An Open Letter to Franklin Graham
January 31, 2017
Mr Graham,
You recently gave an interview in Huffington Post in which you expressed your support of Donald Trump’s Executive Order on immigration. As we read it, you rest your support on two points: 1) We must keep our nation safe and we have laws to govern that, so the ban is no big deal; it makes sense. 2) The ban isn’t a Bible issue because the Scriptures (in particular the Christian Scriptures, including the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament) don’t say that a country has to let people into their land.
Regarding the legal matters, you are correct that we are 1) a nation and that 2) we have laws. We note also that we have a constitution and that our laws, including executive orders from the president, must pass constitutional muster. Beyond that, we note that the United States isn’t merely a nation of laws. We are also a nation of ideals—one of which is to care for the neediest of the world’s population. You yourself are involved in that effort.
But it’s your second point that pains us, because you speak not as a constitutional scholar or politician but as a Christian, indeed as a “reverend.”
You assert that this isn’t a “Bible” issue.
Except it is a Bible issue. It is literally a Bible issue. The Scriptures you so revere teach explicitly that God’s people are to “welcome the foreigner.” We are not merely commanded to care for them where they are, but to welcome them among us.
Jesus taught his disciples to love their neighbors, an instruction Jesus paired with the great commandment to love God. In fact this was Jesus’s way of summing up what it is to be his follower, to love God and love neighbor. It’s as if Jesus said, “Hey, I know you’re all likely to confuse things and make a mess of this Christianity thing, so let me boil it down for you. Do these two things. Love God and love your neighbor. And everyone, by the way, is your neighbor. Even your enemy—you’re to love them too! Any questions?”
Beyond that, the Christian Scriptures also have a word about “true religion.” In the Epistle of James, Christians are tutored about what it is to really be a follower of Christ. What indicates that you are? To take care of widows and orphans. I wonder how many of those are among the thousands of refugees you support banning from our shores?
Mr Graham, this is a “Bible” issue. Very much so. Whatever your politics, we have to be honest about what the Bible says.
You recently gave an interview in Huffington Post in which you expressed your support of Donald Trump’s Executive Order on immigration. As we read it, you rest your support on two points: 1) We must keep our nation safe and we have laws to govern that, so the ban is no big deal; it makes sense. 2) The ban isn’t a Bible issue because the Scriptures (in particular the Christian Scriptures, including the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament) don’t say that a country has to let people into their land.
Regarding the legal matters, you are correct that we are 1) a nation and that 2) we have laws. We note also that we have a constitution and that our laws, including executive orders from the president, must pass constitutional muster. Beyond that, we note that the United States isn’t merely a nation of laws. We are also a nation of ideals—one of which is to care for the neediest of the world’s population. You yourself are involved in that effort.
But it’s your second point that pains us, because you speak not as a constitutional scholar or politician but as a Christian, indeed as a “reverend.”
You assert that this isn’t a “Bible” issue.
Except it is a Bible issue. It is literally a Bible issue. The Scriptures you so revere teach explicitly that God’s people are to “welcome the foreigner.” We are not merely commanded to care for them where they are, but to welcome them among us.
Jesus taught his disciples to love their neighbors, an instruction Jesus paired with the great commandment to love God. In fact this was Jesus’s way of summing up what it is to be his follower, to love God and love neighbor. It’s as if Jesus said, “Hey, I know you’re all likely to confuse things and make a mess of this Christianity thing, so let me boil it down for you. Do these two things. Love God and love your neighbor. And everyone, by the way, is your neighbor. Even your enemy—you’re to love them too! Any questions?”
Beyond that, the Christian Scriptures also have a word about “true religion.” In the Epistle of James, Christians are tutored about what it is to really be a follower of Christ. What indicates that you are? To take care of widows and orphans. I wonder how many of those are among the thousands of refugees you support banning from our shores?
Mr Graham, this is a “Bible” issue. Very much so. Whatever your politics, we have to be honest about what the Bible says.
