Immigration and the Gospel
— Friday, June 17th, 2011 —
The Christian response to immigrant communities in the United States cannot be “You kids get off of my lawn” in Spanish. While evangelicals, like other Americans, might disagree on the political specifics of achieving a just and compassionate immigration policy, our rhetoric must be informed by more than politics, but instead by gospel and mission.
I’m amazed when I hear evangelical Christians speak of undocumented immigrants in this country with disdain as “those people” who are “draining our health care and welfare resources.” It’s horrifying to hear those identified with the gospel speak, whatever their position on the issues, with mean-spirited disdain for the immigrants themselves.
This is a gospel issue. First of all, our Lord Jesus himself was a so-called “illegal immigrant.” Fleeing, like many of those in our country right now, a brutal political situation, our Lord’s parents sojourned with him in Egypt (Matt. 2:13-23). Jesus, who lived out his life for us, spent his childhood years in a foreign land away from his relatives among people speaking a different language with strange customs.
In so doing, our Lord Jesus was re-living the life of Israel, our ancestors in the faith, who were also immigrants and sojourners in Egypt (Exod. 1:1-14; 1 Chron. 16:19; Acts 7:6). It is this reality, the Bible tells us, that is to ground our response to those who sojourn among us (Exod. 22:21; Ps. 94:6; Jer.7:6; Ezek. 22:29; Zech. 7:10). God, the Bible says, “executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Deut. 10:18-19).
This is much more than a “political” issue, abstracted from our salvation. Jesus tells us that our response to the most vulnerable among us is a response to Jesus Himself (Matt. 25:40). God will judge those who exploit workers and mistreat the poor. No matter how invisible they seem to us now, God hears (Isa. 3:15; Amos 4:1; Jas.5:4).
This is also a question of our mission. There are upwards of 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country right now, and many more in the Latino community who came here legally. If our response to them is to absorb the nativism and bigotry of some elements of society around us, we are showing them a vision of what the Bible calls “the flesh” rather than the Spirit. If our churches ignore the nations around us who are living in our own communities, we will reflect 1970s Bible Belt America rather than the kingdom of God which is made up of those from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language (Rev. 7:9).
It is easy to lash out at undocumented immigrants as “law-breakers,” and to cite Romans 13 as reason to simply call for deportation and retribution. But this issue is far more complicated than that. Yes, undocumented immigrants are violating the law, but, first of all, most of them are doing so in order to provide a future for their families in flight from awful situations back home. Many of them are children (as our Lord Jesus was at the time of his immigration).
And, even given our nation’s Romans 13 responsibility to maintain secure borders, the message our nation sends to those across our borders isn’t clear and univocal. As Southern Baptist leader Richard Land puts it, there are two metaphorical signs on our border: “Keep out” and “Help wanted.”
This isn’t to say that there aren’t real political challenges here. I agree that the border should be secured. I support holding businesses accountable for hiring, especially since some of them use the threat of deportation as a way of exploiting these vulnerable workers. I support a realistic means of providing a way to legal status for the millions of immigrants already here. But there are many who disagree with me, and for valid reasons.
The larger issue is in how we talk about this issue, recognizing that this is not about “issues” or “culture wars” but about persons made in the image of God. Our churches must be the presence of Christ to all persons, regardless of country of origin or legal status. We need to stand against bigotry and harassment and exploitation, even when it’s politically profitable for those who stand with us on other issues.
And, most importantly, we must love our brothers and sisters in the immigrant communities. We must be the presence of Christ to and among them, even as we receive ministry from them. Our commitment to a multinational kingdom of God’s reconciliation in Christ must be evident in the verbal witness of our gospel and in the visible makeup of our congregations.
Immigration isn’t just an issue. It’s an opportunity to see that, as important as the United States of America is, there will be a day when the United States of America will no longer exist. And on that day, the sons and daughters of God will stand before the throne of a former undocumented immigrant. Some of them are migrant workers and hotel maids now. They will be kings and queens then. They are our brothers and sisters forever.
We might be natural-born Americans, but we’re all immigrants to the kingdom of God (Eph. 2:12-14). Whatever our disagreements on immigration as policy, we must not disagree on immigrants as persons. Our message to them, in every language and to every person, must be “Whosoever will may come.”
101 Responses to “Immigration and the Gospel”
Trackbacks
- Jesus was am illegal immigrant « Michael Rinehart
- Citizenship Confusion: Illegal Immigration and the SBC | Christ and Pop Culture
- Citizenship Confusion: Illegal Immigration and the SBC - disciplesnow.org
- Immigration and the Gospel « Faithful Discipleship
- Baptists: Let immigrants become legal | Faith & Works
- Mid-Week Minutes 6.22.11 | THE CAPRANICA
- Not Just An Issue | The Just Life
- A Response to Dr. Moore’s Opinions on Immigration and Race at Faith and Heritage
- Friday Faves | Crossway
- Concierge 11.06.25 | Pulpit 2 Pew
- Reconquista and the Gospel | Front Porch Republic
- Who’s Coming to America | Dining With Sinners
- Trending Topic Thursday « Making Faith Live
- Trending Topic Thursday « Making Faith Live
- Good Reads… (Adoption; Run DMC; & Global Missions) « Impressions
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This would have been a better post without the Jim Wallis-esque claim that Jesus was an illegal immigrant in Egypt, an argument along the same lines of claiming that Joseph and Mary were homeless. I am not sure what the immigration laws of Egypt were in the first century or if they even had them. I do question the comparison between Mary and Joseph taking the promised Messiah and fleeing from the executioners hand versus those who come to the United States, knowingly breaking the laws of this land, for better job opportunities. That is not to discount the rest of your argument based on a proper recognition of our duty to see each person as an image bearer of God deserving of love and respect or to reject the very real reasons that people sneak into this country. It is to say that the “Baby Jesus was an illegal immigrant” is a flawed and emotion driven attempt to draw an erroneous equivalence between two completely unrelated situations separated by fact as well as 2000 years of history.
This seems to be the tactic of most churches these days to come up with a hot topic then try to force the Bible to fit it by using partial or out of context or worse yet “the message bible” rick warren is a master at this.. Typical warning words that some one is taking you down a road off course …imagine that….how do you feel …. or base lead ins on how you might think someone from the Bible felt when…….@Arthur Sido,
I agree with your compassion. I attend a hispanic church. But I do think the Romans 13 issue needs to be addressed with those professing faith in Christ. I do feel that the decision needs to be made by the individual whether they return to their country or not but they need to be informed that the Bible clearly teaches that it is a violation of God’s law and the laws of their own country and that obedience is what God is looking for.
Thank you for a much needed article, Dr. Moore. Too many politically conservative believers simply adopt a ‘party line’ based more on what they absorb from talk radio, rather than Scripture.
@Susan Stilley,
SO TRUE!
AMEN!!!
Dr. Moore,
I am thankful for your zeal for the Gospel and love towards your neighbor. It is encouraging to see the Spirit of God working in a brother in Christ. However, I disagree with several of your points.
1. “First of all, our Lord Jesus himself was a so-called “illegal immigrant.” “…will stand before the throne of a former undocumented immigrant.”
- It is not clear that Mary and Joseph violated any “immigration law” in fleeing to Egypt with Jesus. Using this specific text to decriminalize the idea of “illegal entry” into a sovereign country with visible and established borders is regrettable.
Calling the throne of Jesus “the throne of a former undocumented immigrant” also presents the idea that it is acceptable to break the law and be in a country illegally because God himself did it. We need to help these illegal immigrants to come to Christ, confess their sins of illegal entry, and start the process of living in the United States legally, not paint Jesus in a portrait of lawlessness.
2. “It is easy to lash out at undocumented immigrants as “law-breakers,” and to cite Romans 13 as reason to simply call for deportation and retribution.”
- Throughout the article, it is as though any opposition to the presence of people here illegally is negative, hateful, bigoted, and lashing out. I take exception to this. While I am very aware that these type of people/responses are common in this arena, there are many, such as I, who cite Romans 13 with a properly working conscience and cite the passage for the good of the illegal immigrants and for the proclamation of God’s sovereignty in all things. Also, my citation of Romans 13 on the matter of illegal immigration is not to the exclusion of the Gospel and submission to the Lord. I am not simply calling for deportation and “retribution” but calling for all men, especially those whom are won to Christ, to submit to the governing authorities because it is the explicit will of God.
3. “Yes, undocumented immigrants are violating the law, but, first of all, most of them are doing so in order to provide a future for their families in flight from awful situations back home.”
- This sentence again attempts to decriminalize that which is indeed criminal. Do we as Christians need to show compassion for those who are hurting and down? Yes! The home country situation, however “awful” it is, does not change the laws we have established. The logic of the sentence would excuse people of looting and stealing groceries simply because they are poor. I am not equating illegal entry to theft, but the idea that circumstances excuse the violation of the law is in error.
I greatly respect your work and your Christ-likeness, Dr. Moore. You a are a gift to the Southern Baptist seminaries and for your service I am thankful. On the issue of illegal immigration and how we as Christians should handle it, I believe you have thrown out the baby with the bathwater. Love, compassion, Gospel witness? Yes! Submission to God’s sovereign and wise rule set forth in our own government? Yes!
It is a “both/and” not an “either/or.”
@Johua,
Would you also then say that our entire country is continually living in sin as we rebelled against the governing authority to establish our own governing authority? Will you repent and move back to the mother country (England)?
I would bet a vast majority of those fleeing Mexico are desperately afraid for their lives, whether by poverty or drug lords. I don’t think just casting them in sin according to Romans 13 is that simple. Just some thoughts.
Jay
@Jay,
I am not violating the law by living in the United States. I am a legal recognized citizen of this country. There is no need for my repentance or moving to another country. The issue of this country’s beginnings is a can of warms that is not particularly relevant to the issue at hand. We are speaking of people who are currently violating the laws of the United States by being inside its borders, illegally.
If you read my response and believe that I am “just casting them in sin according to Romans 13″ then I, respectfully, have nothing else to add.
@Johua,
Most of the illegal immigrants in the US are not here for political reasons, but economic. If they are indeed believers in Christ, they should know that Christ never encouraged His children to violate sovereign laws so they can improve their standard of living.
Personally, I believe that if we developed a program of repatriation, these illegal immigrants could return to their countries of origina and help develop similar economic strategies that attracted them to the US in the first place. Granting blanket amnesty doesn’t solve any problems.
This is an excellent post! I’ve always said that if people grew up in certain countries, they would understand. A rich cannot understand a poor man’s troubles until he experiences the same or has an appreciation for him.
@Sophie,
By your post then you would condone a poor man robbing a rich man to survive?
To be in this country illegally means you ARE BREAKING THE LAW, period. The point of the matter is, illegal immigrants are breaking the law of the land. If a person commits a crime, do we just look the way because the crime committed did not affect us personally and move on? This is what you are asking all Americans to do with the illegals. You are encouraging people to break the law. Why would we even need people who want to come to this country go through the legal channels if coming here illegally is acceptable?
I do have compassion for the illegals but I will not condone their actions. Are we not taught to love all sinners but not the sin? Since when is breaking the law of the land, when the law is not in contrary to God’s law, not a sin? So again, when someone had committed a crime, do we just look the way because the crime committed did not affect us personally? What kind of lesson are we teaching our children?
Remember, our God is a JUST God.
@Dorothy,
I believe I understand where you are coming from, but I wonder if your categories would be so neat and clean if, hypothetically, you had to rush your infant child to the emergency room. I know that if my young son was bleeding to death I would not hesitate to break the speed limit in order to save his life. If you were a policeman who saw me speeding, would you pull me over and write me a ticket because I was “breaking the law, period,” and then make sure I traveled under the speed limit the rest of the way? Or, once you saw my bleeding son, woud you show compassion and escort us to the hospital?
I realize immigration is not always a matter of life and death, but the logic is the same: there are some cases where mercy and grace are needed. Such cases doesn’t necessarily rule out justice, but they do present tough challenges. I believe Dr. Moore is simply encouraging his readers to remember the grace of our lord, Jesus, in light of the challenges immigration.
-Jonathan
@Dorothy,
Thank you for your reply. I’m not sure where to reply to you but here it is :) Would I condone a poor man robbing a rich man to survive? It depends, especially if the rich is doing nothing to help his fellow man. I’m sorry but we push the poor man to rob! I’m not saying illegal immigration is right but why are these people leaving their countries in the first place? Even typing this post, both of us replying back to each other is a luxury. I do agree with the above post and support a realistic means of providing a way to legal status for the millions of immigrants already here. The thing is they are already here! If they break the law, that’s different. I’m not encouraging anyone to break the law. I’m just thinking of reasonable ways to solve this issue. For example, abortion is legal! but how can we as Christians look for ways to reduce abortions than just battling people that agree with abortion? I didn’t say coming here illegally is acceptable …all I said what a rich man does not know how a poor man lives. And nobody can tell me none of us have sinned…the thing is how do we handle the sins? I hope you understand what I’m stating. I never agreed with illegal immigration..but we need to understand the problem and fix it realistically without treating them like sinners when we sin ourselves.
I state again, put some people in Darfur and see if they’ll not think twice. Illegal immigration is not good but look for ways to help them realistically. If someone hasn’t traveled out of the states, I’m not sure they understand.
YES! YES! YES! Thank you!!!
The rest of your points would resonate more powerfully if you did not pin a doubly-false label onto the young Jesus in order to score rhetorical points.
He was neither an immigrant, nor did his family acquire “illegal” status for themselves. He was a political refugee whose family took him from one Roman province to another, which was no more illegal than moving from Montana to Florida.
@nick gill, I’m pretty sure Egypt was not a Roman province.
According to http://www.centuryone.com/rmnwrd.html, Egypt was under control of the Roman empire at the time of BC/AD changeover
Dr. Moore,
I agree with the heart of your post. It is far too easy to get caught up in the “we don’t want your kind” mentality. Similarly, it’s easy to lump those willing to break the law to escape a dangerous or poor quality of life with those who are evil and malicious.
I have a question though with your statement that Jesus was an “illegal” immigrant. I don’t know the laws of Egypt during that time, but it seems probable that escaping to Egypt was a legal option. I understand the comparison that both are trying to escape persecution or death, but there does seem to be a legitimate difference in doing so legally or illegally.
You indicated that you do think we need to address the illegal part of immigration, so do you not think that you can focus on Jesus’ escape to Egypt without trying to cast him as doing so illegally? The reason I mention this is because while reading your post, my tendency was to argue with the legitimacy of this particular comparison (that Jesus was illegal) rather than focus on your point (how we are to engage with illegal immigration as Christians).
Again, I thank you for your work to challenge Christians to think biblically rather than from Bible-belt Christian “truths.”
Dr. Moore…I am so proud of you for your article.
I’m 31 years old. My parents brought me over from Mexico when I was 5 months old. Main reason was due to their impoverished situation in Mexico.
The US is where I was able to have a decent home, an opportunity to go to school, and most important of all - it was in small oneness pentecostal church where my parents were converted to the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was through the witnessing of this small congregation in Mountain View, California that my parents believed the Gospel.
To God’s glory I now am a pastor/teacher in a small fellowship of churches (not oneness pentecostal) in California - all Spanish speaking. Week after week I encourage our brothers and sisters in our congregation that if they have genuinely believed in the Lord Jesus Christ they will work to be model citizens. Yes…the whole immigration issue is a burning issue for us on a daily basis. The law has been broken…but how do we now live to bring glory and honor to God now that we are living in this nation in God’s Providence.
I praise God for your article and greatly appreciate your balance and love even for our hispanic community.
I am bilingual, bi-vo pastor w/ a career in the pharmaceutical/health care industry… But my brown skin seems to be an offense to some of my anglo bretheren when we so genuinely need their support in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the hispanic community that is so overcome by a works based salvation.
Would it be ok if I translate your article into Spanish? I’d like to reference it on my own blog so our Spanish readers can appreciate this article as much as I have.
@Abraham Armenta,
As a follower of Christ, you should know that Christ never encourages His children to break sovereign laws simply to improve their standard of living.
The Gospel is not an economic get-out-of-jail-free card.
@Abraham Armenta,
Wow, calm down.
I’m sorry, the above comment was meant for Tim. Let’s not start throwing mud at each other, please?
Russ,
Thanks so much for addressing this issue here, and many thanks to the committee for bringing the complexities of this issue to light at the level of our national convention.
As a Director of Missions in one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse areas of the country, I work regularly with immigrant pastors, who speak a language I can’t speak and thus, are reaching people I cannot reach with the Gospel. Every Sunday, our churches worship Jesus in eight different languages, yet there are at least 52 other dialects in our area that remain without an evangelical church. We have work to do!
I share the respect for the rule of law communicated by many on the convention floor. At the same time, my work with immigrant pastors has resulted in an understanding that this issue is simply not that cut and dry. Our office keeps an immigration attorney on speed-dial because of the beaurecratic jauggernaut that is the US Customs and Immigration Service. Many of our pastors who have sought to live in obedience to the law have been mistreated by USCIS, and some have been threatened with deportation. Practically, it would be much easier for them to break the law. Because they want to do the right thing, many of them are jerked around by authorities.
From a Christian point of view, those who claim the name of Christ must speak first and foremost as His followers, not as Republicans or Democrats. I speak from much experience when I say that our current immigration situation represents the epitome of the mistreatment of “aliens and strangers,” and embodies the very kind of unjust law that Christians should oppose with all our might. Our Association has helped many to legally navigate the USCIS, I can readily testify to the existence of a system that not only allows thousands to cross our borders illegally, but also makes life hard for those who seek to do the right thing. The root of the problem is not the immigrant, but instead, our outdated, unfair process of receiving immigrants. Our current immigration system does indeed reward lawbreakers, but it also punishes those who try to obey the law, and makes victims out of the children of both groups. This is unjust law by any standard! Isaiah 10 contains strong words for those who would write and support such law.
I believe the resolution embodies a spirit that is sorely needed in our churches, and really appreciate the committee bringing it to the forefront of Southern Baptist thought. Thanks for your work on this!
@Joel Rainey,
Where do you serve? My husband works in the area of multicultural church planting in Missouri. He, too, has seen how USCIS makes it incredibly difficult for our pastors to navigate the “system” to live and work here legally.
Thanks for sharing.
@Shyre,
I’m in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area.
@Joel Rainey,
“The root of the problem is not the immigrant, but instead, our outdated, unfair process of receiving immigrants. Our current immigration system does indeed reward lawbreakers, but it also punishes those who try to obey the law, and makes victims out of the children of both groups. This is unjust law by any standard!”
Thank you Joel for nailing it! I am a legal immigrant to this country but I know a LOOTTT of people who are treated unjustly by the US government.
Thank you Dr. Moore for this great post!
…thought I might leave an example of a recent experience.
Our congregation meets in a rented facility. No baptismal. We had 3 candidates for baptism in winter.
I had called a couple churches in the area to see if they would let us use their facility for the baptismal service. First obstacle was to find a church w/ an actual baptistry and not just a font.
Anyway…I pastor called me back and said they would love to allow us the use of their facility. He asked me for a face to face meeting to settle on the details.
I went along w/ a brother from our church that usually does the music. As soon as we get their I introduced myself and the musician. However, I was trying to translate since the musician knew very little English. I noticed the pastor’s smile slowly fade. The end result was he would need to speak w/ his elders. No call back since. I tried to e-mail and call - gave up.
I want to think that maybe he did not get those e-mails or calls. But then again…this has been all too common whenever I’ve had to reach our to our anglo brothers and sisters.
Something is not right w/ this picture.
@Abraham Armenta,
Do you encourage your congregation to learn English and to primarily speak it? When you enter someone’s house, you don’t demand they speak your language. And if I was living in a foreign country, I would learn the language.
I have worked as a physician for thirty years and provided free medical care for illegal immigrants to the cost of several years of my life. I did it for Christ all the while preaching the gospel.
The issue is not about reaching these people for Christ as important is that may be. The issue is now about the very survival of the nation. The nation is being invaded by those who knowingly are stealing jobs, welfare benefits and the culture of the US. The numbers are probably closer to 50 million as those children born to the illegal immigrants are unfortunately classified as legal. Those children are now young adults having children. It is wrong to guilt people who feel that they own a country and may decide what they do with it by claiming that they must give it to others who are in the process of stealing it. I might later give care to the thief in prison who broke into my house but I do not offer him a meal while he is in the process of taking bread from the mouths of my children.
@james Grinols,
I might later give care to the thief in prison who broke into my house but I do not offer him a meal while he is in the process of taking bread from the mouths of my children.
Why? It’s what Christ did for us? It’s called Grace. And I don’t see us hurting for food or jobs because of illegals. If anything they are the ones hurting and exploited. I agree with what Dr. Moore has said here.
@debbiekaufman
You don’t see anyone hurting for food or jobs because of illegals but I do. I’m a drywaller in lancaster pa. and this problem is affecting me directly. It’s hard to compete with companies who use undocumented immigrants for a number of reasons mainly less overhead. It’s not entirely the immigrants’ fault, the companies should be held responsible, but the fact is they know it’s against the law and know how to get around the laws. The past two years have been the hardest for me and my family financially and, while I can honestly say I am SO THANKFUL for what God has done in my life as a result, it still pains me to know that some of it is a result of lawbreakers. The simple truth is that laws are broken and people need to be held accountable because it will not stop at just field workers and maids and construction jobs. Sooner or later it will affect you too.
@james Grinols, “The issue is now about the very survival of the nation.” When you take the focus away from the gospel, you get heresay and opinion. The issue should be about the gospel and not about any other thing for a Christian.
@debbiekaufman,
“It’s called Grace.”
It’s called lawlessness, Debbie! Christ after all did not come so that the law might be voided but that it would be fulfilled.
PS
I also am pleased with those who may decide to give of their own resources to anyone be they criminals or illegal aliens. It is their right to do so. Part of the problem however is many who speak so glowingly of helping illegal aliens but who are in fact doing it with the money and resources of others. I have seen people over and over again direct government resources which were provided by one group of people to provide services to another group instead diverted to illegal aliens. The people who diverted the funds then acted as if they were virtuous when all they did was use others funds. I have the right to speak firmly on this issue because I have given more to illegal aliens than any other person I personally know. I did not take resources from my neighbors to do so. I gave it freely.
I agree with the heart of the post and think it was well-needed. However, a follow-up post would be helpful to clarify some of the points with which some of the previous points took issue.
Amen and amen! Your wisdom, compassion, bible knowledge, and expertise with language are a powerful combination. And by the way, the fact that you - a Southern Baptist - and Jim Wallis agree on this issue, gives your view more credibility, not less.
Thank you for what you’re doing.
@Daniel Beyer,
Actually, we fought you. Arrows aren’t so good against guns. Nevertheless, we had the good sense to fight for our land.
@Daniel Beyer,
Sorry, that comment was meant for Lee Bean, below.
I’m just glad the “original” Americans weren’t enlightened enough to have immigration laws like we do today and that they didn’t have access to Romans 13 before we did.
I really do appreciate your articles. I will say this is the first of all your articles I’ve really ever disagreed with! Keep up with the great work! Grace..Some of the comments below have irony for effect. None are intended personally. I think the world of my brother!!
1) We are never told in the gospels that Jesus or His parents sought to overturn or ignore Egyptian law while sojourning in a foreign land that was not theirs.
2) I speak no more ‘disdainfully’ of illegals breaking the law and therefore being injurious to society as a whole and the concept of the ‘rule of law’ (which is already an endangered idea itself) than I do of a burglar or thief.
3) When Israel was sojourners they were there by law:
a. Egypt allowed the immigration which means it was legal, according to their law.
b. Israel went by the rules of political Egypt, except in the case of worship.
4) Not all illegals here are ‘vulnerable’. In many cases, they are making the American people and Republic itself more ‘vulnerable’. And the American people also includes people of the same nationality as the illegals but are here legally.
5) I do not see the bigotry in the evangelical world. I see dual citizens of heaven and earth that are upset at unrighteousness and the practical looting of their labors. They are mad that the commandment “Do not steal” is being ignored by our government.
6) I do not think the issue is as complicated as its going to be if we continue to allow illegal activity to go on in the name of compassion, complexity, etc. Complexity still does not negate Romans 13. In the immigration debate, no one seems to talk much about compassion when it comes to the looting of American tax dollars, the closing down of hospitals (which means legal Americans who paid in to help have hospitals, now can’t them and therefore have greater health risks), the violent increase in crime, etc. It’s not compassionate to me to make the legal American more worried about having more security measures on their homes, etc because of undocumented migrants. Do I know if they are friend or foe? It seems if they are willing to break the law once, what ethic will drive them from breaking the law again?!
7) The compassionate way to citizenship is for them to obey the law, just like every other hard working legal migrant has done. We shouldn’t reward people for breaking the lunch line. I used to get sent to the back of the lunch line for cutting. The teacher didn’t think it was compassionate of me to bump other people’s places in line. There are already measures in place for legal citizenship. If we ignore this law, what law on citizenship will we ignore next? Perhaps that the President has to be a legal citizen too! But I’m being facetious.
8) The rest of the article is great. Eternal citizens is what will matter. We are all one in Christ.
@Channing Kilgore,
Very well said. I agree with nearly all of your points. I also agree with the overall tenor of Dr. Moore’s post.
However, re: pt.5, if you don’t see any bigotry in the evangelical community, you must not be looking very hard. I see it everywhere.
My respect for Dr. Moore is deep, and as a former Southern Baptist turned very orthodox Episcopalian (I’ve got the credentials), I’m thankful for his role in the SBC. That said, this essay is problematic in a number of ways.
First, as already mentioned, we simply cannot be sure that Our Lord was violating national laws when he and his family fled to Egypt. There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that, and while we are indeed called to care for those around us (and we should do so without checking green cards), it is indeed regrettable to lay that designation on every illegal immigrant in our midst. This point reminds me of how liberal mainline Protestants compare the Christ child to a Palestinian refugee or some other silliness.
Second, while a great many immigrants do come to this country to better their lot, there are enough criminals in the midst that tough enforcement becomes a necessity.
Third, I am deeply concerned that Dr. Moore is here defining what is acceptable Christian dialogue and discussion. While Christians should never refer to other people as leeches or parasites, the simple truth is that massive immigration, particularly illegal immigration, has a downward effect on wages and is in fact a serious burden on public coffers. In largely immigrant areas, there is often a black market for all kinds of food and household goods that leaves many people outside to bounds of the tax system. This is a real economic and political problem, and people of good will have to address it. I don’t think deportation is the issue in most cases, but there have been many negative economic consequences to massive illegal immigration.
I don’t oppose finding a path to citizenship - as a conservative I’m more on the Wall Street Journal’s side of this debate. But we have to face the economic reality of the situation without being afraid to appear un-Christlike for pointing out that which is right in front of us.
I read this with tears in my eyes. I am so happy to hear the heart of the matter addressed - the “made in the image of our God” truth that is so conveniently left out of most conservative political talk on this issue. I pray that God will use this to change hearts. This gives me hope that my Guatemalan born son (and legal immigrant via adoption) won’t face terrible discrimination when he is a grown man.
Some of the previous comments have addressed the regretable reference to Jesus as an “illegal immigrant” in a manner far better than I could have. It was indeed an huge distraction in an otherwise thoughtful article, although not without parts that I find myself in disagreeement with. The only thing I would add to the discussion about our Lord’s early childhood in Egypt would be that scripture describes this historical fact as having been initiated by “an angel of the Lord” appearing to Joseph with the instructions to go there. Would this fact alone not suggest that there could not possibly have been anything remotely illegal about that relocation? Or do we need to think differently about the character of God and his angelic messengers?
Might I ask those disagreeing with Dr. Moore on “Jesus as an illegal immigrant,” if we should actually refer to Jesus as an Egyptian?
@Stephen Myshrall,
There is a difference between being a sojourner in a different land legally and being a sojourner in a different land illegally. Surely that difference is not hard to understand.
We need to focus on giving the gospel to whomever, wherever. What illegal immigrants need is Christ, not a country. I suspect that Jesus might answer the question on illegal immigration with, “Whose border is it?” and “Render unto Caesar.”
I doubt we would apply your logic to any other illegal activity.
Resist the urge to be clever and that might avoid the Jesse Jackson theology. Beware of the logical fallacy of bifurcation.
Wow, I was thinking about putting together some reasons why this isn’t one of your better pieces, but so many other people have already done a pretty thorough job.
I also admire your heart of compassion, but this just seems a bit misguided.
Thanks so much for this blog post!! It brings joy to my heart to see a leader such as yourself speak out on this issue according to God’s heart.
Praise the Lord.
Wow! Great article. Some of the responses are great and others are very discouraging. I agree that many have broken the law coming into this country without official documents. We live in a broken world and we should be responding with “kingdom mentality” and not political rhetoric. I myself hail from Latin America and at the same time have been a citizen of the US all my life (thanks, dad). Being one of the few that has seen what life is like in Latin America and US does give you a different perspective on thie current issue. I’ve seen the poverty, corruption, and politcal unrest that people are trying to escape from. For many it’s question of “do everything you can to survive or die”. I’ve you’ve never been to this part of the world then I am not surprised that you would be able to understand. We should also take into account the many times that the US government has stirred things up in Latin America during the past 100 or so years and you will find the reasons as to why things are the way they are. Take Noriega for example. He was the top CIA informant for the entire region for Central America for almost 3 decades and yet the US government knew he was into drug trafficking on the side. As long as he was able to smuggle weapons into Honduras & Nicaragua he was fine. But as soon as he ideals didn’t align with US interests then Washington wanted to bring him on drug trafficking charges.
There aren’t any easy answers to these problems. But before anyone starts dealing out judgement you should look at historical facts that brought us to this point. If you don’t know your past and understand it then you’ll keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. I suggest reading books like “Havest of Empire” by Juan Gonzalez and “The Other Face of America” by Jorge Ramos. One more recommendation would be the movie “Yo Soy Boricua, Pa’ Que Tu Lo Sepas (I’m Puertorican, Just So You Know)” directed by Rosie Perez.
Mr. Moore makes some good points, but his reliance on fallacious appeals to emotions lowers the credibility of the rest of the article. He should have kept strictly to the facts to avoid reprimands like those given in the first and fifth comments following his article. I have to agree with both commenters on the fallacies employed by Mr. Moore, but they failed to offer any alternative solution to the points that he got right.
After speaking with several immigrants in our church community, I have come to the conclusion that Christians can best respond to this issue by familiarizing themselves with the law of the land (Josh 1:8), befriending all immigrants (Ex 22:21), teaching them the gospel of Christ (Matt 28:19-20), offering asylum and legal occupation to those who need it (Lev 19:34, Ex 12:48) and executing judgment on those who refuse to comply with the law (Lev 17:12, 18:26, 24:16).
It seems to me that the real source of the controversy over this issue is the ignorance of Americans regarding their own laws. If the Christian community of America would make themselves aware of all the legal ways for an illegal alien to stay in this country (military service, asylum, Green cards, etc.), then this consternation over what to do with those who enter our country to flee oppression and death would disappear.
This issue is as difficult as some of your ethics Q&A segments. I think that the quest for Truth here will take us through some difficult spots.
1. Am I consistent in insisting upon the rule of law for illegal aliens on the one hand while breaking the speed limit with great regularity on our highways on the other hand? Or stealing music electronically?
2. If improving the economic situation of my family is suitable justification for me to break immigration laws, why is it not suitable justification for me to refrain from adopting children?
3. As so many have asked already, is it the truth to assert that Jesus was an illegal alien—that his parents violated an actual immigration law?
4. If it is wrong to break laws (e.g. immigration laws) in order to create a favorable economic situation for oneself, is it also wrong to make laws (e.g. immigration laws) in order to create a favorable economic situation for oneself? Why don’t we process twice as many legal immigrants from Mexico than we now process each year?
5. Are we (the USA) loving our neighbor (Mexico) by indulging a situation in which many of the Mexicans with a vision for a better life are seduced away from working to create it in Mexico?
These questions cut both ways. Some of these questions (e.g. #1) are easy for me to answer. Others (e.g. #5) are much more challenging. It seems to me that we ought to show great Christian charity toward one another in these discussions, since they seem to go so far beyond the clear teachings of scripture.
What a clear and timely word!
Dr. Moore,
I cannot thank you enough for writing this article. I hope and pray that God would bless your efforts as you continue to speak truth and challenge those in your network to live as sojourners in an alien land. I myself am what some would call an “anchor baby”. Although my parents did not brake a single law when crossing the Tijuana/San Diego border to have me, many Christian brothers and sisters have looked at my family with disdain. Today is Father’s Day and as I think about my dad (who is now a legal resident of California) while reading your post, I cannot help but feel blessed and thankful for my parent’s actions. In God’s providence I ended up attending a small baptist k-12 school five miles across the border because I was not legally allowed to attend a public school. It was at this school that I accepted the Lord and began to feel the calling of God in my life. I am now 24 years old, a college graduate, married, awaiting my first child, and fundraising with my wife to go to Pakistan as missionaries.
It truly breaks my heart that many believers have such little compassion for immigrants. It saddens me when Christians show no patience with those who speak with accents not understanding how difficult and humbling it is to acquire a new language. Even worse when I hear of Christians who cannot see past the term “illegal” and seek to reform the system which makes it increasingly more difficult to become “legal”. The fact that the DREAM ACT was received with such little support from evangelicals and still has not passed is a great shame. That believers have not supported this simple measure is a sin. Millions of undocumented children who know no other country but the United States will grow up and enslaved by the actions of their parents and neglected by those who claim to love freedom.
I have read the comments of many here and I agree we do need to strengthen our borders and we must encourage illegal immigrants to obey civil authorities, however, as citizens of the state we have an equal responsibility to support reforms to an unjust, convoluted, system that prevents otherwise law-abiding citizens from contributing to society.
Dear Dr. Moore:
Thank you for being gospel-centered. I have often wondered if we will stand before our savior ashamed because of what we prioritized in our lives. Coming from Texas, I have seen firsthand the dehumanizing some Christians heap upon immigrants, illegal or otherwise. I have also seen Christians who leap at this issue to share the love and gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks again, and keep the candle burning.
Everyone is talking about their rights as “Citizens”, but where is the compassion? Since when is being a christian about putting ourselves first? I think the point of the piece was to say lets begin our discussion- no matter what side you take- with a True concern for those made in God’s image. Don’t forget we are all lawbreakers and all are in need of God’s grace.
@Patrick Brink,
Friend, I think your comments do an injustice to what others have said. Many are concerned with ALL the image bearers involved. Do you know about all the violence along the US/Mexico border? Do you know about all the families paying higher taxes to provide for illegals, who no longer have access to many basic things because the system is being strained and drained by those who have no right to lay claim to it?
Many have pointed out that it does not good to ignore why they are fleeing - we need to as neighbors (nationally speaking) address the issues in their nation that want them to depart.
Also, we need to see that may pushing for greater immigration are using illegals for a political agenda, to secure voting blocks to increase their power that is crippling our nation (same with welfare and other similar progressive social programs). The issue just isn’t so easy at the national level, because the players have varying motives with varying degrees of positive and negative sides to those motives.
Also, many people have failed to see the classic misstep in this article - because CHRISTIANS are called to do something, this then should become the public policy of a nation.
If this were true, welfare/national health care, etc. would be morally mandated.
What we are called to do as individual believers and as the people of God is VERY different than how a nation should be ordered and ran for the good of its populace. Now, there may be overlap at times, but you cannot go from x to y easily, and certainly not based on Scripture.
The issue of our nation’s founding, while an interesting football to kick around, cannot be applied here, as we find ourselves in this nation already, not part of how and why it came about. Whether we disagree or agree with what our forefathers did doesn’t change the current fact of what is and what our nations laws are.
Funny too how most other nations have immigration laws way tougher than any here, here is a humorist overview of the situation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgOHOHKBEqE
@Patrick Brink,
I’m very familiar with the violence along the Rio Grande, especially on the Mexican side. My wife is from Reynosa (across the border from McAllen, TX). Her parents’ home (in a middle-class neighborhood) has been broken into, they’ve had people (probably from the narco gangs) climbing over their fence and coming through their carport hunting for someone.
My wife, as a naturalized citizen, can apply for residency for her parents, and they would be in class A, meaning an immigrant visa would be immediately available. With all the paperwork, they could come live in the U.S. within about 18 months. But her sister (being over 18 years old) would be in class D, and the waiting time to get an immigrant visa for someone in Mexico in class D is 10+ years. It is because of things like this that otherwise law-abiding people “cut in line” — by the time your “turn” comes, you could be dead.
I write this as a Canadian whose ancestors fled north to Lower Canada (New Brunswick) as rebellion against the crown was brewing in the American colonies. They were called United Empire Loyalists. Romans 13 had implications for them too. Amazing how people can invoke Romans 13 to clamp down on illegal immigration and then explain how it didn’t apply to the founding of their nation - just saying.
And then that got me to thinking about the native population of North America as Europeans “discovered” it. Isn’t it great that the natives did not have immigration laws when Europeans arrived? Not that it would have mattered. Come in, do as they please, and then make laws prohibiting others from doing the same. But natives didn’t have immigration laws. Shoot, they didn’t even think land could be owned. And isn’t it great that treaties with them can be broken at will, with government approval, allowing us to make laws that prohibit others from doing what we did because “this land (both my country and yours) is our land.” It just seems that laws are made by the winners and it is a little ingenuous to defend them on the basis of a text of Scripture that was ignored when my team was doing the rebelling and violating other laws.
It reminds me of the Pete Seeger song “Listen Mr. Bilbo” -
@Ken Davis,
Are you suggesting that we should allow ourselves to be overrun in the same manner by which we overran the natives?
Sounds like a not-too-terribly-brilliant idea.
And are you really serious when you say the natives didn’t have immigration laws? They did have such laws - it was called “war.” Time and again, they lost.
With all respect for a fellow believer, Dr. Moore’s views, from a viewpoint of biblical exegesis, are heretical to the protestant tradition, (with the possible exception of ultra-pietistic pacificst schismatics like the Amish.)
Theologian James K Hoffmeier, in his careful analysis of the meaning and ethical significance of alienage and migration in both the Old and New Testaments, “The Immigration Crisis, Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible” (Crossway Books, 2009) provides the most biblically sound analysis.
Dr. Hoffmeier explains how the status of alien (ger) and foreigner (nekhar or zar) were very different in the Old Testament patriarchal and prophetic scriptures and Judaic cultural practices. The former had legal standing and near equality of status in the Judaic community, the later, like the illegal alien today, did not. Thus “American cities and churches who offer sanctuary to illegal aliens cannot claim to be following the practice described in the Bible. Rather, they are twisting scriptures and subverting federal law.” Id., p. 84.
Turning to the New Testament scriptures, Dr. Hoffmeier
teaches that governments are ordained by God, that their laws must be followed sincerely unless they clearly violate divine principles, and that American immigration law conforms to, and does not violate, the teachings of Jesus or His Apostles, including such relevant passages as Mark 12:14-17, Romans 13:1-7, and Matthew 25:31-46. Id., pp. 137-152.
Excellent!! i appreciate your writing and perspective.
(it’s overdue, but also really loved your post on Mardi Gras…as a La. girl, i can say with some authority that you really “get” that issue!
Thought provoking article, I like it.
1) it sounds like you are insinuating if someone is opposed to illegal immigration the are not or are not willing “to stand against bigotry and harassment and exploitation”. Most all Christians do not know any illegal immigrants personally, as such this issue is a philosophical and politcal one and does not equal personal behavior or love toward an individual in need. (Should we seek out an illegal to help, or is there a charity to help illegals we should give to?)
2) I am most concerned for those who are waiting in line to immigrate b/c they desire to obey the law. While those willing to break the law get benefits the law abiders are in effect penalized for their morality. Because of conviction they will not break a law while others who do should get extra care and aid? I personally know folks who have been trying to get a green card for over a decade and they have been put through all kinds of hardship just to stay ‘legal’, and still no citizenship. I understand that the gospel is for ‘illegals’, but we are pressing the kingdom of God into the kingdoms of man. Would Jesus have told the illegals to go back home and do it the right way (see Zacchaeus)?
@John S,
“Would Jesus have told the illegals to go back home and do it the right way”
He possibly would have, but I am sure that he would have also gladly fed him. I don’t think Moore was suggesting that breaking the law is OK and neither do I, I think the point is to have compassion as we seek a solution.
@ John Moody
” Do you know about all the violence along the US/Mexico border?”
Of course I do, and I understand the concerns you have and we all should have, but I don’t see anywhere in my post where I was condoning illegals. Again the point was merely to not be so hasty in condemning illegals, but seek to understand and have compassion. As to your last comment, most of the european immigration laws stem from xenophobia and nationalistic agendas.
@ Michael: “heretical” is a big word don’t you think? We save that for people and groups who deny the divinity of Christ, or the atonement, and the like; not for political preferences concerning the compassionate treatment of immigrants, illegal or otherwise (and BTW, this is something my own church as had to deal with - we have sent people back to their homelands to honor the law and then try to assist them to return by legal means).
But it is interesting how many of us would site the Romans 13 piece to honor the governing authorities in the USA, while at the same time so many of us Christians dishonor it by sending missionaries illegally under the radar to China (or elsewhere), especially when there are now means available to go in legally!
Our hypocrisy lays in that we demand justice to protect our own backyard and self interest, and yet cry for clemency when we offend in someone else’s backyard.
Russ,
Great Post!
Here’s something which would definitely apply to Mexicans, and it’s about practical missioology. Someone is far more likely to respond to the Gospel when they are outside their native culture than when they are in it. That’s why it’s a lot easier to see a Japanese national come to Christ when they are outside Japan than when they are in it.
In this context - the over-bearing Catholicism in Mexico does act as a hindrance to people coming to faith; it can’t do otherwise. If Mexicans, legal or otherwise, are in the United States, then, from a Kingdom perspective, it is an /opportunity/, not a problem. In the UK, where I am, of the two million or so Muslims, some two to three thousand have come to Christ; they would not have done so had they remained in their ‘home’ cultures.
We are now in a situation where, instead of going to the mission field, the mission field has come to us. This should be kept in mind when discussing illegal immigration from a Kingdom perspective.
Dr. Rosse.
Thanks for your article, something I don’t understand from our churches supporting missionaries financially to go over seas and break the law in that particular country to share the gospel.
What is the difference??? You are not allowed to preach or plant churches in the middle east, but you are sending money every year?
People would said they are not going as missionaries because they have a work visa or student visa, but you and I know that’s not the real purpose for them to be there.
I admire these missionaries to leave everything behind, but what’s the difference???
Thanks
I think it is wise to acknowledge that those who are persecuted or in physical danger in their home countries can apply for asylum in the United States. The courts handle these petitions. This is compassionate and good. Therefore Jesus would be admitted into the United States when King Herod sought to kill him.
Dr. Moore then argues that compassion requires us to make illegal immigrants into citizens. This undermines the rule of law and is therefore un-Christian. If making impoverished people around the world American Citizens is an appropriate way to address poverty, then we should let in more than a billion people around the world into the U.S. Such a solution is ridiculous, so to argue that making illegal immigrants citizens is ministry to those in poverty is equally ridiculous.
Mercy for the lawbreaker is appropriate at times. Yet to reward lawbreaking is insane. Hasn’t welfare taught us that if we reward mothers for having children out of wedlock the results are more babies born to unwed mothers? Rewards encourage certain behaviors. Making illegal immigrants citizens rewards law breaking and creates more illegal immigrants.
Dr. Moore has a very nice salary and lives in a nice, white neighborhood. I grew up in Texas and had to deal with Mexican gangs at school. Many of these children belonged to illegal immigrants. I would argue that Dr. Moore is very out of touch. He and his family is safe. A teenager who lived down the street from me shot and killed two people. These are the fruits of illegal immigration. Has he not read about the violence on the southern U.S. border? Lawbreakers make for poor citizens. Who can rebut the simple logic of the last sentence?
A lawless society is not Christian. The resolution that passed was more than unfortunate, it shows that our leadership is out of touch. Too many books, too little understanding of normal people, and an ERLC leader who has been in Washington too long create this kind of mess. From such conditions come elite leadership and then. . . wait for it. . . liberalism.
@T.J.,
Re: your first paragraph, the problem with modern asylum is that the vast economic gap between Third World and First World countries encourages outright fraud. Witness the asylum fraud of Strauss-Kahn’s accuser, or Barack Obama’s aunt. Far too many “refugees” pass up neighboring states where they would fit in culturally, linguistically, and religiously, to make journeys of sometimes thousands of miles seeking refuge in countries which, just coincidentally, happen to be much richer (and have more generous welfare benefits) than the dozen or more countries they have often bypassed.
Thus you get African laborers fleeing Libya headed to Europe rather than returning to their home countries. You get Tamils from Sri Lanka bypassing the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (a mere 70 miles from their shores, where they are an unoppressed ethnic majority), and heading for Australia or even Canada. You get Salvadorans coming to the US rather than Mexico.
In 2005 over 2,000 Sudanese refugees squatted in an Egyptian park demanding resettlement from the UN. Ultimately the Egyptian police killed about 20 in their attempts to evacuate the camp. The kicker was that the “refugees” had all been granted resettlement rights…in Egypt. But as one Sudanese “refugee” griped, they didn’t want to live in Egypt, because life there was “too hard.” They were openly insisting on resettlement in the US or Great Britain.
A wiser asylum policy would insist that “refugees” remain in countries geographically close to, and culturally and economically similar to, their own. This would weed out economic “refugees” and leave us with the people in genuine distress.
Saying Jesus was an illegal immigrant back when is not the same as being an illegal immigrant now. It’s about what is right, and allowing wrongs won’t fix anything… even if you want to share the gospel.
@Adrienne,
If you are a believer and not a Jew, then you are also a ‘fence hopper.’
@Adrienne,
Believers in Christ are ‘fence hoppers’ too…
I have a stout rebuttal at my blog and out of respect, due to its unabridged approach, I link to it.
http://thepedestrianchristian.blogspot.com/2011/06/russell-moore-immigration-and-gospel.html
Russell Moore, “Immigration and the Gospel”: A Tale of Chagrining Theology
The intent of sensitivity toward the needy is understandable but the willingness to engage hermeneutic gymnastics are extremely disturbing. Dr. Moore you are, consistently in practice, a thoughtful teacher. Possibly in haste to temper what you perceived to be bad attitudes you permitted certain kinds of indulgences in your biblical interpretation as well as overlooking some valid issues. I hope you rethink your argument on this one.
Dr. Moore should be praised for explicitly tying the immigration issue and other matters of public policy to Scripture. God’s Word is inerrant and sufficient for all of life and gives us a worldview grid to thoughtfully examine the issues of the day. Unfortunately, misinterpretations and poor applications of Scripture combined with faulty logical assumptions flaw his overall analysis.
The piece is littered with logical fallacies but I’ll merely touch on one: the notion that Jesus was an illegal immigrant.
First, Jesus and His family simply moved from one Roman imperial province to another. Sure there were legal, cultural and linguistic differences, but the modern equivalent might be moving from Rhode Island to Eastern Kentucky (actually the distance to Egypt would have been considerably less than sojourning across parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California). Second, the nation-state is a relatively new conception historically and the 1st Century is much different than the contemporary world. The immigration restrictions enforced by modern states were not as necessary in an agrarian culture and such laws didn’t exist to be broken. Third, Joseph moved his family because of the impending threat to their lives posed by Herod–he wasn’t looking for a work permit. Therefore, it would be more apt to term Christ a refugee rather than an illegal immigrant.
Dr. Moore draws an erroneous equivalence between two completely unrelated circumstances separated by fact as well as 2000 years of history and legal development. As an argument it is ethically troubling, exegetically unsupportable, historically inaccurate, and logically fallacious.
I’m curious, would the commentators that disagree with Dr. Moore’s “Jesus was an illegal immigrant” assertion concede that Jesus was an illegal emigrant?
The argument would the this: Herod gave an order and in leaving (emigrating) Joseph and Mary broke Judean law.
@Diego Armendariz,
But why would the two be remotely similar? Because they happen to be homonyms?
Few people openly question the right of countries to control who *enters* their lands. Even those who effectively support open borders always couch their proclamations in language of border security. They genuflect to the notion of border security while effectively opposing any proposed law that would help secure it. Most open borders zealots understand how extremist they would sound were they to deny the right of the USA to secure itself.
With regard to emigration, however, I doubt many people would disagree with the idea that anyone, sans an accused or convicted felon, should have the right to leave his country. No country has the moral right to deny exit to an innocent man. The right of a man to leave his country, however, does not obligate any particular country to receive him.
What has been clearly discerned from these comments is God has NEVER broken the laws of any land in any way to accomplish his will. I’m so glad he is so respectful as to make sure his kingdom is not guilty of such sin even as it advances on the earth. That’s a huge sigh of relief.
/sarcasm
I resided in Mexico for a decade and a half, and it gave me a radically different perspective on this issue.
By world standards, Mexico is not a poor country. It has a per capita income higher than most countries in the world.
Most Mexicans migrate to the U.S. not for freedom or to become Americans, they go to the U.S. for the money.
Mass emigration causes all sorts of problems in the U.S. It increases crime and income inequality. It is especially hard on our lower-income workers, who can’t compete with illegal labor in the job market. Immigrants have a higher rate of welfare dependency than native-born Americans. Welfare, by the way, is not the same as Christian charity.
Meanwhile, in Mexico emigration breaks up families. Some men abandon their family in Mexico and take up with a new woman in the U.S. Furthermore, mass emigration does not encourage Mexico to solve its own problems, just to export the people. It’s not helping Mexico solve its problems.
Welfare is not the same as Christian charity. Are all the people calling for amnesty for illegal aliens helping Mexicans with their own money?
If you want to help Mexicans, send money to a mission IN Mexico, or invest money IN Mexico.
The current mass immigration situation is not helping either country, and is driven by greed and political motivations, NOT Christianity. It’s sheer hypocrisy.
I am very vocal when speaking to Southern Baptists in regards to their support of open borders.
It was one of the reasons I left the church 2 years ago. I believe the church has taken an immoral stand that endangers the security of this country.
I try to enlighten as many as my fellow Baptists as possible and hopefully some of have discontinued their participation in the church as a result.
I’m pleased to see so many thoughtful critiques of the position espoused by Dr. Moore. His argument is ethically troubling and hermeneutically unsupportable.
I’ve written several responses based on the economic and political ethics of the issues as well as a brief critique of Dr. Moore’s biblical defense of his position.
http://dowblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/rebuttal-to-sbc-on-immigration-and_27.html
http://dowblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/rebuttal-to-sbc-on-immigration-and_23.html
http://dowblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/rebuttal-to-sbc-on-immigration-and.html
Dr. Moore completely disregards the economic ethics of illegal immigration. First, he fails to reckon with the economic fact of scarcity. Resources are not infinite. Economics is not a science but a branch of applied ethics primarily focusing on the study of human action. In a world of scarcity, a result of God’s curse on the earth due to Adam’s sin, human beings necessarily make choices among competing alternatives effecting the distribution of resources. Ethically speaking do six trillion people have a claim on scarce and finite American monetary and economic resources?
Do Americans have a moral imperative to import poverty, and in so doing divert resources and employment opportunities from our most vulnerable citizens? The primary victims of unchecked immigration are Americans with little education and skills, native-born minorities, convicts who have done their time, and the disabled. These are our fellow citizens whom the SBC would consign to dog-eat-dog competition with those who have broken American law. Surely, Dr. Moore, such citizens are among “the least of these”.
Russell,
I am a white, native born American, My wife is a black, Jamaican-born woman who became a citizen a few years after we married.
Somehow, my wife, her mom, her brother, her two sisters and other members of her extended family were able to wait out the long legalization process…visa, green card…eventual citizenship. All it took was time and navigating red tape.
When she became a citizen, there were people from more than 130 countries who got sworn in at the same time.
Let’s stop using the word “immigration” in this debate, when what we really mean is Mexican immigration.
Why are Mexican immigrants more special than any other person who has to go through the citizenship process? Since my my wife’s skin is black and not brown, does that mean she has different rules? (I say that rhetorically).
Mexico and its illegal immigrants use our country’s compassion against us, getting special treatment over other immigrants who wait in line years to do it the right way.
You’re wrong on this one Dr. Moore.
Jeffrey B. (Michigan)