A Stranger at Our Gates: A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON IMMIGRATION
Wide Awakes A Stranger at Our Gates: A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON IMMIGRATION
Resolution adopted at General Conference, 1996
The Evangelical Free Church of America
During periods of rapid change and economic uncertainty, it is often the vulnerable and marginalized people who are blamed for the misfortune that everyone else experiences or expects to experience. Today a significant amount of attention and blame for a perceived threat to the American way of life is being directed at immigrants. As Christians, we must ensure that our response to the issue of immigration is directed by a world view that is shaped by biblical principles rather than secular rhetoric.
A number of themes relevant to immigration run through the Bible. The first theme is that we ourselves,as Christians, are aliens on this earth. “…And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth� (Heb. 11:13). Our status as aliens and strangers forms the basis for our attitudes and responses towards those people who live outside our society.
A second theme is that our material possessions do not really belong to us. The Promised Land belonged to the Israelites only in the sense that as host, God allowed the Israelites to dwell in the Promised Land as His guests (Lev. 25:23). Similarly, as aliens and strangers in the world, the material resources of the world do not belong to us. We have what we have because God, as host, has distributed material resources to us, His guests. As recipients of God’s graciousness and generosity, we need to guard against selfishness and possessiveness which would cloud our attitude toward immigrants.
A third theme is protection for the alien. As non-citizens working in their country of residence, aliens exist outside the social and political network of the society they are residing in; thus, they are rendered powerless. Aliens are very vulnerable to exploitation. As Christians, we should recall our roots as aliens and, thus, identify with their plight (Ex. 23:9).
A fourth theme is that, for Christians, no one is ever to really be considered an outsider. “…The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself…� (Lev. 19:33-34). The Great Commandment is to apply to the alien, because he or she is our neighbor.
A fifth theme is that, in serving the outsiders of society, we encounter Jesus. Because Christ identified with the stranger, we are to extend the same treatment to the alien and stranger that we would extend toward Jesus (Matt. 25:35).
Historically, immigration policies of the United States appear to be directed more by racism and economic self-interest than compassion. [more]