After everything that has happened, I still fully believe we should be reaching out to help Syrian Refugees.
Last Friday people lost lives in Paris, and it has been discovered that at least one of the perpetrators may have found their way into the country through the Syrian Refugee Crisis.
(Edit: Current reports state that none of the perpetrators were refugees.)
American state governor after governor is swearing to refuse to take any refugees, condemning the innocent along with the guilty in an effort to protect their citizens.
I don’t speak of politics often on this blog, I just don’t believe it is the place. This blog is about faith and grace and the goodness of God, not politics.
This issue, for me, is about faith and grace and the goodness of God, and not politics.
Before I go on I’m just going to clear something up for those reading: I’m a registered Republican, I am not a “Naïve Bleeding Heart Liberal.” I do believe we need to take decisive action against ISIS. They have proved to be a force that will threaten the free and innocent people of the world, and if not dealt with it will only be a matter of time before we are dealing with their violence on our shores. I fully believe that.
I still believe we should be helping the Syrian Refugees.
Back in September the world was horrified by a picture of a child, washed up on the shore, dead. A Refugee struggling to get to freedom, lost at sea.
I read a post by Ann Voskamp urging the Church to stand up and welcome refugees and my heart thundered. Surely this is the cause of Christ! To reach out to those in need! To shelter children, women, homeless. To take in those that not only do not have a home, but not a nation, no government or authority in the world to whom they can go for protection.
But I also saw the protests of others, fearing that these refugees were not who they seem, and we would be welcoming a host of terrorists to infiltrate our shores.
Today, I don’t deny that possibility.
I mean, what a fantastic opportunity for ISIS, to infiltrate this group of needy people and use them as a cover to go all over the world and spread fear.
The possibility is real.
I still believe we should help the Syrian Refugees.
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Why? Isn’t it dangerous?
Yes.
Just because something is dangerous, does not mean it is not right.
Could ISIS operatives infiltrate our shores through Refugees? Entirely possible. Of course they could try to get in in a host of other ways, and let’s not forget that one of the operatives in Paris was a French citizen. ISIS specializes in radicalizing the native born as well.
So should we close our hands, our doors, and our hearts?
More than half of Syrian Refugees are children under the age of eighteen.
Let me say that again.
More than half of Syrian Refugees are children.
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ISIS operatives who may be hiding inside this group would be a small minority, but we want to condemn the children because of the possibility that these operatives are there?
Let me be clear, I’m not saying we should open our borders with no attempt to screen these people, I’m also aware that no amount of screening could prevent a few operatives from getting through, what I am saying is it is WRONG to turn away the innocent with the guilty. What I am saying is turning away children in need for the sake of our own safety is also wrong.
Just because it is dangerous doesn’t mean it isn’t right.
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I read this morning a post from a woman in France, and as she pointed out that our fight, as Christians, is a spiritual fight I couldn’t help but agree.
It is the responsibility of governments to take decisive action against those who would harm us.
It is my responsibility to reach out to those who need the love of Christ, no matter the cost to myself.
In that spiritual war, the one that counts for eternity, who wins when we close our hearts, homes, and hands?
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