xenophobia

Message / Question

Dave in wake of election results gotta question bout xenophobia what does the bible say about it? What do ya think about illegal immigration, refugees, racism, discrimination, the Tower of Babel, Israelites vs Philistines etc, "Canaanites"? What do ya say to people who say Christianity is a "rich white girls" religion?

Response

God is not xenophobic and we are told to love all and to make disciples of all people – so there’s no room for xenophobia, racism (in any form) or discrimination in that instruction that Jesus gave – Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth includes everyone. However, the question that you raise goes a long way further than simply being xenophobic, it deals with the right of a nation to determine who can become residents. In the Australian political system, the government of the day determines who and how many can come to reside in our nation and they set a certain number of refugees that they believe our nation can accommodate. The biggest difficulty that I have with this is the number of people who declare themselves as refugees and come through illegal means to our shores whilst many other refugees are waiting in “refugee camps” in other places for the opportunity to migrate to countries such as ours. In my opinion, the system would be much fairer if we determined the number of refugees that we can take and then take that number from refugee camps on a first come, first served basis – i.e. a “queue” system that allows the longest waiting to be the first to be given access to migrate to Australia. Those who come illegally, should be taken to replace those in the refugee camps who have migrated. It might seem harsh, however it decreases the likelihood of terrorists masquerading as refugees to gain access to our country and better serves those who have been waiting the longest.

Re Babel, Philistines, "Canaanites"etc, I suggest that you read my answer to a similar question at http://www.drdaves.website/#!God-and-Morality/c193z/575531860cf2cc77abf978ea Re people who say that Christianity is a "rich white girls" religion, it would be clear to me that they are unaware that one of the greatest “revivals” in history is currently unfolding in Africa, China and South America – places where there are very few girls who are rich OR white!