Evangelicals For Immigration Reform
Immigration and Evangelicalism are both deeply rooted in American history and culture. They are coming together in 2009 with new books and new calls for immigration reform.
On March 31 on Capitol Hill Matthew Soerens and Jenny Hwang released their book, "Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion and Truth in the Immigration Debate." It brings together the Bible's teaching about attitudes and treatment of "aliens in the land" and traces the history of immigration and immigration policies in the United States. I was there to give my perspective.
Immigration laws have been changed repeatedly through more than two centuries of American government policy. It is time for another update. The reasons are many, including fairness, families and finances. Fairness because we have contradictory laws and unjust enforcement of those laws. Families because our present policies are dividing when we should be uniting. Finances because government agencies have fallen behind in implementing present policies as agencies are understaffed and underfunded.
A family lives near me and faces a frightening dilemma. They are in our country legally. She is an immigrant from Africa who is now an American citizen. Her son came as a young child and has grown up in American culture, schools and language. However, he will graduate from high school soon and will celebrate his eighteenth birthday when his status will change and he must return to Africa. He has no friends, family, home, job or language skills in the country of his birth. There must be a better way. The Dream Act is currently moving through the Congress to keep families together.
The issues are complex. They are not only about securing the borders, which is an important part of immigration policy and practice. They are not only about jobs, collecting taxes, earning citizenship, uniting families and reducing years of waiting. Immigration policy is about all these issues and more. It's time to take a broad look and integrate immigration laws to make them fair and just and good.
Why is immigration policy important to evangelicals? Certainly because we believe what the Bible teaches about treatment of "aliens in the land." It is also because so many Hispanic, African and Asian immigrants are evangelical Christians who are in our denominations and churches by the millions. They are us.
By
Leith Anderson
|
April 5, 2009; 11:46 AM ET
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Posted by: s_j_thaikattil | April 12, 2009 7:34 AM
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How lovely or how Sneaky?:
Afew minutes ago, i read an article, via "BBC", that tells what U.S. Envoy Mr. HOLBROOK & via Pakistans Mr. ZARDARi had discussed At todays Meeting.
Mr. Zardari said, [Islamic] "PAKISTAN is fighting a battle of its own survival? & needs 'unconditional-support'? by the international-community? in the fields of education, health, training & provision of equipment for fighting terrorism.."
Secret: Pakistan wants to be Americas 52nd State?, like Israel Today is the 51st State. AND
Pakistan is playing the American UMMA, between his/their AL TAQIYAH
[aka, Islamic-ZIONISM for World Conquest, a Islamic-Brothers/Pact between Them & stealthly with the Saudi Wahabi Clans & CO.s]
Afghan-Brethrens & Laugh all the way to their HABIB-Banks & their {not OUR} Mosques after milking the "INFIDELS" {Non-Believers}; BUT
Pakistan, It's Military Command or otherwise, will not Surrender, so easy their & Saudi's "Shia-A-Bomb" to the "Internatioal [UMMA] Community", especially the United States?, in EX-Change for Peace & Protection & Aid etc.., like Israel & CO.?!?
Interestingly: PAKISTAN, mabe like KAZAKHSTAN can gave-up & get Ridof All NUCLEAR-WEAPONS off It's Soil as per PREZ Nursultan NAZARBAYEN recently remminde Us on discussion of creating, for the [Internationa/Umma/Community], a WORLD "Enriched Uranium Bank", as also AMERica Propsed such a Novel-idea Back October 2008 & i {WE] 2 decades ago!
Note: North Korea to can X-CHANGE [enriched] Atoms" for Perpetual Peace & Prosperity & more good tidings, zero Bad end game so to spaketh TRUTH (opposite MYTH).
YES WE CAN!
YES WE CAN!
YES WE CAN!
Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 7, 2009 12:40 PM
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Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 7, 2009 10:45 AM
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A K A F I R & CO., Interesting. Ye saith,
"@Yasa4: "Arif2 believes that Muslims in Pakistan are illiterate. Why don’t you prove that? The number of Urdu-translated Qurans is outstanding, and many Muslims do now more about their religion than do Christians in America..."
Commentary: All Abrahamic/Vedics compete for a name or hassle over a god(s) of a CLAN. And From Info & Belief via "Signals from the Deity"? that YES!, Yes ,ISLAM or Al Salaam via MUHAMMAD [pbuh] is the Next-To-Last of the Great ABRAHAMIC Mono?-Lethal Faiths. Note: MORMON's are the 5th (Fifth) & Last-BRANCH of YE {not OUR} Abrahamic Faith Systems.
Every, any & All Body's who posses , justly for a TiME, their immortal SOUL; temporarily affixed to their BiOFiNITE Carbon Based selves, invisibly Stored in their own Holy-i Cosmic Made, "Frontal Selfish-Lobes, Whom acsually & PRE-APOCALYPTICALLY "Believe"-in or hath "Faith"-in or make such their {not OUR} "Religion"-thing, in such Man-Made {Zero ALLAH, YAWEH, JEHOVA, ISHVARA, I-CHi et al Hashem} thus blindly crying out loud & silently, and besides singing "ALLAH AKBAR" {MY , our god(s) is GREATER than Your [OUR] G-D, And so
All, ABRAHAMiC/VEDiC: Judeo-Jews, Judeo-Hindus, Judeo Islamics, Judeo Buddhists, Judeo Mormans..} Hassle over "WE ARE...
1st or 2nd?: "MY CHUMASH/BiBLE!" {Judeo-
2nd or 1st?: "My GEETA/KANGYUR!"
3rd:orLast?: "My QURAN,/b>/Koran!"
4th:orLast?: "My MORMON/KJV!"
... iNSTEAD of "O.U.R. G-D" {O.ne U.niversal R.eligion} via that Hoped-for, so called U.N. Built Book [OUR-BiBLE, noy MY-bible(s)!], for that Purpose hereto prescribed and forthwith Prayed-For {ALL HUEMATE Kinds, no longer for Ye HUMAN un-kinds!
Point: ANY, EVERY & ALL HUEMATES, aka Automatic sin/curseth-free & Borneth Citizen/Denizen of This Blesseth, Holi Maraculously, Holy-NEBULYA-Built, Space-Ship Eath(s) of many like US, not their god(s) yonder, WHOM
want to "Believe" or to have "Faith" in or make "IT" ["G-D" , not a HE/HiM nor a SHE/HER, but now has 1,000 names & no more has 99 names] as the
Apocalyptic thinking; "O.U.R-ONE-Religion" via that ECK/ONE/UNO.. U.N.-built not NEBULA-built OUR-Book, Thus
Translatible in any Huemate/Alien Language known or not known) So, Even a Non Literate Male/Female do not need to know Pre-Apocalyptic-TAUTOLOGY!
"APOCALYPTiC GOVERNMENT", a.k.a "GRiDARIAN DEMOCRACY" is the Future/Fad/Style/VOGUE.
A "SPACE-FORTH & "FUTURE-BOUND" HOLY-i Experience for ALL. i [WE] art a MIRACLE in Motion, Justly via clock/time time in 'TiME'[appearing-from-Holy-TEMPerature]!
Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 7, 2009 10:23 AM
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It has taken centuries for some families to fully assimilate, but so what? That's part of what makes our nation so interesting and textured. If we're not going to really take in our "huddled masses yearning to breathe free/The wretched refuse of your teeming shore," as in the Emma Lazarus poem, we ought to dismantle the Statue of Liberty and replace it with machine guns and barbed wire fence. Which would be an interesting additon to what is a fairly dismal national resume at the moment.
Posted by: mreiter72 | April 7, 2009 12:06 AM
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Maryann, I take it that you are a Native American then? Because with the exception of the Native Americans, ALL of our ancestors were immigrants to this country at one point or another. Maybe the Indians should have built a fence and deported all of the illegals that stole their land?
Posted by: Athena4 | April 6, 2009 11:50 PM
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Thy immigrant "neighbor" does not want to assimilate into American society. Thy immigrant "neighbor" wants to live as he/she did in the old country, which didn't work. They immigrant "neighbors" should be deported. All illegals are criminals. Close the borders. End immigration before it destroys what is left of America, before America becomes a third world nation.
I am an agnositc who is firmly against all immigration to this country. We have been flooded with legal and illegal immigrants, and we certainly don't need them.
Posted by: Maryann261 | April 6, 2009 7:06 PM
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On The Difference between an Apocalyptic thinking & feeling "JO{K}TAN-ian" , an EBERu?, and a Pre-Apocalyptic thinking/feeling "PE{L}EG-ian", a YID or a Kosher/Hallal MAN; And Not from
PEKiNG-MAN?Yesterday walking on a NYC street, as i [WE] was on a mission; 2-two Lubavitcher the Pharasee looking guys?, not Sedducee? stood almost in front of my direction & asked, "Are You JEWiSH?” {I felt insulted!} So, before i answered i asked them young spaced-out Lads {is IT still Halloween?} if besides reading the Chumash/Basorah, If "Lubavitcha "Ever read ALL of Space-Ship Earths Holy Books" i.e., Judeo-BUDHiST Kangyur/Tengyurs + the HiNDUGeeta/Tripitaka + the ISLAMiC Quran/Koran + the CHRiSTIAN Bible/Masorah?" So they did not answer & asked well, "areYEaYEED?" i'said "My ABBA(DAD) & EEMA(MOM) are of JO{K}TAN-EBERU race, We’re unlike & not like Ye PE{L}E{G-ian EBERU's michiginna race!
..Wake-up World; REALiTY: Those Human(s) {PE{L}EGians}, unlike US "HUEMATES {JO{K}TANian Eberu's}, whom CLANishly & proudly claimtobe , as IF "god(s) Chosen Folks"; as inbeing a proud "JEWish" person or a "ISLAMish" or a "CHRISTish," "HINDUish or "BUDDAHish person, includes PAGANish & WICCANish persons .. too. ALL are saying they {not i /we/US} cometh FROM their {not OUR} Chumash/Basorah as told in NOAH/SETH & "PE{L}EG" EBERu Race! Note: Them "Drunkin NOAH( Racist?) stories via NOVEL-STAR's Mr. MOSES&CO. [pbuh et al] needs a severe fix & or a Prophetic-Correction oftheirown? Birth&LIFE=NO-SiN! Only; OUR Miracle in Holyi Cosmic Motion! Not a CURSE/Sinner’s story!Note: There's a Place in another-SUN in another Solar System, again, for Everyone, icludes Atheist & or Agnostics too. So,
i [WE] Us JO{K}TANian HUEMATE-kind race, not ye PE{L}EGian-unkind HUMAN Races whom shamefully been hasling over a name for OUR Massiah, Maetriya, Mahdi.. and not OUR G-D ["IT"]; hath forever removeth King-Davids PE{L}EG Crown for such JEALOUS Behaviors!Please see any Bible in GENesis:49@10, et seq that Prophetically sings,
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until , the AMERiCAN-BORN "SH{iL}OH" comes" or "until [He/She] comes to whom "IT"[aka G-D's], not Ye god(s), inheritance rightly belongs!"Please aslo see any Bible in EXOdus:4@22, et seq that Contradicts Ye,
"Thus saith the LORD ["IT", not a HE nor a SHE], iSRAEL is my ONLY-SON!"?; unlike John:3@17, et seq!
Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 6, 2009 1:50 PM
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The DA that Anderson describes is, AFAIK, only for illegal aliens.
Here are just some of the things Anderson isn't telling you about what he's promoting:
http://24ahead.com/s/comprehensive-immigration-reform
And, here's what he's engaging in:
Posted by: LonewackoDotCom | April 6, 2009 1:23 PM
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I don't know all the details of American immigration law, but I thought the barriers to citizen for the minor child of an American citizen, as in the Africans' example, were not difficult.
My brother married an immigrant from India, so I know a lot of LEGAL immigrants. They spend a lot of time talking about how difficult it was for some of them to come to the US LEGALLY, mostly by proving sufficient education to contribute to our economy. They have little sympathy for those illegal immigrants without the basic economic skills like knowing English.
How much am I supposed to love the person who SHOULDN'T be my neighbor?
Posted by: WmarkW | April 5, 2009 3:09 PM
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Dear Rev Anderson
Wishing you a Happy Easter 2009!
Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia