At Sand in the Gears, Tony first opined that enforcing immigration laws is not a Christian thing to do. After taking some heat for that statement, he addressed their comments and challenged Christians to rethink their position on illegal immigration. On his latter post I took the position that although I agreed with his sentiment, I disagreed with his conclusion.
Christians have a fundamental calling, and that is to find our lost brothers and sisters. We will not conquer this world for Jesus, and frankly, he doesn’t need our help. We will not stop gay marriage and institute a God-approved (the Republican version, of course) tax rate. We will not keep people from philandering, gambling, masturbating, and wearing clothes that fit too tight, and if you think Christ wants you to fix these problems, then you are dreadfully, soul-shakingly mistaken.
“Tend my lambs.” Not “stop people from being naughty.” No “get the government off the back of the small businessman.” Not a hint of “protect gun rights and the death penalty.”
And certainly not “keep out the immigrants.”
Tony’s chief concern seems to be – and I don’t mean to put words in his mouth, so go read him for yourself – that the illegal immigration problem is not clearly a Christian problem, so Christ should not be invoked when taking a position on the issue. Instead, Christ was far more likely to tend to the aliens needs than close the gates and keep the aliens out.
Can’t argue with that logic, yet I still think our borders ought to be better patrolled, for many reasons: safety, overloading our healthcare systems, loss of jobs, etc. I think it’s because if we as a society give free welfare to illegal immigrants, it a) does nothing to share the gospel of Christ to those that are breaking the law, and b) denies the individual the ability to determine how his funds are to be spent on the needy.
What do you think?
Chasing the Wind 
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