When alleged comedians strike
A few thoughts on Christians and immigration
One of the statements I think most all of us who are Christians accept and believe, even if we don’t always practice it as we should, is this: our faith should always inform our politics, our politics should never inform our faith. The reason I say we don’t always practice it as we should is because we can get so caught up in political power struggles and partisan bickering that we forget that the very nature of Christianity itself means that it can and will never fit perfectly inside a manmade political coalition.
And one issue that I have consistently been told the Republican Party does not line up well with Christian values is the issue of immigration, and more specifically, illegal immigration. I’m quite sure you’ve heard that too. It’s not that I have a problem believing the Republican Party could be wrong, it’s that I also don’t think it’s ever wise to accept the premise without evidence.
Though sometimes the accusation will include loosely defined talk about “family separation at the border” or “racist, dehumanizing rhetoric,” the vast majority of the time its sloganeering like this:
First of all, Mason is an alleged comedian who also is a committed progressive Christian activist who uses his “comedy” to hide behind when called out. I would begin any engagement with a post like this by pointing out the biggest problem – suggesting that the Bible is “only” clear about a few things. That is such a patently untrue statement it reveals either an indicting carelessness or a staggering lack of knowledge about the scriptures.
Is the Bible not clear that God exists? That Moses was the deliverer of God’s people? That sin separates man from his Creator? That Mary was a virgin when she came to be with child? That Abraham fathered both Isaac and Ishmael? That ancient Israel was split into a northern and southern kingdom? That Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah? That the Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt? That the tomb was empty on the third day?
Saying things like, “(insert pet issue here) is one of the only things the Bible is actually clear about” is the language of a political activist, not a diligent and faithful student of the Word attempting to apply its timeless wisdom to our current moment. The Bible is clear about an innumerable amount of things. Oddly enough, contemporary migration policies of 21st century Western governments is not one of them.
And that’s the catch here. Mennenga doesn’t specify if he’s talking about the stricter border policies that conservative Christians tend to favor, or if he’s talking about their personal, individualized care for immigrants who are here in our communities.
Is he talking about a conservative Christian’s willingness to hire or rent property to legal immigrant families, or their charitable giving to refugee relief, or their willingness to open their homes to migrant children trafficked across the border? If so, does he have any specific evidence for his claims that conservative Christians are refusing to do these things? Anything upon which to base this blanket slander of his Christian brothers or sisters?
Without it, without any specificity, Mennenga’s statement (like so many that are leveled in the contentious public square these days) is unproductive at best, and sinfully violative of Jesus’s command to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34). By alleging fellow Christians lack love and compassion simply for the purpose of engagement farming on social media is itself demonstrating a lack of love and consideration for your brothers.
Only because I’ve personally followed the silliness Mennenga frequently posts am I comfortable concluding that what he likely means is this false syllogism:
Conservative Christians came out in big numbers to vote for Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is a racist and hates anyone who isn’t white, including all immigrants.
Therefore, conservative Christians don’t care for immigrants.
There was a time in my life that I would spend a great deal of time engaging those kinds of inflammatory and mindless falsehoods. And some of you may still prefer to take that route – to put a provocateur like Mennenga in his place. I just think we need to understand a couple things before we march down that path: 1. Doing so gives amplification to the absurd claim and gives the agitator precisely what he wants. 2. Doing so takes time and energy away from talking about the issue in a way that really does matter.
The truth is that the immigration issue is one that Christians should be at least informed about, if not engaging. Of course, there is no biblical imperative for a sovereign, pagan nation like the United States to instigate open borders and full taxpayer benefits for all migrants who come into the country unvetted.
Do Christians individually have a responsibility to care for a stranger who shows up on their doorstep? To offer them a cold glass of water? To clothe the needy, and feed the hungry? Yes, I believe we certainly do. But obviously, that same Christian who does all those things, can still reasonably argue in the public square that policies encouraging that type of humanitarian crisis are unwise.
Let’s dive into this. Start by looking at this avoidable tragedy: