Part 2 – Immigration: Justice, Courage and the Muslim Invasion
This is neophariseeism plain and simple. Calling fellow Christians cowards for not be as holy as you based on your laws not Gods.
Exodus 12 is laws regarding the observance of Passover.
What have they to do with immigration?
Even in these there are restrictions. Read the verse before it and explain that, remember, one law for everyone?
Exodus 12:43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal: “No foreigner may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, 45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.” Study harder my friend, look at context.
You asked me to explain. The explanation is that when God talks about one law for the stranger and the home born He is talking about civil laws that have penalties. There are moral commandments God gives that have no civil penalty. The example you cited is one of these. The subject of the Op is about immigration and civil laws pertaining to it. This is a civil matter with penalties connected. In these kinds of laws we have to obey God and treat all men equally under the law.Our own Fifth Amendment to the Constitution recognizes this by guaranteeing life, liberty, and protection of property to all people not just American citizens.
According to R. J. Rushdoony, illegal immigration warrants deportation. While there may be exceptions — e.g., backed by Christ’s authority to disciple all nations (Matt. 28:18-20), it seems that Christian missionaries, if necessary, can illegally enter nations that prohibit sharing the Gospel — Rushdoony’s point is well taken:
Well, first of all they [illegal immigrants] have broken the law. And justice to everyone requires that the law be upheld. So if they are illegal aliens they should be deported. Now that’s justice because it’s comparable to breaking and entering into a man’s house.
Rushdoony also says:
If there should be a change in the immigration laws there are ways of making change but there’s also a failure in our current practice of reciprocity. For example, we allow entrance to peoples who will not allow anyone from our country to migrate there or to own property. That is hardly justice.
— from the audio lecture “Justice and World Law,” transcribed at Pocket College.