So what SHOULD the CHRISTIAN response be to taking in 10,000 Syrian Refugees?

[MB]

I keep hearing a lot of stuff on this board and by people in the news who profess to be followers of Jesus about what we shouldn't do and why we shouldn't do it. And most of it seems to center around political motivations.

Following the attacks in Paris that left nearly 130 people dead, the governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin have vowed to block Syrian refugees from being placed in their states.

So what should a Christ-honoring response to people in need look like?

Seems all to strange that Christians would turn away the needy. Fear does change the way we feel about strangers. It's in our nature. I look at is this way. I'm not ashamed to be a Christian. I'm not going to fear what God expects of me. Even if it kills me. To die in His service is a privilege, I wouldn't want to miss.
MB

 

[Zaac]

Seems all to strange that Christians would turn away the needy. Fear does change the way we feel about strangers. It's in our nature. I look at is this way. I'm not ashamed to be a Christian. I'm not going to fear what God expects of me. Even if it kills me. To die in His service is a privilege, I wouldn't want to miss.
MB

AMEN!!!

 

[StFrancis]

Those refugees should be monitored and be taught on how to live positively in their new societies. Not all refugees are terrorists. Remember that we used to have terrorist attacks even before the migration of refugees from war torn countries. They should be shown love so that they realise that they are needed in their new communities. They should also not be discriminated against.

 

[Rippon]

Discrimination is acutely needed in dire circumstances. Troublemakers have to be weeded out. discerment needs to be exercised.

Of course all refugees aren't terrorists. But some most likely are. Of the ones that are not certain ones are of a criminal bent.

It looks like a majority are young males between 18-40. That's red flag right there.

Are they really "needed" in their new locations? Certainly not.

 

[MB]

Discrimination is acutely needed in dire circumstances. Troublemakers have to be weeded out. discerment needs to be exercised.

Of course all refugees aren't terrorists. But some most likely are. Of the ones that are not certain ones are of a criminal bent.

It looks like a majority are young males between 18-40. That's red flag right there.

Are they really "needed" in their new locations? Certainly not.

The only thing we have to fear is fear it self. If we let fear dictate what we will do then we are already under their control. You going to let them control you?
MB

 

[Rippon]

The only thing we have to fear is fear it self.

Thank you FDR. BTW, Itself is one word.

If we let fear dictate what we will do then we are already under their control. You going to let them control you?

What a novel interpretation of my post. I was advocating prudence and common sense.

 

[HankD]

Of course we need to help them.

We should do so with wisdom and I doubt that this administration has an abundance of that commodity especially in this case.

Has anyone heard even one word from the Emperor concerning the logistics of this task?

Has the administration said anything about where, when and how to assist privately with the endeavor?

Is it primarily just another issue being trumpeted to the public at large to divide us politically (ya , I know we are Christians first).

You know, - can't let a crisis slip through our fingers.

Disgusting.

HankD

 

[MB]

Thank you FDR. BTW, Itself is one word.

What a novel interpretation of my post. I was advocating prudence and common sense.

You didn't answer the question. You going to let Islam control you? Or are you going to help people who are in a very bad situations. Maybe you'll just stand back and watch them die.
MB

 

[evenifigoalone]

I am not subscribed to nor a fan of The Amazing Atheist, but the primary reasoning in this video seems sound to me:

(Apologies if there is any profanity. I skimmed to make sure there wasn't, but it's possible a word or two may have slipped by.)

I do not agree with everything he says (the comments on Christianity for instance, or the comments on global warming at the end), but the basic gist is that the Syrian refugees are people who legitimately need help and if it turns out that a few ISIS people have slipped in then how do they pose more of a threat than something such as a mass shooting? They are terrorists and want us to believe they are going to take over the world, but that doesn't mean they actually have the power and means to do so. Seems the most they can do is attack places with lots of people as a scare tactic--that doesn't make these events any less horrible, but the point is that's not much of a national threat. The probability of being caught in a terrorist attack is less than that of being struck by lightning.

I haven't read the thread and I'm not terribly interested in arguing, and maybe these points have been brought up already. But I did want to throw this out there.

 

[Rippon]

You didn't answer the question. You going to let Islam control you?
MB

You have a problem reading easy English. I said nothing about fear in my posts 84 and 66.

 

[MB]

You have a problem reading easy English. I said nothing about fear in my posts 84 and 66.

You do know that to be Christ like we can't refuse to help those who ask and we are suppose to love our enemies
Discrimination is fear and in this case the fear of what these Syrians might or might not do. Have you thought of it in a positive way? There is a possibility they could be converted while there here. Some day go back to there country and change the minds and hearts of there own people. With God all things are possible. You don't know many of them maybe chosen..
MB

 

[Rippon]

You do know that to be Christ like we can't refuse to help those who ask and we are suppose to love our enemies

Love em' at a distance I say. Of course we can refuse to "help" some of them. They all should not get whatever all of them want. We need to have more of the Ellis Island restrictions in place.

Discrimination is fear and in this case the fear of what these Syrians might or might not do.

No. Dicrimination is not fear. It is exercising discernment and common sense as I have said before.

Have you thought of it in a positive way? There is a possibility they could be converted while there here.

I hope that those that do come are able to hear the Gospel and become Christians. But I do believe we should let the floodgates open. That would be mindless. We already know that there is no way to be able to properly vet all these people.

Some day go back to there [sic]country and change the minds and hearts of there [sic]own people.

There will be nothing left to go back to.
quote]
With God all things are possible. You don't know many of them maybe chosen..
/QUOTE]
You mean some of them may be of the elect. Yes, that's a possibility.

Okay, back to common sense. Of the migrants in Germany right now 69% are men, 18% children and 13% women. What goes through your mind when you hear that? The percentages may be approximate around all of Europe presently. What if those percentages are reflected in the next wave of refugees coming to America? Would you turn a blind eye toward it? Again, use common sense. These are danger signs. a lot of those young healthy men are up to no good. Some are likely terrorists. Others are criminals. The rest might be acceptable.

 

[Rippon]

If there really such a thing as a teleportation device I would use it to teleport the suffering and dying in Syria. Who are they? Babies, small children mothers and old people. I have seen the pictures and read the stories on The Daily Mail. It is heartbreaking.

Obama plans on bringing more than 100,000 Syrian refugees alone. If around 70% are men between 18-40 it would be perfectly prudent to evaluate them. If we must err; we need to err on the side of caution. To protect the citizens of the United States of America should remain a high priority of any President of the U.S.A.

 

[MB]

Rippon;
Could be a reason for the women and children count being so low. On a battle field it's always the weak who are killed the quickest because they are easy targets. Not only are these people at war with themselves but Russia is over there beating them on the head as well trying to stop them from killing them selves off. I'm not saying to open the flood gates. I can understand we should be cautious and check these people out before allowing entry. However to just say no is heartless.
MB

 

[DHK]

If there really such a thing as a teleportation device I would use it to teleport the suffering and dying in Syria. Who are they? Babies, small children mothers and old people. I have seen the pictures and read the stories on The Daily Mail. It is heartbreaking.

Obama plans on bringing more than 100,000 Syrian refugees alone. If around 70% are men between 18-40 it would be perfectly prudent to evaluate them. If we must err; we need to err on the side of caution. To protect the citizens of the United States of America should remain a high priority of any President of the U.S.A.

Please enlighten me. The Title of this thread is:

So what SHOULD the CHRISTIAN response be to taking in 10,000 Syrian Refugees?

So who is right? The author of the OP who is simply claiming that 10,000 Syrian refugees will be settled in the U.S., or you, claiming that "more than 100,000 Syrian refugees alone" are coming. There is a vast difference.
I can tell you this. I am from Canada which has a population of about 35 million. America's population is about 325 million or almost ten times that of Canada. Our Prime Minister is allowing 50,000 refugees over the next year to enter into Canada. That is five times more than the "10,000" originally quoted.

Reading through this thread I found many inaccuracies, many fears and fear-mongering, and then some out-right silly posts.
But here is a serious one to start with:

We sure do need more missionaries to send to the Muslims in the middle East.

We have known this for a long time. But since men are unwilling to go perhaps God is bringing the mission field to us. And that is precisely the way to look upon these people--a mission field that needs to be reached with the Gospel.

@salzer mtn as posted on the bottom of page 2... "I have on my table a bowl of 10,000 M&M's. Ten of them are poison and cause immediate death. How many of you bleeding heart liberals are willing to grab a handful and wolf 'em down?"

This is a racist statement.
If you have 10,000 Baptists, ten of them will be poison, at least ten, and will cause spiritual death somewhere along the line.
If you have 10,000 Caucasians at least ten of them will be terrorists. How? Look in your own backyard. Mass school shootings, Blacks being shot by whites, Just the general crime. Examine it. It cannot all be attributed to the Muslim, and much of it is terror related.
So find an island somewhere in the Pacific and live alone far away from any outside influence. For all men have a sin nature. And you will be affected by the evil deeds of others no matter where you live.

Even in America you can't isolate yourself from Islam. It is one of the fastest growing religions within America, currently numbering over 3,250,000. That is far more than the 10,000 they are thinking of letting in.

How many muzzlms have you witnessed to in the last week? the last month?

None I hope.

How pitiful! You already have well over three million lost souls living in your nation that are Muslims and you don't care about their eternal destiny. How cruel and heartless can one be? Are we not placed here to be a witness to the world, ambassadors for our Lord? What is the problem? Jesus never promised safety in the Garden of Eden once we have salvation. We are to be a witness for Him while on this earth.

Consider: According to statistics compiled by the UN, between 2010 and 1015 the U.S. had a growth rate of 0.75% in their population. They are almost stagnant. The little population growth they did receive is no doubt due to their policy of allowing immigrants into the country, otherwise they would shrink up and die, for the selfish Americans don't think of anyone else but themselves and are not having children.
One of the answers to that problem, other than the obvious, is to preach the gospel and pray for revival among those immigrants and refugees that are coming in.

Another statement:

Muslims are antichrist pure and simple. so why would I want a antichrist living in my home or my country.

Every non-believer is against Christ. You are either against him or for him. There is no difference between bringing into this nation a Syrian refugee or an Irish Catholic. They are both unbelievers.

You can not change a muslim man. They play by different rules and answer to a different authority. The women and children answer to the men. They have their secrets and keep their home life private.

No, you can't change a Muslim man; but Christ can. Are you willing to allow him make that change?

And lastly:

ALL of them to me are rattlesnakes until proven otherwise.

It has been proven many times. If I give you the evidence will you accept it?

The "analogy" that sticks is they ALL pray to the East five times a day;

They don't all pray five times a day; only some of them do.

ALL of their women are completely covered except for their eyes or face retribution;

Where would you get this idea from? In the Islamic nation I returned from recently only 1-2% or the women were completely covered (that is wore a burkah), and only about 30% had their head covered (had their head covered). You are badly misinformed.

They ALL stand accused of being guilty should they be sexually assaulted;

ALL? Really? Whatever gave you that idea? Some of my good friends are Muslims. Even your own law says that a man is innocent until proven guilty. Do you not have respect for American law?

ALL of the men consider themselves as being above women in every day life. They "refuse" to be treated by a woman doctor even here in this country.

Do you know this from the experience you have had from the over three million Muslims now living in the U.S.A. Otherwise where do you get such mis-information?

I am certainly not willing to abuse ANY of them should they need food, water, medical treatment, housing, etc..., while being shipped home. America is not for anyone who refuses to assimilate.

Will you also ship home the 3,250,000 Muslims in your land that are already American citizens. How are you going to accomplish that? You must have great influence somewhere!

 

[MB]

@Don, you are exactly right. ALL of them to me are rattlesnakes until proven otherwise. The "analogy" that sticks is they ALL pray to the East five times a day; ALL of their women are completely covered except for their eyes or face retribution; They ALL stand accused of being guilty should they be sexually assaulted; ALL of the men consider themselves as being above women in every day life. They "refuse" to be treated by a woman doctor even here in this country

.
How many have you witnessed to. You seem to know their sins what about your own?.

[
I am certainly not willing to abuse ANY of them should they need food, water, medical treatment, housing, etc..., while being shipped home. America is not for anyone who refuses to assimilate.

You forget that diversity is what helped to win WWII. My example Navajo Indians called wind talkers.

[
Now, let me ask you this. How did our American Forces determine a North Korean from a South Korean during that conflict? What about Vietnam? How could you tell? Until proven otherwise any of them were capable of slitting your throat and not think one second about it.

You haven't a clue about either place you obviously weren't there.

[
These folks are our enemies until they prove otherwise and no, I don't apologize for my position here. In a news report the other night several thousand came charging over the border (over there) and completely consumed this little town. One woman was telling of them just coming right through their doors and into their homes taking whatever they wanted. It was total chaos. She was terrified. ...what if they had had weapons?

Diversification will destroy any nation just as we have been witnessing here in this country.

It's amazing just how ignorant you are. Hungry people will swarm any one with food. Children do the same. Desperate people do desperate things. Why are you surprised at that.
MB

 

[Zaac]

<SNIP>
But here is a serious one to start with:

We have known this for a long time. But since men are unwilling to go perhaps God is bringing the mission field to us. And that is precisely the way to look upon these people--a mission field that needs to be reached with the Gospel.

I have said this repeatedly during the many discussions of "illegal immigrants" on this board. We should be turning flips, just absolutely ecstatic that God would send unsaved souls to us.

Yet like clockwork, our own selfishness seems to take over and we start thinking about self and our stuff to be kept by us or to be passed on to our families.

It's this type of thing that has lead me to say REPEATEDLY that there are a lot of folks on here and throughout the evangelical church who care far more, by the testimony of their own words and actions, about politics nad their stuff than they do about the eternal souls of people.

It's sad.

 

[righteousdude2]

Amen...bless you.

Someone's alter ego just answered....