Notably, even desperate circumstances don't make a lawless act moral. Proverbs 6:30-31 says, "Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house."Illegal aliens rightfully should face a very tough penalty, even if driven to lawbreaking for understandable reasons.Second, the law in Old Testament Israel required resident aliens to assimilate. They were to adapt to Israel's ways, not impose their own. For instance, Deuteronomy 16:9-15 requires all residents to observe the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. This includes foreigners.Third God ordains civil government. Earthly authorities are his agents to restrain evil, protect the innocent, and punish the wrongdoer.
Romans 13:1-7 describes the divine ordination of civil authorities. It reads in part, "The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted. … "
Civil governments are part of God's common grace to protect people in a fallen, sinful world. It's why we appropriately owe allegiance to governing authorities of this world. It's also why courts of law assess punishment for lawbreaking, rather than mob rule or a tyrant's whim. This is a characteristic under common grace, the rule of law. Scripture passages sometimes referenced in connection with immigration actually speak more to immigrant policy than immigration policy. These are verses such as Leviticus 19:33-34 and Exodus 22:21. The latter passage reads, "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt."
Such verses call for fairness toward aliens and strangers, the same as how other passages say to treat widows and orphans. Importantly, these passages address treatment of aliens once they are in a country. They don't say anything about the criteria or the process by which aliens originally gained admittance into the nation.
2006-10-08
08:00:58
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12 answers
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asked by
Zoe
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Immigration