I came back from Nepal to a tragedy in the making.
Nathan Deal, the Governor of Georgia, has stated that he will sign HB 87 into effect. The bill is an adapted version of the Arizona laws, and is designed to make it impossible for undocumented immigrants to work to feed their families and go about life here in the United States.
There are plenty of political and economic downsides to this bill that I won't go into here. The real kicker is that the law would get so much support from "Christians" in Georgia.
In the Bible, God repeatedly, under every covenant, tells his people to care for the aliens in their land. It's a top priority.
So to the Church in Georgia: Our God gave us a job to do. He brought aliens to our doorsteps. He gave us the resources to care for them. They came hungry and thirsty, and we rationalized a way to blame them for their own suffering, then turned them away.
God is a redeeming God. His church can repent and turn to love. But we need to do it quickly, before our fear and greed do more damage to the cause of Christ and to the lives of those He loves.
Giving Hope, Community and Economic Opportunities to Immigrants and Refugees
Ian - I'm not sure if you remember, but my husband and I met you at the Fites's home last year. (I was working in immigrant/refugee-related non-profit at the time; we've since moved to California for me to attend grad school.)
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that this post really resonated with me, and I hope you keep challenging the Christians who have bought into the lies about immigration to take God's Word into account when confronted with terrible, un-Biblical laws like HB 87. It breaks my heart to see what's happening in Georgia right now, but I'm really glad to see Christians taking a stand and speaking the truth about this bill.
I love your post and whole heartedly agree with you. I would however like you to cite your references in the Bible.
ReplyDelete"In the Bible, God repeatedly, under every covenant, tells his people to care for the aliens in their land. It's a top priority."
I find these blogs, emails, memos, etc. seem more believable with several sources cited. Especially biblical text that has a clearly defined message. Thanks for the post and your message!!!!
@JMD- Thanks for the note! I think you're right. I'll put together a post that spends more time digging into the specific scriptures about that.
ReplyDeleteAs a big picture, narrative guy, I sometimes blow through the details. I appreciate your reading, and I'll work on a follow-up that looks at Biblical references.
@Sharon- I remember you and Jason well! And Adam talks about you two often.
ReplyDeleteWe've already seen families damaged by the rising anti-immigrant sentiment here. I'm just stunned that this is happening in a state with so many "Christians." It's hard to wrap my head around.