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Discussion Forum : News and Current Events : Is It UnChristian To Not Want Syrian Refugees?

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docseth1
Member



Joined: 2008/5/17
Posts: 173
Valdosta, Ga

 Is It UnChristian To Not Want Syrian Refugees?

I speak as a concerned American Christian. I do not speak for America or other Christians. Here it goes:

For those who think it may be non-Christian to not allow Syrian refugees into America, keep in mind, it has already been proven that at least some in this group are not refugees at all. Some are trained terrorists who have infiltrated the refugees and have already plotted and killed while being in their new homeland.

While Jesus commanded us to love, clothe and feed our enemies, he said nothing about having to live next door to them or having to invite them into our communities. It's ironic that no other Muslim nations are accepting these refugees either. They too have great concerns about who may be in this group of refugees.

Americans are not asking that these refugees be shot or left out at sea to dehydrate or drown; however, we are insisting that there be measures taken to protect our people. No nation should should be forced to accept thousands of newcomers without knowing who they are or their intentions. While Jesus would love these people, I am convinced he would also want to protect his own. We need a plan that will allow us to help and protect.

So before you get all religious and condemn other Christians and Americans of not loving like Jesus, know this...it is actually love that compels us to be cautious. We love our families, friends and country. We want to keep them safe. Let's help them every way we can, but let's not let them run loose before we know who and what we a dealing with.

Just my opinion as an American and a Christian.


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Cliff

 2015/11/17 19:48Profile
proudpapa
Member



Joined: 2012/5/13
Posts: 2936


 Re: Is It UnChristian To Not Want Syrian Refugees?

A more important question is how can we as Christians reach out to them once they are here.

I does not matter if we want them to come or not, we do not have much of a say in the matter.



 2015/11/17 20:07Profile
dolfan
Member



Joined: 2011/8/23
Posts: 1727
Tennessee, but my home's in Alabama

 Re:

It is not unChristian.

Pray for them, though, to be converted.

That is all I know we can do without going or sending to them.


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Tim

 2015/11/17 20:59Profile
dougr777
Member



Joined: 2009/1/16
Posts: 319


 Re: Is It UnChristian To Not Want Syrian Refugees?

no


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Doug R

 2015/11/18 0:45Profile
Heydave
Member



Joined: 2008/4/12
Posts: 1306
Hampshire, UK

 Re: Is It UnChristian To Not Want Syrian Refugees?

Hi Cliff,

I understand your concerns here. We have the same concerns in the UK about who is coming into the country. However I think it is important that we distinguish between what is the national/government responsibility and what is the response of individual Christians. A governments responsibility is to protect it's citizens and in this instance it must consider this against any action it takes in regard to migrants or refugees. As Christians we are called to love our neighbours AND our enemies. When we confuse these two areas of responsibility we end up with error either way. It would be wrong to impose Christian 'sacrificial love' on governments. It won't work. Likewise it is also wrong for a Christian to act in a non-sacrificial way in his individual dealings with people.

Proudpapa was quite correct in what he said. Our response as Christians should be to seek ways to love those who are and become our neighbour. We cannot (should not) control who will be our neighbour.

You said, quote: "While Jesus commanded us to love, clothe and feed our enemies, he said nothing about having to live next door to them or having to invite them into our communities."

Well in the light of what I have said above, this seems to be putting conditions onto our love and therefore cannot be considered sacrificial 'agape' love. I'm not suggesting that we would intentionally invite someone seeking our harm to come and live with us, but what if they do end up living next to us....then what should our reaction be?

Hope you understand what I am saying and I do understand your position.


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Dave

 2015/11/18 5:49Profile
Lysa
Member



Joined: 2008/10/25
Posts: 3699
East TN for now!

 Re: Is It UnChristian To Not Want Syrian Refugees?


There was a sermon years ago I listened to and it was a story of a woman saved money for years to become a missionary and who prayed for it but God never sent her.

Finally, one day God told her He didn't need to send her anywhere that He had brought the world to her... Russians across the hall, Chinese next door, Indians on the floor below, etc. And that she didn't minister to them, what made her think that she would be a good missionary? *(ouch!)

From that day forward everyone is New York City (early 1900's) knew her and her love for Jesus, in that building and on the streets.

I absolutely don't think we should be ruled by fear and I think this could be our finest hour... if we would step out in faith and the love of Christ.


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Lisa

 2015/11/18 6:11Profile
docseth1
Member



Joined: 2008/5/17
Posts: 173
Valdosta, Ga

 Re:

I do get what you are saying. It's highly frustrating though when Governments don't do their job to protect. For me, this is not so much an issue of love for my enemies. I will pray for my enemies. I will do what I can to help the helpless. I would not however knowingly live next door to a sex offender, nor would I ever invite them into my neighborhood.
Why? Because I love my family. I care about the safety of my neighbors. The concern I have about the refugees is that we don't know who they are or their intentions. If these refugees continue to come, all we can do at that point is pray for our safety. We can pray that God's grace and love will shine through us. We can pray for their salvation. I just feel very hesitant to just blindly open our arms to individuals who may be here to destroy us.


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Cliff

 2015/11/18 8:11Profile









 Re:

Quote:
by Lysa on 2015/11/18 6:11:07


There was a sermon years ago I listened to and it was a story of a woman saved money for years to become a missionary and who prayed for it but God never sent her.

Finally, one day God told her He didn't need to send her anywhere that He had brought the world to her... Russians across the hall, Chinese next door, Indians on the floor below, etc. And that she didn't minister to them, what made her think that she would be a good missionary? *(ouch!)

From that day forward everyone is New York City (early 1900's) knew her and her love for Jesus, in that building and on the streets.

I absolutely don't think we should be ruled by fear and I think this could be our finest hour... if we would step out in faith and the love of Christ.



Amen to that, Lysa.

The problem is when Christians favor one or more nations over others they are actually setting themselves against certain people. They have have become fleshly and lost the right to be called an "ambassador of Christ".

 2015/11/18 10:28
dolfan
Member



Joined: 2011/8/23
Posts: 1727
Tennessee, but my home's in Alabama

 Re:

I confess two minds here.

One is that our immigration policy has and continues to swing open wide a door of danger to the whole nation in the form of jihadists. We are a powder keg waiting to explode, IMO. With the escalation of soft target terrorism, it is concerning. It's why I am in favor of shutting down the borders even -- which I know will not occur. So, that's one.

The other is this: I remember when the Syrian refugee crisis really began to get our attention. Voice of the Martyrs reported testimony from Syrian Christians who had fled to Turkey at the time (2013). It was something I have not forgotten, and that I recalled when reading and thinking about this today.

So happens, VOM still has this on their website. I want to quote from it.

Quote:
In light of all of the media attention on Syria right now, I thought Persecution Blog readers might be interested to read some of my talking points about what we learned interviewing Syrian Christians during the trip.

Our team met with two Syrian Christians, one still working in Syria and one currently displaced and working among Syrians in Turkey. Some points from what we learned about Syria and the church there:
1.God is at work. One of our contacts told us about an area in Syria where 18 months ago there were only 12-13 Christians. Today, there are more than 70 Christian FAMILIES! As has happened in other areas (Iran, Egypt), people are seeing the true face of Islam and it is generating a real openness for the things of Christ.
2.We also heard reports of growth in the church among the Kurds.
3.God is using miracles to bring people to Christ. This was a repeated theme of stories from Syria. One man was healed of cancer and came to Christ. A woman who’d been paralyzed for 10 YEARS after a stroke was healed and came to Christ.
4.There is persecution…especially from within families. Right now new converts from Islam are most worried about how their families will respond. That is where the first line of persecution is happening. Many times Syrian Christians will not tell their families—at least for a while—and many don’t meet with other believers because of the risk of their families finding out.
5.But…it’s also happening from the authorities. One pastor who lives in a government-controlled area said he gets called to the police station EVERY WEEK for a “meeting” where they question him about his activities, about his churches and about Muslim converts.
6.Syrians are fleeing to the surrounding countries. We visited one Turkish city where we were told that tens of thousands of Syrians had come in the past 6-8 months. We also saw a refugee camp where Syrians are housed in Turkey. Interestingly, they separate Christians from Muslims in the camps, or at least in the one we saw.
7.The hardship of just living in Syria right now is amazing. One of our contacts said he has electricity only three hours a day…and that is pretty good! There is almost no medicine available. The roads are cluttered with check points…we were told of one 60-KM stretch of road where there were 23 check points…manned by different groups with different priorities and different objectives. So having the permission of one group to travel might not matter at the next check point…and might even get you killed. Just driving from one place to another is a dangerous endeavor.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Syria, and pray for VOM international staff as they seek to support and bless the church there in spite of the danger and the upheaval.



So, perhaps --- in this country where we like to boast of being a city on a hill --- God is calling us to do what we say we are. I don't know. Or, is this the place Christian testimonies come to die. We really do have to make a decision here. Will we, in the face of bad policy, make the right decision on what to do with the neighbors we have? Do we really believe Paul's words in Acts 17:6?
How will this affect my prayers?


_________________
Tim

 2015/11/18 12:48Profile
TMK
Member



Joined: 2012/2/8
Posts: 6650
NC, USA

 Re:

Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Wisdom is not allowing terrorists in. Duh. The dove part comes in dealing with the non terrorists who do make it in.


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Todd

 2015/11/18 14:30Profile





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