Jesus and Illegal Immigration
While it has drifted off the radar screen at the moment Tim Morgan at Christianity Today’s political blog recently raised a question that is sure to come back into the forefront as a hot divisive issue, what to do with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants and their children. That it is coming back as an issue is clear from President Obama’s plans to grant them citizenship, an effort that news reports say will begin next month and last through the summer.
Morgan’s question was not so much the policy issue directly, but asks the question in terms of “What would Jesus do?” My thinking on this question has always been somewhat mixed. On the one hand, it is a great question and one that we should all ask far more often than we do. But if that’s the case, then what is the problem with the question?
My problems begin when the question enters public discussions, and are for a number of reasons. The biggest problem is that your answer to the question will strongly depend on your knowledge of Jesus, and even for Christians in general, the actual knowledge of Jesus is somewhat lacking, and even more so for the public at large. While it can be very valuable to struggle with this privately in prayer and contemplation before God, as a general rule, the more people involved, the less prayer and contemplation you will have.
I think it can be stated as a general rule that nobody really knows what Jesus would do in the case of such public policy issues. In fact, the verse that would seem to apply the most is, Jesus’ comment in Matthew 22:21 concerning taxes, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
The problem with trying to figure out what Jesus would do in any particular issue of public policy, is that we live in a world corrupted by sin and governed temporally by sinful people. Issues of public policy such as illegal immigration are basically tinkering at the margins. Jesus would go to the root of the problem, and when he was finished, the answer to the question of “What would Jesus do about illegal immigrants would be : nothing, for there would not be an Illegal immigrants issue to begin with.
This is not to say that we should have open boarders and allow everyone in, it is to point out the reality that the roots of the Illegal immigration problem are vast and deep. There is the economic, political, and social problems in the countries from which the illegal immigrants come. If every country in the world had the freedom and prosperity of the United States, there would not be a problem.
Then there is the breakdown of law in this country that has allow the problem to grow such that there are now so many here. If there were only a few thousand illegal immigrants in the country who had only been here a few months, again this would not be an issue. But for a variety of reasons, government at many levels have ignored the growing problem until now there are millions of illegal immigrants here, many for decades.
So to come in now and ask “What would Jesus do?” is somewhat like asking what would Jesus do to deal with his past sins? He wouldn’t do anything because he would never be in that position. When he does come back he will not tinker with minor issues such as illegal immigration. He will address the root issues and eliminate the problems that cause it in the first place.
One other problem I frequently have with this question comes from the view of God that currently predominates the public square: God is Love. The predominant view of God is Love, often expresses itself in such questions making them almost “What would Love do?” In this case wouldn’t love say we should have compassion for the illegal immigrants?
While certainly true, that is not the only attribute of God. We sinful humans are never very good at balancing, and it takes a lot of effort. When balancing something on the end of your finger, if you get distracted or inattentive, it will fall. The same goes for the church balancing the attributes of God. God is Love, but he is also Justice. Psalm 101 starts, “I will sing of your love and justice; to you O Lord, I will sing praise.”
Love says we should have compassion for the illegal immigrants, but justice says that they have broken the law. Then there are all the other attributes of God, such as Righteousness and Holiness. So what would Jesus do about the illegal immigrants and their families? Ultimately I don’t know.
I do think that we need to approach the issue beginning with all the attributes of God, not just Love that would let them all stay, or Justice that would throw them all out. I also think that any solution would have to focus on the root causes that has allow the problem to get out of hand in the first place, though unlike Jesus, here we are somewhat limited to control over our own country, though we can work to spread economic freedom and liberty to other countries. Still while easy to say, working these out into actual public policy will take a lot of contemplation and prayer.
This is Elgin Hushbeck, asking you to Consider Christianity: a Faith Based on Fact.
Praise for Preserving Democracy
Here are some reveiws and comments on Preserving Democracy:
https://pursuingholiness.com/2009/04/preserving-democracy/
and
https://stonescryout.org/?p=1612
and
https://www.energionpubs.com/blog/?p=249
Preserving Democracy
Today is not only tax day, it is also the day my latest book is released by my publisher. The book is Preserving Democracy, What the Founding Fathers Knew, What We Have Forgotten, and How it Threatens Democracy. Since I have been writing this book for about 10 years, it was not written for the current situation, but it remains perfectly timed to what is going on. The basic premise is that over the last 100 years we have made significant changes to our government, but few understand the reasons for the system of checks and balances created by the Founding Fathers. When we make changes today are we improving government, or removing key checks and balances that keep the system functioning? While the book takes a strong stand it does so by focusing on problems and policies, not people and personalities.
The book is available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble in Hardcover and any book store can order it. It is also available on Kindle, and Adobe eBook formats, and should be out in audio shortly.
I hope that you like the book and will tell others about it
Here is some praise for Preserving Democracy
https://www.adaptitech.com/PreservingDemocracy/
Here are some of the endorsement from the back cover,
“Elgin Hushbeck has produced an integrated primer masterfully relating the issues of U. S. politics today to the country’s origins and future prospects. Every citizen who seeks to be not merely informed but also inspired ought to read it.” – W. B. Allen, Emeritus Professor of Political Philosophy, Michigan State University
“In his latest book, Elgin Hushbeck lances the boil of America’s addiction to big government. Nothing escapes his delicate scalpel — taxes, public education, welfare, voting, capitalism, health care. For a nation that has all but forgotten the Constitution upon which it was founded, this book is essential reading.” David Alan Black, Professor of New Testament and Greek, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
“The founding fathers fought tyranny and founded this democratic nation based upon individual freedoms and values. Now, the nation faces a new tyranny – from within. It’s the politicians, jurists, academicians, media and special interests that are leading this nation away from constitutional government and straight to socialism. Become part of an informed electorate and stop this slide to socialism. Preserving Democracy is our primer.” – Richard G. Miller, MCPO, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Tax Time
Once again tax day is upon us. But what this day means is vastly different to many Americans and therein lies a problem. For many Americans, while preparing their income tax is a difficult and confusing task and one they often pay to have done, the reward is great. According to IRS stats the average refund on an individual return is $2,345, so it is little wonder that some look forward to tax time with anticipation.
For some, their refund is a true refund. It is the amount of money they overpaid in taxes during the year. But for many others their refund is not really a refund at all, but simply more money for them. This is because at lower income levels there are a large number of credits that are subtracted from your taxes whether or not you paid money in. As I point out in my new book, Preserving Democracy, released today, during the 2004 tax year the lowest 40% of those filing returns actually had a negative share of income taxes paid, i.e., they received more money back from the government in their refund than they paid in.
In fact the lowest 90% of those filing income tax returns either received more money back from the government than they paid, or their share of taxes paid was less than the share of income earned. For those in the 90%-95% range their share of taxes was about equal to their share of income. For those above 95% their share of taxes was higher than their share of income
The net result is vastly different views of the tax code. When the majority of people pay less than 5% of the income taxes, their reaction to policy questions such as “should income taxes be raised” is likely to be vastly different than that of the increasingly small minority who are forced to paid the majority of the bill. In 1986 the top 10% of those filing returns paid 55% of the taxes. By 2005 the burden had been shifted such that just the top five percent paid and even larger 60%. The top 1 percent paid nearly 40% of the total tax bill.
This situation was one of the specific dangers the founding fathers worried about when they set up the system of checks and balances that is the U. S. Constitution. The system of checks and balances worked well for over 100 years. Then starting about the time of World War I we began to make changes to government, and in the process undermined many of the checks and balances the founding fathers had set up.
The result has been the explosive growth in government that we saw over the last 100 years where the share of the economy consumed by government grew a staggering 459% . As a result of the removal of these checks and balances, we now have two long term trends that simply cannot continue forever, and yet seem to have no end in sight. The first is government’s consuming a growing share of the national economy. It is simply a fact that the explosive growth in government that we saw in the last century cannot be maintained, If for no other reason than if we continue at this rate, in about 200 years the government would consume 100% of the economy, leaving nothing for anyone to live on. This would be impossible, the system would collapse long before this. Unfortunately rather than slowing the growth of government, we are currently increasing even faster.
The second longer term trend is that the tax burden is being shifted onto an ever smaller percentage of the population. Not only does this make it ever harder to fix the first trend, as any attempt is immediately labeled as “tax cuts for the rich” it has many other problems. It takes a lot of work to earn money and at some point government takes so much that it is no longer worth the effort. For example, why put in long hours and weekends to earn a bonus, if the government is going to take it all? What will happen if “the rich” who pay the vast majority of taxes cut back, or are forced by government to cut back, even a bit? Who will pay the taxes if the rich are no longer rich?
Many people are happy that corporate bigwigs are not going to fancy resorts, except of course all the “average guys” who work at those resorts or whose jobs are in some way related to them. The same can be said about corporate jets, but what about all the people who build them, the pilots who fly them, the ground crews that maintain them, etc.. Not being able to fly a corporate jet may be an inconvenience for a CEO, but it can be a major problem for all those who are laid off when the CEO is no longer allowed to fly that jet.
The simple fact is that government cannot continue to grow at the rate it has grown over the last 100 years; at some point the entire system will collapse. Unfortunately, no one knows where the point of collapse is. And this is just one of the dangers I outline in my book. If you are in the ever decreasing percentage that pays the bills, you probably are already aware of much of this. However, if you see tax time as little more than a big refund check, you might do well to consider the reasons for the checks and balances the founding fathers put in place to preserve democracy and create the greatest country in the world.
Of First Importance
As I have discussed previously all too often people dismiss rituals as meaningless and of little value. But this is somewhat of a chicken and egg problem. Are rituals dismissed because they are meaningless and of little value, or are they meaningless and of little value because they are dismissed?
Whether something does or does not have meaning depends largely on us. The cross is meaningful because we see it as a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice. We give it meaning by associating it with what Christ did. In short, we choose whether or not we will see it as significant.
This phenomena is not simply limited to religion. For example in 1971 Congress restructured federal holidays to give more three day weekends. Before 1971 Memorial Day was May 30th. Now it is the last Monday in May. As a three day weekend every year Memorial day has for most completely lost its meaning. A Gallop Poll last year show that only 28% of Americans knew the actual reason for the three Day weekend they were celebrating. Instead, for many Memorial Day is nothing more than a time for barbeques and parties rather than what it was originally intended, a solemn day to honor those who gave their lives in the service of their country.
Yet when rituals are seen as meaningful, they can focus and magnified belief. They also serve a teaching function, as a way of transmitting important values to the next generation. The casual anything goes attitude of society exists just as strongly in a church more eager to attract members than to make disciples.
Apart from older churches with a long history of tradition such as the Roman Catholic Church, Easter and Christmas are pretty much the last Christian rituals, and for many even these are in decline. The meaning slowly draining away year after year, and for increasing numbers of young people the meaning is never implanted.
This weekend most Western Churches will celebrate Easter which commemorates the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Orthodox observe Easter on the 19th) This is the most important date on the Christian Calendar.
Paul writing to the Corinthians said that “I passed on to you the most important points that I received: The Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures-and is still alive!-” (1 Cor 15:3-4 ISV)
This is so important and central to the Christian faith that Paul later writes “if the Messiah has not been raised, then our message means nothing and your faith means nothing… your faith is worthless and you are still imprisoned by your sins.” (1 Cor 15:14,17 ISV)
Given its centrality and importance it is not surprising that the resurrection is not only one of the most well documented events of the Bible , it is one of the most well documented events of the time period, and one which skeptics have attempted in vain to refute for 2000 years. (See Christianity and Secularism Chapter 6)
The magnitude of the event is beyond comprehension. Even the natural aspects are difficult to fully grasp, a man was betrayed by one of his inner circle and deserted by the rest. The crowds that had hailed him one week earlier now called for his death. He was savagely beaten, scourged, condemned to death and then crucified. Because of the coming Sabbath, his body was hurriedly placed in a borrowed tomb. Which was then guarded by those who had had him executed.
Yet starting early on the following Sunday morning, people began claiming to have seen him. And not just a few, all of those close to him did, along with many of his followers. Even Paul who strongly tried to suppress the growing faith, saw him and converted as a results. In fact Paul point out that one appearance was before a crowd of over 500 , and challenged skeptics to go and talk to those that were still alive about what they had seen. In short a man who had died, had come back to life.
As amazing as this was, this was still just of secondary importance, serving mainly as a confirmation of what was really the most astounding part, a part that when completely unseen by those who witness Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
Jesus did not just die on the cross, he died for our sins. This is the truly astounding part and something that is beyond all comprehension. He died for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), He died for me, and he died for you. He did this that we may live. “For as in Adam all die, so also in the Messiah will all be made alive.” (1 Cor 15:22 ISV)
This is the true meaning of Easter, that Jesus the Son of God, “died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures-and is still alive!” (1 Cor 15:3-4 ISV) This is the true meaning of Easter. Will what you do this weekend be in accord with this?
This is Elgin Hushbeck, asking you to Consider Christianity: a Faith Based on Fact.
