Evangelicals: What is your stance on immigration?

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As I just tried to explain, it is not moral according to any code I recognise nor Christian to force the burden of immigration upon others, doubly so as the burden often falls upon impoverished and fragile communities, triply so when you aren't affected by immigration yourself, as is the case for so many pro-immigration moralisers.

Hi all.

I'm making this post just in case there are any evangelical Christians still here. I've noticed that some evangelical Christians have decided to side with Trump, despite his many gaping flaws.

What does the Bible say about Immigration? Well ... check out this verse.

"Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."
- Exodus 22:21

Now, let's look at which countries are the most Christian by population percentage. Is #1 America? No. Not even close.

Percentage of Americans Who Are Christian: 71%
Percentage of Romanians who are Christian: 98%
Greeks: 98%
Zambia: 97.5%
Democratic Republic of Congo: 95.7%
Peru: 95.6%
Guatemala: 95.2%
Mexico: 95% (Are Mexicans really that bad if they are so Christian?)
Poland: 94.3%
Ecuador: 94.1%
Colombia 92.5%

When I was younger and I left Christianity, I initially thought that the same information which deconverted me would also deconvert others. Over the years, my maturity has taught me that this is not the case. Some people are just closer to God than I ever was for some odd reason. I've come to terms with that. That's why I have generally given up on atheistic evangelism.

Here's what I haven't given up on: I haven't given up on the concept of moral consistency. I believe that, regardless of what you believe in, you should still be willing to learn and you should accept the implications of your moral code. Furthermore, I have firmly demonstrated that I am not a Democrat loyalist, nor am I any sort of party loyalist. I am loyal only to what I think is factually correct and to what I feel is morally right. I have no respect for party loyalists of any kind, which is why I have very little respect for the evangelicals who still lazily let the Republican Party do all of their thinking for them.

If you want to come up with a political system that embodies the message of the Bible, you need to look outside the mainstream parties, as well as the traditional left-right political spectrum. I have read the Bible. It's complicated, but, long story short, the Bible zig-zags back and fourth between what we could call right-wing and what we would call left-wing. The Bible is socially conservative and economically progressive for the most part, but that is still an oversimplification.

That brings me to the issue of immigration. Trump is man who hates people ... who come from a country that is more Christian than the United States. Christians are supposed to believe that God is a universal ruler who is above all other leaders, whether they be kings or presidents. Therefore, it makes no sense for a Christian to have any sort of party loyalty. In fact, many Christian leaders in the past have even argued that patriotism is a sin. That's why Hitler sent Jehovah's Witnesses to gas chambers.

So ... are you going to stand by as the President of the United States blatantly goes against the teachings of a book that (according to you) is flawless in every way?

Think about that.

There are a ton of Muslim immigrants where I live. I've never found them to be much of a problem.

Okay. You've made your stance. To you, Christianity and politics are separate from one another.

Tell me: Have you ever opposed abortion or sexual freedom on religious grounds?

... or do you only support the separation of church and state when I bring up the left-leaning parts of the Bible?

That's the point that I am trying to make. Anyone who uses the Bible to push for "sexual morality" should also use it to push for internationalism. I'm calling out dominionists on their hypocrisy.
If you reject dominionism, just say so. If the dominionists come back to WP, I'll link them to this thread.

Then perhaps evangelicals shouldn't be so quick to sling around the claim that America is a Christian nation.

If you want to fight Bible literalists and giggle when you find contradictions in a book that was not made to be read literally, that's fine, but that isn't the same as arguing against all Christianity, or arguing against Christian politicians, or theories created by Christian thinkers.

As I understand dominionism, that is attempting to create a society around laws, stories et al contained in the Bible? Sort of trying to turn the Bible into the Christian Koran? Well, I'm not that. But... I do want to live in a nation of Christians (which is not the same thing). It's not an instruction from the Bible, it's a selfish, rational thing. I don't want to live within a Muslim nation or an Atheist nation, or a violent, sectarian, multi-religious mess like some places in the world.

I’m an Evangelical. I side with Trump on immigration. And it has nothing to do with faith or morality.

All the “Christian” label means, hopefully, is the person has made a decision about Christ. It means nothing beyond that, except to say that because someone takes a stand on God he should, hopefully, be expected to behave differently than before conversion. He should at least WANT to be a different person.

Illegal immigration is a separate issue entirely, and your points really aren’t all that supportive.

First, illegal immigration is ILLEGAL. If you have a problem with it, change the law. This is a constant struggle in Congress, but it is on the table. Amnesty basically says rule of law doesn’t matter. So if they won’t respect one part of the law, what exceptions will be made for other laws?

I’m not saying that the laws aren’t unjust and can’t be obeyed, such as with the civil rights movement. But there again, laws were struck down, rewritten, and newly passed to fix civil rights. I’m not debating what if anything should be done for immigration, but I think we all agree SOMETHING has to change.

Second: it’s a matter of national security. No, not all illegals are “bad actors” aside from breaking immigration law. But the presence and influence of those who are is well-known and widely felt throughout the country. Human trafficking, drug trafficking, organized crime, violence...not to mention they are being abused for cheap labor that could be better provided at appropriate pay rates for US citizens. Plus their earnings are often sent home to support their families. Nothing wrong with that in principle, it’s just that means there’s no flow of money back into US communities where we can benefit.

Third: more illegals to maintain a permanent underclass represents a greater power base for leftists. Another illegal who might have a vote under amnesty = another leftist voter, which is attractive to the left. We don’t really care about the immigrant or what we can do for poor people. We just care about shoring up our political career. As an Evangelical, I do sympathize with the poor, the desperate, the hungry. And it’s appalling to me that leftists are so eager to manipulate and abuse these people just for the sake of playing politics.