For months, the Syrian refugee crisis has been in the news.
Now after the Paris attacks, it has become a political hot-button issue.
Unfortunately, it appears to be a partisan issue dividing the country mostly on
party lines. Some of the language being used on both sides is very disappointing.
While there are strong passions on both sides, we need to learn to have a civil
discussion/debate about the issue and not resort to personal attacks or
insults.
That being said, this is a complicated issue. Much of the rhetoric
is simplifying the situation to absurd levels. One side says that it is the
Christian thing to do to accept them into our country and anything short of
that is sin. I have even heard that it is not only against international law
but also against the Constitution to keep them out. The other side says that it
is strictly a safety issue and they need to stay out or maybe allow only the
Christians in. In light of this, here are a few things that we should be able
to agree upon in looking at this complex dilemma.
1. ISIS is a Muslim-based organization. It is clear
that ISIS uses Islamic language in its communication and takes its cues from a
literal reading of the Quran. (See article)
2. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Some have
pointed out that the KKK is not representative of Christians just like ISIS is
not representative of Muslims. Even if you want to argue that KKK was not following
true Christianity and ISIS is following true Islam (which is not an air-tight
argument), there are people in both religions that are not as fanatical as
these fringe elements. In fact, there are Muslims that are coming out against
the attacks. (See article)
3. God calls us to care for those in need. There
are many Bible verses telling us to take care of strangers, widows, orphans,
etc. Phil 2:4, James 1:27, Matt 25:40, and Deut 10:19 are just a few.
4. There is a safety concern that needs to be considered.
In general, allowing 10,000 people into the country has some level of danger
involved. Considering that one of the attackers posed as a refugee to enter
France, this level of danger has increased. At the risk of over-spiritualizing
this, there are biblical references to protection from harm as being a good
thing. As an example, after the Israelites came back to Jerusalem, they rebuilt
the temple but they also rebuilt the walls. When they were building the walls,
they had to fight to protect against those who wanted to harm them and stop the
building of the walls (Nehemiah 4). Is there a danger with the refugees? Yes.
How big of a danger is it and should it affect our response? Those are harder
to answer.
5. There are ways to help the refugees that do not
include moving them to the US. Humanitarian aid is needed right now wherever
they are located. Also, we should find places for them to live. Finding a
country that is more similar to their culture may reduce some problems they
might have moving to the US.
6. They are our neighbors and we are to love them
like ourselves. Mark 12:31 and Lev 19:18.
In looking at all of these points, it is clear that we have
a “moral obligation” to help these refugees (see some ideas here) but
allowing them into the country is not our only option. As you can tell, I am
not an expert on Middle East affairs and I will not be giving my opinion over
whether we should accept the refugees or not. What I am saying it that this is
not a simple issue and we should stop the “Sound-bite offensive”. The issue and
the refugees deserve more than that.
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