{"id":1149,"date":"2010-06-14T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-14T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2010\/06\/seeking-a-christian-perspective-on-illegal-immigration-where-should-we-start.html"},"modified":"2010-06-14T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-06-14T01:00:00","slug":"seeking-a-christian-perspective-on-illegal-immigration-where-should-we-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/06\/seeking-a-christian-perspective-on-illegal-immigration-where-should-we-start.html","title":{"rendered":"Seeking a Christian Perspective on Illegal Immigration: Where Should We Start?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I explained in Friday’s post, Christians differ widely on their understanding of illegal immigration and what should be done about it. This doesn’t mean that every Christian perspective is equally valid, however. Many are based on an inadequate grasp of relevant facts or on an incorrect theology. But the diversity of thoughtful Christian perspectives on illegal immigration does make me wonder if and how Christians can move toward any sort of consensus on this issue. Our goal would be not simply to foster agreement, but also to use that agreement as the basis for helping to shape a just world that reflects God’s own character and action.<\/p>\n

As I have said before, how we think about illegal immigration is often determined by our starting point. Start with the threat posed to national security from porous borders and you’ll end up with a different conclusion than the person who starts with compassion for children with parents who are in this country illegally. Having listened to the debate about illegal immigration for many years, I have found that I can almost always tell you where a person will end up on the basis of where that person begins the conversation.<\/p>\n

So, I wonder, is there a place where Christians should start if we are seeking a truly Christian perspective on illegal immigration? Or are there many such places? Is one starting place better than another? Or is every starting point equally valid?<\/i><\/p>\n

It seems to me that the primary goal of theological reflection on the issue of illegal immigration is to discover what God thinks about it, what God is doing about it, and how we might both agree with God and cooperate with God in his activity. Of course such things are often not easy to discern. But this is what we’re seeking. (At least it’s what I’m seeking. I recognize that this can sound arrogant. But I don’t think it’s arrogant to seek after God. Arrogance comes into play when I am so sure I have God in my own little box of understanding that I jettison humility and refuse to listen to evidence that threatens my comfortable certitude.)<\/p>\n

\"gutenberg-bible-5.jpg\"<\/span>If what I’ve just said about the goal of our inquiry is anywhere near true, then the best starting place would be one that will help us discover the mind and activity of God with respect to illegal immigration.<\/i> You won’t be surprised to learn that I, as an evangelical Christian, believe that Scripture is the first place to which we must turn if this is our goal. The Bible, when responsibly interpreted in the community of God’s people, helps us know the mind and activity of God. Moreover, Scripture reveals Jesus Christ to us, the Word of God incarnate, and any Christian theology of anything<\/i> must be centered in him. (I realize, of course, that many people, even some Christians, do not share my commitment to the authority of Scripture. We can debate this at another time. Now, I’m simply laying my cards on the table. Photo: A copy of the Gutenberg Bible.)<\/p>\n

Yet even if we agree that we should begin with the Bible to determine what God is thinking and doing about illegal immigration, this doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll concur on where within the Bible to start. The Bible, after all, is a long book, or, better, a long collection of books that offers dozens of possible starting points. For example, should we begin a text like Leviticus 19:33-34? <\/p>\n

When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Or should we begin with Romans 13:1-2?<\/p>\n

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In fact, a truly<\/i> biblical theology of illegal immigration will be a fully<\/i> biblical theology, one that takes into account the diversity of perspectives in Scripture itself. This implies, by the way, that we must take seriously those passages of Scripture that make us uncomfortable, that don’t support our personal inclinations concerning illegal immigration. For the most part, when Christians talk about this issue, they draw from Scripture that which fits their predetermined perspective, ignoring that which doesn’t fit. We need to do better than this if we truly seek God’s mind and activity. <\/p>\n

Though I take seriously the diversity of biblical passages and themes relevant to the issue before us, I do think that there are two starting points that can be defended as so essential to the conversation that they must be considered by anyone who is looking for God’s perspective on illegal immigration. I’ll explain what I mean in tomorrow’s post. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I explained in Friday’s post, Christians differ widely on their understanding of illegal immigration and what should be done about it. This doesn’t mean that every Christian perspective is equally valid, however. Many are based on an inadequate grasp of relevant facts or on an incorrect theology. But the diversity of thoughtful Christian perspectives…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-illegal-immigration"],"yoast_head":"\nSeeking a Christian Perspective on Illegal Immigration: Where Should We Start? - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/06\/seeking-a-christian-perspective-on-illegal-immigration-where-should-we-start.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seeking a Christian Perspective on Illegal Immigration: Where Should We Start? - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As I explained in Friday’s post, Christians differ widely on their understanding of illegal immigration and what should be done about it. This doesn’t mean that every Christian perspective is equally valid, however. Many are based on an inadequate grasp of relevant facts or on an incorrect theology. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}