Off Script 44: Should We Ban Muslim Immigrants? (Q&A)

This is part three in our series on responding to your questions and comments.  In Off Script 28: Seeking a Christian View on Refugees and Immigrants, we concluded on the basis of several scriptures in the Old Testament as well as the Great Commission that Christians should welcome refugees into their countries.  In response to this, William wrote:

First, Thank you for your podcasts and all the work that you do preaching the word of God and your Unitarian teachings. I have to take the other side when it comes to Muslim immigrants coming into this country from the mentioned 7 Muslim countries. In December 2015, President Obama signed into law a measure placing limited restrictions on certain travelers who had visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011. Two months later, the Obama administration added Libya, Somalia, and Yemen to the list, in what it called an effort to address “the growing threat from foreign terrorist fighters.” So Trumps “temporary 90 day ban” was justified considering he is coming into office and now it’s his problem to solve and protect the American people from terrorism. I don’t want to turn this into me defending Trump because I don’t agree with all of his policies, but I do agree with the temporary ban to come up with a way a vetting refugees who come with less then amiable intentions. Ok, first Exodus 23:9 “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt”. The key word for me is “heart” The heart of the sojourner. What are the intentions of the refugee? do they plan to live among you and abide in God’s law? If they don’t, do you still accept them as your brother even if they want to kill you or convert you through force? Do you allow mosques to operate that call for jihad and sharia law, infecting peaceful Muslims? Surly you wouldn’t invite someone into your home if you thought their intentions were to harm you or your family. Europe has has a policy of dropping off Muslims into their country and Europe is mess. All I’m saying is that it was not Gods intention to have his people treat sojourners as brothers if they would not assimilate into the culture or worse…destroy it. God Bless.

In this episode, Dan takes the lead in responding to William.  Here are some quotes from our discussion:

“How many minds can be changed by radical love like that [the Good Samaritan Parable]?  How many barriers of racism and nationalism could be torn down by that, by that kind of radical love?  That’s the attitude we should have toward outsiders, not, ‘Hey stay away because we’re afraid that you might shoot us even though our own countrymen are shooting us at a far higher rate.” –Dan

“The kingdom will be a melting pot anyway; it will be a true melting pot where the one thing that we have in common and the only thing that matters is that we are citizens of the kingdom of Christ.  So we look forward to that day and in the meantime we are have the opportunity to live like that now.” –Rose

“How cool is it that other nations want to come here?  How much easier does it make it to fulfill the Great Commission where Jesus says, ‘Go make disciples of all nations?’  Well if the nations are all coming here?  There are all in Chinatown and Koreatown and Polishtown or whatever towns in New York City, then how much easier is it to fulfill that Great Commission?” –Sean

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