And behold, a lawyer stood up to put [Jesus] to the test, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my … [Read more...] about Immigration and the Church Today: Part 11 of the Welcoming the Stranger Series
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Immigration Policies and Politics. Part 10 of the Welcoming the Stranger Series
Our national immigration laws have created a moral, economic and political crisis in America. Initiatives to remedy this crisis have led to polarization and name calling in which opponents have misrepresented each other's positions as open borders and amnesty versus deportations of millions. This false choice has led to an unacceptable political stalemate at the federal level at a tragic human cost. —Soerens and Yang (2018) quoting the Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform in, “Immigration Policies … [Read more...] about Immigration Policies and Politics. Part 10 of the Welcoming the Stranger Series
The Value of Immigrants to the United States. Part 9 of the Welcoming the Stranger Series
What effects do people like Guillermo, who come to the United States to pick our produce for a low hourly wage, have on the overall economy? Does immigration hurt the American worker? Are foreign workers even needed? What about the costs of providing education, healthcare, and other public services to these people? Can our country afford to welcome so many immigrants? Could we afford not to have them here? From a Christian perspective, these questions ought not to be primary: the scriptural witness is that we are to … [Read more...] about The Value of Immigrants to the United States. Part 9 of the Welcoming the Stranger Series
The Immigration Dilemma. Part 3 of Welcoming the Stranger Series
Living in relationships with immigrants, refugees, and other low-income people has forced us to grapple with the question of what it means for us, as followers of Christ, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. It has also awakened us to the ethically complex questions of immigration and refugee policy—who do we let in, what do we do with those who came in even though our government did not allow them in, and what effect will our policies have on those already here and struggling to get by? Of course, our attempts … [Read more...] about The Immigration Dilemma. Part 3 of Welcoming the Stranger Series
Welcoming the Stranger: My Impressions of the First Edition (Part 2 of Welcoming the Stranger Series)
Last week we introduced a new series by Royce Francis, an associate professor at George Washington University and an ESN author. Royce was inspired to learn more about immigration when he attended InterVarsity's Northeast Faculty Conference last summer, and now he's sharing his thoughts on the InterVarsity Press book Welcoming the Stranger, as well as some notes about training to run the Baltimore Half Marathon in support of World Relief. You can browse the first post here or all of Royce's work for ESN here. … [Read more...] about Welcoming the Stranger: My Impressions of the First Edition (Part 2 of Welcoming the Stranger Series)