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The Whelming Flood

Frank
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness…
His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
-‘The Solid Rock’, Charlie Hall

Warning! Do not continue to read if you are not doctrinally and politically open-minded!

I was recently reading about another blogger’s baptism and it got me thinking about my own. I remember friends standing out in the cold (I was baptized in February in a creek) praising God and embracing me. I remember my “good confession”. And of course I remember the frigid water. I was raised religious, considered myself a “good person”, and had many doubts about whether I even needed to do this. But as I stood in that cold water I was overcome by sense of peace and resolve. I knew I was going to be raised up from that water a new creation filled with the Holy Spirit. But I wasn’t expecting what would happen while I was under the water.

Naturally at a time such as this, when so many eyes upon me taking such a momentous action, thoughts flooded my mind. Thoughts of family and friends, thoughts of sins encouraged and sins rejected, thoughts of what may happen next. And as I was dunked under the water all those thoughts rushed through my mind, much like my life flashing before my eyes. I’ve heard similar accounts from others after their baptisms, some more vivid than others. But each experienced some kind of “life flashing before your eyes” in a very spiritual while also very real sense.

Ok, so maybe you’re uncomfortable with my putting so much spiritual weight on a “sacrament”. I’m not going to get into any doctrinal or theological debates on this subject right now, but I want you to be in the same frame of mind I was in.

I was encouraged by these thoughts, and they continued through the day. I even had the above song (or at least the quoted verse) playing over and over through my head. Until lunch when I read an article that included the video below. Now here’s your warning. The subject of the article? Waterboarding.

Ok, maybe I’m a little crazy relating baptism to waterboarding. But like I said, this was my frame of mind. So as I watched the following video I was thinking about what must have been going through his mind. As I was immersed under water, unable to breathe, spiritually sacrificing my life, the above thoughts and feelings flooded over me. Imagine having a towel placed over your head and water poured over you. But instead of peace, you feel panic, instead of your spiritual life flashing before your eyes, your physical life passes before your eyes in the very real sense that this may be the end. In both cases, it is the end of your life as you’ve come to know it.

Christopher Hitchens brings up a good point in this interview- if you have some “intelligence” to share, you feel a sense of overwhelming betrayal, and if you don’t, you have no hope because there would be no end to the flood. So I wondered how a Christian, at peace with his or her convictions and looking forward to a home that is not of this world, would react to waterboarding (remember, Hitchens is an atheist). But at the same time, wouldn’t a Muslim feel much the same way? It’s not as if their convictions are weaker. And while they don’t practice baptism in the Christian sense, they do practice ceremonial washing (much like in the Jewish faith on which baptism is derived) called Ghusl.

I guess my point is, the feelings of drowning and claustrophobia induced by waterboarding may remind one of baptism or Ghusl, but it does not end. You are not brought back up. Peace is replaced by panic. Yet, does a “true believer” respond differently than a non-believer? If you have no hope going in, I would expect the feeling of hopelessness. But what about Christian martyrs who suffered joyfully under all sorts of torture? Should we expect any different from a Muslim who is firm in their faith? It just seems to me, in hindsight after watching this video, that this method of torture wasn’t well thought out. But that’s just me.

I want to add that I’ve been blissfully ignorant about all of this. Yeah, I’d hear about this on the news and see it dramatized in movies, but I’ve never given it a second thought. This video was made two years ago. I saw it yesterday.

Flashback Friday: Flight of the Navigator

Frank

***Originally posted June 10, 2009 after Air France flight 447 crashed into the ocean on its way from Rio to Paris. Reposted as the second black box was found and details begin to emerge. The most chilling detail so far: the plane stalled and literally fell out of the sky in 4 minutes before crashing. 4 minutes. That’s a long time to think about your fate.***

“Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of carelessness, incapacity, or neglect. ” -Anonymous

I first read the above quote in one of the many articles I’ve read on the Air France disaster. Sadly, this event reminds us just how unforgiving flying can be. Yesterday, airlines replaced the speed sensors suspected to have been the cause of the accident even though the “black box” hasn’t been found and there’s limited information from data sent from the plane prior to its crash. These are experts in aviation however, who have reached this conclusion. So I trust they know what they’re talking about.

And I can understand, even relate. Imagine you’re the pilot of this plane: you’re flying over the ocean, you can’t see any landmarks and you’re surrounded by blue, above and below. Your sensors then give you conflicting readings of your speed. You’re cruising, not climbing, so you don’t have a physical sense of how fast you really are going. There’s nothing on the ground or on the horizon to relate your speed with. You have no choice but to trust your instruments.

This had to have been extremely difficult for the pilot. I was once handed the controls of a plane and had the pleasure of experiencing aviation beyond the textbook. We were approaching a mountain peak when the guy I was with told me to climb to a certain altitude. I thought the peak was a long ways off, but sure enough, by the time I reached that altitude I could tell the peak was right there. It’s very difficult to judge distance, and therefore speed, from the air.

“Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.” -Martin Luther King

Spiritually, it’s also very difficult to judge not only how fast we’re going but also where we’re going. How do we know we’re doing alright with our relationship with God? How do we know we’re making the right decision when given choices? How do we know we’re honoring God when we seize opportunities and not honoring ourselves? We can’t trust our own instruments. If we do, we’re likely to crash. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9)

Thank God we don’t have to rely on our own navigation. He gives us a guide, a navigator. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.'” (Is 30:21) We can trust the Holy Spirit when our instruments fail. I pray that as many as possible on that flight had a navigator they could trust.

See Y’all Tomorrow!

Frank

That is, I assume if you’re reading this you’re a Christian. In which case I’ll wave to you as we’re passing through the clouds. And if you’re not, well it sucks to be you.

In case you haven’t heard, the world is ending tomorrow. I couldn’t quite figure out why tomorrow, but Matt at The Church of No People ran the math and it now makes perfect sense. Comforting to me, is seeing who’s behind this. No, tomorrow’s series finale isn’t news to me, but this article was the first I’ve seen that connected tomorrow’s big event to the same prediction back in 1994. I vividly remember that day. Some friends and I were in our school’s library at the prescribed hour watching the news for something, anything, to indicate there might be a hint of truth to that prediction. There wasn’t any. Of course, like most predictions of this kind, when the end of the world does not come the reason is usually some kind of math error: “I forgot to carry the one.” (Or “I forgot to check Jesus’ words that I wouldn’t know the day or the hour. That’s what I get for only reading Revelation and Tim LeHaye.”)

There is legitimate reason for concern, of course. This article from Slate sums up all the disasters around the world that could give us pause, or at least remind us of our own mortality and fragility. These are called “Black Swan” events, where the consequence is so high it would be catastrophic, yet the probability is so low that it shouldn’t keep us from getting out of bed in the morning.

At least that article is based on good science. I got home yesterday with a flier in my door warning me of the end of the world. Not tomorrow, necessarily, but sometime in the near future. Their reasoning isn’t global warming which was dismissed as being a political distraction from the real issue- Solar Flares. Yep. All the earthquakes, flooding, and tornados recently are because of solar flares. And the solar panels being installed all around town, especially at our local schools, are to protect those facilities from the oncoming devastation. I didn’t know that’s what solar panels were. I thought they were for, like, producing electricity or something. I also didn’t know that there were shadows on the moon that cause explosions that could destroy the Earth and that they just started happening, like last week!

If you look at my Twitter profile, I describe myself as a “space geek”. That’s not in an amateur astronomer kind of way, but in a I-do-this-for-a-living kind of way. I couldn’t believe the bad-science this church was promoting. Of course the motivation of it all was to get right with Jesus. I guess if solar flares motivate your relationship with Christ, more solar power to you.

When faced with the end of the world, or our impending death, many consider what they’d do if they only had a couple hours, days, weeks to live. A “bucket list” so to speak. Recently when putting together notes for my Crazy Love small group, I turned the question around into a personal gut-punch. The question isn’t what you’d do if you only had one day to live (spend more time with family, tell my boss what I really think, etc) but rather what would you do if you knew that in one day you would be face to face with the Creator of the Universe. Different question entirely. And the reality is, good or bad science, end-times theology or not, we all have to face that question because that moment could come at any

time. (Made you think I raptured, didn’t I)

(One final note. In the NYT article above, a few say they’ll be waiting for Jesus’ return by being “glued to our TV sets, waiting for the Resurrection and earthquake from nation to nation.” Yep, nothing looks more like following Jesus than watching TV. If I really believed the world was going to end tomorrow, I’d be out sharing the Gospel until the moment Jesus comes back. I wouldn’t be watching the news for reasons to gloat. I’m sorry, but that attitude ticks me off.)

Conspiracy Theory

Frank

Put on your tinfoil hat! You know the story, someone in authority makes a claim and you don’t believe it because of your own personal convictions. Experts come out and support the claim, but you still cannot believe it. People who would have an interest in discrediting the claim come out and support the claim, but you still will not believe it. Documents are produced that validate the claim, but you question if they are real. You are convinced there is more to the story.

In today’s Internet Age, you can log in online to discussion forums, user groups, and social media pages to support any idea out there. So it doesn’t take long to find others who believe like you do. They too do not believe the claims being made. In a virtual version of groupthink, you begin to believe these strangers, only because they subscribe to the same skepticism as you. So together you weave an elaborate explanation to dispute the claim. You have now come up with your own Conspiracy Theory.

This scenario played out in my mind when thinking about “birthers” and President Obama’s claims regarding his nationality. Honestly, I haven’t paid much attention to this debate. I figure if there was something to it, someone more credible than Donald Trump would come out exposing it. And so I read this article earlier in the week, mainly because I saw Trump’s interview and couldn’t believe my ears. I clicked the link more out of curiosity than expectation of any real “scoop”.

The article follows the outline of the first paragraph: a claim is made by the President, experts validate the claim, and even someone who would have an interest in discrediting the claim comes out to support it. It’s that last one, from then-governor of Hawaii, Republican Linda Lingle, that got my wheels turning. Here is the quote that got my attention:

“Why would a Republican governor — who was stumping for the other guy — hold out on a big secret?”

In a few days, Newsweek will put out their annual issue questioning some aspect of Christianity by interviewing some hand-picked “expert”. It has become a tradition for them to release this issue right before Easter. There have been articles on Mary, the Jesus Seminar, the evolution of Christology to name a few. But I don’t know if they have dared to tackle the biggest conspiracy theory of them all- the death, burial, and resurrection of this man called Jesus. Which is ironic, because that is what Christians celebrate Easter for in the first place.

There are many conspiracy theories one could attribute to the events 2000 years ago: the “swoon” theory, paying off the Roman guards, the Apostles stealing the body, questioning whether the events even happened at all.

But just like the birther claims, these theories fall apart when faced against expert testimony, documentation, and the inaction of those who would have an interest in squelching the claims. John’s testimony that when Jesus’ side was pierced blood and water flowed out, is consistent with what medical experts would expect to happen to someone suffering suffocation and heart failure. A fact John, nor anyone else at the time, would have had the knowledge to make up. The main characters of the story and the methods used are corroborated by historians. Josephus, a Jewish historian and Roman sympathizer, substantiated the events as described, including calling out Jesus by name, only a generation later. Most importantly, the Romans ruled over Jerusalem with an iron fist. If there was an uprising based on some false claim of someone coming back from the dead, they would’ve done everything possible to put an end to it with evidence to the contrary. Both the Romans and Jewish authorities responded to this fledgling religion called Christianity by putting to death anyone who claimed Jesus rose from the dead because that was the only way they could. They had no evidence to discredit the foundation of Christianity. Yet they were unsuccessful in covering up this conspiracy theory that remains two thousand years later. That’s a lot of staying power for something that’s not true. So maybe there’s something to it.

“…blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29)

Weekend Reading, 16 October

Frank

I’m going to do things a little differently this weekend. The headline-of-the-week prior to the rescue of the Chilean miners was on suicide and bullying. So this week’s theme continues that subject, with emphasis on how Christians treat the LGBT community and also include some posts on depression.

  • To begin, I want to repost this link from Matthew Paul Turner, simply because I don’t think we can read this enough. At some point, we need to look at how the church addresses those who are different for whatever reason. And a quick Google blog search shows many churches (surprisingly voices from the Mormon and Catholic churches are prominent)
  • Jason Boyett follows up by sharing a couple of posts over at Beliefnet on the LGBT experience. If we want to relate, and we want to have sympathy, we need to hear their story.

But they aren’t the only victim of bullies. Outcasts for any reason, looks, athletic ability or lack thereof, scholastic or musical aptitude, and so on are easy targets for bullies who resort to that means to justify feeling superior. And the end result is often depression.

  • Over at the Internet Monk, Jeff Dunn wonders what a church was thinking putting “Depression is Selfish” on their church sign.
  • But we can choose whether to be better or bitter when faced with adversity. While Michael Perkins intends this for any adversity, it applies just as well to bullying and rejection.
  • And if we wonder where is God in all of this, Jerad Wilson reminds us that we have to believe there are reasons that He allows suffering.
  • If you have a personal experience battling depression or being around those who have, Alise is looking for your story.

So what do we do? Good question.

  • Mike Ellis asks the same, which inspired this great response from Katdish. And ultimately what inspired me to post this today.
  • Tom Pounder gives suggestions on what to do if bullying is present in your ministry.
  • The bottom line though is that God does not reject us, so we cannot reject others. Good thoughts from David Rupert at Red Letter Believers.

Suicide is one route taken from these victims. Just as tragic is when the pain is directed outwards instead of inwards. We need to be reminded of what happened with Matthew Murray and pray we can learn from this and the posts above and not repeat past mistakes. Have a great weekend, practice compassion, and reach out to someone who needs it.

I’ve Had Enough!

Frank

Skimming the headlines lately isn’t just depressing, it’s disturbing. Denver Broncos receiver Kenny McKinley. Restaurateur Joseph Cerniglia. Rutgers student Tyler Clementi. 13 year-old Seth Walsh. They say celebrity deaths happen in threes. But front-page suicides don’t seem to follow that rule. 34,000 Americans commit suicide every year. I wonder if our 24-hour news cycle, instant online access to information, and social media run amok has caused that number to increase recently. Each of the examples above suffered from over-exposure, desired or not.

Then there are those cases that don’t get the headlines. How many others don’t we hear about? How many crack under the pressures of the present economy? How many succumb to their addictions? How many crumble under the weight of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving our country? How many others just can’t take it anymore?

Elijah had enough. He just saw a great victory as God answered his prayers and rained fire down in spite of the prophets of Baal. That upset the status quo however, and he was now a wanted man. “’I have had enough LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.'” (1 Kings 19:4-5)

God was still present, even in his time of despair. But he had to go out to see Him. (v 7-13)

Jonah was depressed because God forgave Ninevah, a hated enemy of Israel. “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 4:3) and later “I am angry enough to die.” (v 9)

God reminded Jonah to not be upset over things he had no control; that God was in control and He knows what is best. (v 10-11)

Would these examples have helped those above? I don’t know. In some cases, I highly doubt it. But they help me.

Chuck Salser recently posted on “going boom“. I commented that he described me perfectly. Thursday night I blew up. I’ve been continually irritable at work recently and even more irritable at home. I’m sure I’m not pleasant to be around right now. I’ve had enough! Enough of what, I don’t know.

Maybe it’s the change of seasons. Maybe it’s the start of the school year, turning my routine upside down. Or maybe I’m just missing what’s most important.

I need to take the lesson from Elijah and go out to seek God personally. I need to take the lesson from Jonah and not get upset over things I cannot control. I need to listen to Chuck and not let my anger boil over. Bottom line, I need to keep in mind the things of God and not the things of this world.

Just as importantly, I need to share this with others. Sadly we often do not know who is suffering in this way until it is too late. An encouraging word. A hug. Sharing from the Word of God. Who knows what effect this would have on a stranger, a friend, unless we stop and do it. That requires us to stop focusing on our own problems and seek to serve others.

My question this week:

Have you had enough? And if so, what are you doing about it?

This post is participating in Bridget Chumbley’s Blog Carnival. This week’s topic: Healing. Be sure to visit for additional insight and inspiration.

Weekend Reading, 11 September

Frank

I’m going to bypass my usually lengthy roundup of the week and instead direct you towards other compilations.

My recommended reading from last week is just one. On this day, for what all it means, we need to be reminded that monsters are real. Thank you Billy Coffey for such a terrific post.

God bless you all this weekend. Please say a prayer in remembrance of September 11, that the Prince of Peace will come to bring everlasting peace and that we may find what temporary peace there may be until He comes

The Stones Cry Out

Frank

Tuesday I used the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile as a metaphor for building on the solid ground of Jesus. Truth is, I didn’t have to use those examples; there have been plenty to choose from. This year alone, there have been eight earthquakes of Magnitude 6 or higher, claiming almost a quarter of a million lives. In 2009 there were 52, killing over 1700 (the difference in casualties was that many of these were deep ocean and 90% of this year’s fatalities were from the Haiti quake alone). These numbers have led many to believe that the End is nigh, that Christ’s return is imminent.

There’s good Biblical reason for such fears. A search in BibleGateway for earthquake yields 17 results in the NIV, and all but the exceptions of the LORD’s appearance to Elijah, Jesus’ death and resurrection, and Peter’s escape from prison involve God’s coming wrath. Some examples:

“The LORD Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire.” (Isaiah 29:6)

“Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.”(Revelation 16:18)

However, before Jesus warned us that “[n]ation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven,” he also cautioned us “do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” (Luke 21:9-11) While it is in our nature to speculate, Jesus also reminds us that “No one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 25:36)

The access to instant information afforded us by the Internet brings events to our attention that might otherwise go unnoticed. For example, this week it was reported that an April earthquake in Baja California moved the city of Calexico two and a half feet. I was in Boston last week and arrived right after an earthquake hit in Ottawa. The 5.0 earthquake was felt throughout New England. I come from earthquake country and when I think of the Northeast, the last thing I think about is an earthquake. Yet Ottawa experiences earthquakes of similar magnitude every “four or five years” and several hundred small earthquakes along the Logan faultline in Quebec strike every year.

Maybe we’re too sensitive to the news that’s reported. There’s no shortage of “wars and rumors of wars” that’s for sure. And with Hurricane Katrina still fresh in our minds, we’re aware of every hurricane predicted and tracked. In fact, as I type this ‘Alex’ has been downgraded from a hurricane to just a tropical storm even though three lives have already been lost and thousands evacuated. Is any of this unusual though?

Of the 15 largest earthquakes in the last century, four have been this decade. Yet with the exception of the 1920s and 1980s, there have been roughly 10 earthquakes 8.0 or larger each decade since the turn of the last century. Yes, the first decade of the 21st Century saw more than most with 13, but it’s not necessarily out of the norm. (The earthquake data at usgs.gov is a lot of fun to pour through if you’re a data nerd like me)

So I’m not concerned. Yes, I live in earthquake country and am looking forward to my ocean-front property when the Big One hits, but other than earthquake drills and keeping a disaster kit handy, there’s not much else I can do. Spiritually, I need to keep oil in my lamp as Jesus instructs and live as though he is returning today. But I find comfort in Elijah’s experience:

“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:11-12)

The Stones Cry Out

Frank

Tuesday I used the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile as a metaphor for building on the solid ground of Jesus. Truth is, I didn’t have to use those examples; there have been plenty to choose from. This year alone, there have been eight earthquakes of Magnitude 6 or higher, claiming almost a quarter of a million lives. In 2009 there were 52, killing over 1700 (the difference in casualties was that many of these were deep ocean and 90% of this year’s fatalities were from the Haiti quake alone). These numbers have led many to believe that the End is nigh, that Christ’s return is imminent.

There’s good Biblical reason for such fears. A search in BibleGateway for earthquake yields 17 results in the NIV, and all but the exceptions of the LORD’s appearance to Elijah, Jesus’ death and resurrection, and Peter’s escape from prison involve God’s coming wrath. Some examples:

“The LORD Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire.” (Isaiah 29:6)

“Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.”(Revelation 16:18)

However, before Jesus warned us that “[n]ation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven,” he also cautioned us “do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” (Luke 21:9-11) While it is in our nature to speculate, Jesus also reminds us that “No one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 25:36)

The access to instant information afforded us by the Internet brings events to our attention that might otherwise go unnoticed. For example, this week it was reported that an April earthquake in Baja California moved the city of Calexico two and a half feet. I was in Boston last week and arrived right after an earthquake hit in Ottawa. The 5.0 earthquake was felt throughout New England. I come from earthquake country and when I think of the Northeast, the last thing I think about is an earthquake. Yet Ottawa experiences earthquakes of similar magnitude every “four or five years” and several hundred small earthquakes along the Logan faultline in Quebec strike every year.

Maybe we’re too sensitive to the news that’s reported. There’s no shortage of “wars and rumors of wars” that’s for sure. And with Hurricane Katrina still fresh in our minds, we’re aware of every hurricane predicted and tracked. In fact, as I type this ‘Alex’ has been downgraded from a hurricane to just a tropical storm even though three lives have already been lost and thousands evacuated. Is any of this unusual though?

Of the 15 largest earthquakes in the last century, four have been this decade. Yet with the exception of the 1920s and 1980s, there have been roughly 10 earthquakes 8.0 or larger each decade since the turn of the last century. Yes, the first decade of the 21st Century saw more than most with 13, but it’s not necessarily out of the norm. (The earthquake data at usgs.gov is a lot of fun to pour through if you’re a data nerd like me)

So I’m not concerned. Yes, I live in earthquake country and am looking forward to my ocean-front property when the Big One hits, but other than earthquake drills and keeping a disaster kit handy, there’s not much else I can do. Spiritually, I need to keep oil in my lamp as Jesus instructs and live as though he is returning today. But I find comfort in Elijah’s experience:

“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:11-12)

Flashback Friday: Sanctuary

Frank

***Originally posted in September 2007. Updated because of the recent immigration law passed in Arizona which will likely be challenged by the Administration.***

Do you remember Elvira Arellano? She was an illegal immigrant who made headlines in fall of 2007 for claiming sanctuary in a Chicago church. This headline led me to study my Bible about the role of sanctuary cities and a word study on refuge. Then time flied and I never finished that study. At the time, the debate over illegal immigration died down, although as current (2010) headlines show the debate never went away. But that post then (2007) wasn’t going to be about her, but about what role should our churches play in this debate?

Also in the fall of 2007, the city of Simi Valley sent a bill of $40,000.00 to a local church for the police required to keep order during a protest outside their doors. The protest wasn’t organized by them, wasn’t planned by them, and really wasn’t even participated in by them. But the rationale was that since their actions, by allowing an illegal immigrant to seek refuge in their church, they incited the protest and that they should be the ones held responsible. Yeah, that made perfect sense.

If this would have held up, it would have set a dangerous precedent for the church. Would a church be held financially responsible if there’s a protest on their stance against homosexuality? Or what if a synagogue is vandalized with anti-Semitic tagging, would you hold them responsible? At the time, most agreed that this was an infringement on that church’s First Amendment right and a ploy to passive-aggressively stake their ground on the illegal immigration debate.

But that wasn’t really the point of this either. Is this something we, the church, Christ’s ambassadors, should be getting involved in? There’s no legal standard for a church being a sanctuary for fugitives. Rather it’s an unwritten rule, kind of like fighting on Holy Ground in Highlander. But what’s the history behind it? Obviously our country began as a refuge for many seeking religious freedom. The motivation behind the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment was to keep the government from dictating a state religion so any faith could be practiced freely. Churches were central as sanctuaries pre-abolition just as they were involved during the Civil Rights Movement. So there’s historical precedent. But is there Biblical precedent?

When settling in Israel, the refugees from Egypt were given instructions by God to set aside “sanctuary cities”. These were cities where one could flee if accused of murder so that their case could be heard by the elders before they were killed in revenge. The fine print though, was that they had to be innocent. Romans instructs us that we should obey the law of the land because every authority on Earth is there but for the grace of God. So is it right for a church to be a sanctuary for someone breaking the law, even if we don’t agree with that law?

Another refugee from authorities wrote many Psalms about God being his only refuge. David was being hunted down and though he lived in caves and some towns let him hide, he knew that his only refuge was God Almighty.

But we are also commanded not to “oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.” (Exodus 23:9) And let’s not forget about the Good Samaritan, a foreigner. We also read in James, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16)

So what should we do? Where’s the line between giving to a “foreigner” in need and giving them employment? Where’s the line between being sympathetic to illegal immigrants and offering your church as a sanctuary? First, we need to heed to existing laws. Second, we need to reach out to meet the needs of those who are here illegally. They’re here for a reason, after all; Mexico is an absolute mess between its economy, political corruption, and rampant violence between rival drug lords. Finally third, we need to be careful not to skate on the thin ice of the hot political topic du jour. We need to let our lights shine, be the salt of the earth, and represent Christ in all we do. My question for all those “safe churches”, are you doing everything you can to help the immigrant you’re harboring to get on a path to citizenship? What are the circumstances of him or her facing deportation (immigration officers have their hands too full to want to deport someone ‘just because’)? Or are you just seeking headlines?

Yes, families are affected, and depending on where you live chances are there’s someone in your congregation who is here illegally. But the church as an institution exists to meet the needs of its parishioners. In this case, that means helping them gain citizenship, legally. Sanctuary in the Bible requires innocence, and unfortunately none of us on either side of this debate are wholly innocent.