This is not an easy conversation to have. Let me save you from disappointment before you get to the end of my post thinking I have some awesome plan of how to solve the refugee crisis- specifically the Syrian refugee crisis: I don't. I have ideas and concerns but I do not offer any solutions to the issue we have facing our country today. I have some radical views for the Church that many of us (including myself) probably don't want to hear. Let this be your warning.
What is a refugee? A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster. A refugee, by definition, is NOT a terrorist. They are NOT, by definition, a Muslim, or Syrian, or part of ISIS. They are not, by definition, trying to come into our country and destroy it. A refugee has likely lost family, friends, possessions, jobs, and more in order to save their own lives.
Now that that is clear, we must stop blanketing "refugees" as evil human beings. They are not "refugees" they are refugees. While there may be someone posing as a refugee- that person is not a refugee. Let's not be confused. Call me politically correct, I call it truth and clarity.
The reason I preface my piece with this is because I have seen so much fear-mongering going around trying to make people afraid of refugees by saying they are associated with terrorists and ISIS. My friends, this is simply not the case. We should not fear the refugees. We can proceed with caution, but not with fear.
As I normally try to do, I read arguments from many sides of the spectrum. I try to get a picture of where people are coming from and determine if the statistics they are posting are only to push an agenda, or are actually fact. Did you know that numbers CAN lie (remember that 3% that PP claimed)? That pictures CAN lie (ever heard of photoshop)? Statistics CAN be misleading! (46% of statistics are made up on the spot). You can tell when agendas are being pushed as generally the truth will be stretched in order to make an argument fit. Or, the truth will be omitted altogether and the agenda will rely solely on the emotion of the people, without any regard to the facts of the situation. Things aren't always as black and white as we would like them to be. So to be incredibly dogmatic about situations that are unclear, to me, is a bit foolish. The fact is, over half of the refugees from Syria are women and children. However, there are also disturbing videos of adult males, who came in with refugees, brutally attacking innocent people in Germany. The fact is, that not a single refugee in the US has committed an act of terror to date. However, the possibility of ISIS sending attackers to pose as refugees is a legitimate concern. There is too much gray in this situation. The facts don't tell a clear story.
I will say that I have seen more of my traditionally conservative Christian friends cross "party" lines with this refugee situation. I have seen many of my conservative friends continue to stay in their "party" line and present valid arguments with compassion. I have seen some of my conservative friends present arguments, some valid, some not, with hate and anger towards the refugees and anyone who disagrees with their stance, "If you want those refugees here, then YOU live next to them and watch your family die."
I feel like I've heard it all. My friend, Andy, and I were up late the night after the Paris attacks and we talked about a million different takes on the situation with the refugees. I'm now seeing some of our thoughts be fleshed out by other writers who beat me to writing it- which is probably better because they did a heck of a better job that I ever could. I have included the links of some of those at the end of this post.
Notice- I didn't say much about my liberal friends. The reason is because I haven't seen many of them posting about this crisis. I have a few friends that have, and they have been in favor of taking in refugees, but the majority of them have been silent and to be honest- I'm not sure why. Anyone have any thoughts?
Here are some perspectives I've seen and my thoughts on those perspectives.
Perspective 1) "Say NO to ALL REFUGEES. We don't want those terrorists here."
Thoughts 1) No. See above.
Perspective 2) "Send aid to them, but do not let them in our borders. It is too risky."
Thoughts 2) I feel like this is definitely more compassionate and shows that at least we realize that these refugees have value and potential and are not barbaric human beings who deserve to die. However, I think keeping these refugees in huge camps runs some risks in and of itself. First, it creates an easier target for ISIS. Those camps have no real protection. There are thousands of innocents in tents with no where to run. What could be easier? These refugees are running from the jihad. If they wanted to join, they could've stayed in Syria. Therefore, because they did not join, they are enemies of ISIS. ISIS wants the refugees dead. Second, we run the risk of a higher death toll among these refugees as food, water and other supplies are limited- diseases spread quicker too. I think that sending aid is better than nothing. But it is not a solution- it is a band-aid. And maybe that is what needs to be done until we can figure out a better way. I'm not opposed to this idea as a political stance. However, as a Christian, I feel as though the Church needs to figure out how to do more. (See below).
Perspective 3) "Take them in, as many as we possibly can. End of discussion."
Thoughts 3) I think this is too naive. There must be additional vetting and security going into the process of allowing refugees. I explain more in the following thought.
Perspective 4) "Take them in, as many as we financially can. However, we must increase our security and extend their vetting process."
Thoughts 4) I think this is more where I stand for a few reasons. However, I don't want to be naive to the idea that there could be just a few terrorists hiding in the refugees. We know that it only took a few terrorists to commit heinous attacks against the US, Paris and other places killing thousands. And while I don't believe the American people have more value than the Syrian refugees- the American government does have a responsibility to protect the American people. If the government has any job- it is to protect Americans. It is most definitely a risk, but I don't think it is as big of a risk as many are making it out to be. Looking at the facts, there has not been a single terrorist attack from a refugee in the US in decades. The Boston Bombers weren't refugees, nor was the Fort Hood shooter (he was born in the US). Check out these links: Niskanen Center, The Hill, Snopes. Financially, I don't know if the US could handle as many as Obama is wanting to take, but again, this is where the Church needs to stand up. It shouldn't be the government's job to provide everything these refugees need. However, the cost of properly vetting and keeping close security on Syrian refugees could result in a significant bill even for a small number.
Now, one of the epiphany's that my friend and I had was that if they are coming HERE- the church has a greater opportunity to share Jesus with them and help give these refugees a renewed purpose in Jesus. If the Church doesn't do it- ISIS can. Honestly, I think that is what is happening now already with other refugees and teens today- the church isn't standing up and loving people the way Jesus would love them and these people just want to find a purpose in life. This is when ISIS finds them, preys on them, and then gives them purpose- to kill America.
I've heard people say things like- "You can't convert these people, they are too extreme." My reply would be that they are correct- I cannot convert these people. I have never converted a person in my life. Nor, will I. God converts them. He simply uses me to do it. Secondly, I would say look at Paul and read Acts. He was an extreme terrorist, brutally killing any Christian he found. God converted Him and he spent the rest of his life preaching the Gospel to the nations. Trust that our God still saves.
And here is where I get frustrated and I begin to think to myself how can we claim to be a Christian nation when we turn our backs to those in need. While I love that our laws were built on Christian morality- I.E. the 10 commandments and the Universal law that God has placed in the hearts of all humans alive- we are not a Christian nation. As a woman just trying to understand both sides, I see a lot of the hypocrisy from both conservative and liberals. Conservatives want to bring God back to America by legislating morality. They often say things like "the Bible doesn't approve of this behavior, therefore, it should not be legal." However, when it comes to helping our own poor- or in this case, the WORLD's poor, we don't want to include that into our system of laws because it is "socialism" and advocates for people to become dependent on the government. I'm going to say that I agree. As a libertarian, I don't want the government telling me exactly how I need to spend 23% of my pay check. However, I do not claim that this is God's country nor that America is His chosen people OR that America is a "Christian" nation. No, the Church's job is to take care of the poor, the widows and the orphans. If we are a Christian nation then we wouldn't even NEED the government to do those things for us because the Church would already have it taken care of. If we want God's commands to be in law, then our tax dollars would be going to help the poor, the single mom, or the orphan and there shouldn't be any complaining. As for liberals, they want to help millions of refugees and inmates and yet refuse to help the most innocent and vulnerable human, a child in the womb. I'll expound on that in another post.
And so I bring this back to the issue at hand- Syrian Refugees. If we are a Christian nation, as many of my friends believe, then we have a duty to be the good Samaritan and trust that God will work all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8). If we are a Christian nation, then we must be willing to risk our own lives, in order to share the Gospel.
I've heard the analogy used of letting someone in your door you don't know, who could be very nice, or could be a murderer- as a comparison to the refugee crisis. I get it. It makes sense. This is a valid point.
You want to protect yourself and your family. That is noble, and I believe that it is right. But so is helping those in need. It is here where we must ask God for direction. There isn't a clear answer here.
Think of Abraham. He was willing to sacrifice his own son because God commanded. Yet, because of his obedience, God spared Isaac and Abraham from that ending. I don't have kids, but I do love my family. I would die for them and hunt down anyone who hurts them. But on the flip side, if my family were refugees, I would hope that someone would be willing to take them in, despite knowing certain risks. To me, that would show faith in God.
God calls us to use wisdom, but the number one commandment is to love God, and love others. If loving others might put us at risk- that is a risk we must be willing to take as believers. If we are not willing to die for the Gospel, we are not following Jesus with our whole heart (I'm not saying that I always am). This is why we are not a Christian nation. And this is also why I am okay with that. Because there are millions of non-Christians in our nation and I do not know that I am willing to put THOSE people are risk. They don't know Jesus. So if those people are put at risk and they die, they won't meet Jesus. But if we were a Christian nation, then we should not fear death and putting ourselves at risk would be a joy if it brought glory to Jesus. As we die- we meet our Savior. I have no fear in death (most of the time). Christians should not fear death so much so that they are willing to let others die because they are afraid that one in 10,000 might be harmful.
Trusting God in this situation is hard. It is a tough pill to swallow. This isn't black and white. We are talking about people, human beings, who are trying to find a safe place to lay their head at night. We are talking about human beings who simply want to rest easy at night knowing that their neighbors aren't conspiring to kill them. We are talking about Americans, Syrians, terrorists, and refugees. And as a political strategy- I honestly offer no fool-proof solution. As a Christian, I suggest that we step up, love each other, love the poor in our own neighborhood, take care of our orphans and start looking out in the world and taking care of the refugees.
You may think, "how can I help the refugees without going into a war zone." Well, check out this awesome opportunity with Praying Pelican Missions here, you can support missionaries who are helping- like the ones here (Ryan and Gina Hale are our missionaries in Sicily, Italy helping with the crisis there), or send money directly to Refugee agencies (there are a list of different agencies and explanations of how they help). You can put together care packages to send to refugees and send them to PPM's missionary for them to use in their own community (ask me how!). And you can start looking at a refugee community near you and begin loving on them.
They need to know that American's aren't against them. They need to know that they are welcomed and loved and valued. Did you know "that less than 10% of refugees who come to the US will be befriended by an American, much less a follower of Jesus?" (TRM).
Maybe we shouldn't take in any refugees as a nation because of the risk of national security. But we, as a Church, must be willing to do something to help if our government isn't going to.
Here are some articles that I found helpful:
6 Reasons to Accept refugees after Paris.
9 Reasons Christians should welcome refugees.
Not all Muslims are bad. Video.
Refugees in Germany. 20 minute video (Warning: contains graphic violence and language)
To Conservatives and Liberals. Huffington Post
Pictures of Refugee Children
