02-01-2017
Evangelist Franklin Graham says he supports
President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily barring refugees from
seven countries, saying it is the responsibility of the church, not the
government to come to the aid of refugees.
When asked about how Christians should
approach the subject, he told CBN News:
"Well, Jerusalem had walls...and it had
gates...and those gates were closed at night or when threats came, those gates
were closed and the walls were their borders. Listen, I have locks on my house
and it’s not because I’m angry at the people outside or I’m mad at them, but
because I love the people on the inside and at night I lock my doors."
Graham said it's necessary to give closer
scrutiny to all immigrants who want to come to America.
"We are a nation and we need to protect
our borders. There are threats today, that did not have even 10 years ago. We
need extreme vetting, not just for seven nations, we need extreme vetting for
everyone coming into this country and I don’t care what country you come from,
we should know who you are, what you stand for, what you believe. If you don’t
support our democracy and our freedom and the liberty that we cherish, don’t
come, you’re not welcome. And I think that should be for all people of all
nations, we need to be far more selective of who we allow into this country
we’ve had this open door policy for too long, we cannot afford it. It is at our
own peril if we continue that way."
However, Graham said in a recent Facebook post, that
Trump's policy by no means relieves Christians from the God-given duty to aid
refugees.
"The president's job is not the same as
the job of the church. As Christians we are clearly taught in the Bible
to care for the poor and oppressed," Graham wrote.
"As Christians we are commanded to help
all, regardless of religious background or ethnicity, like the Good Samaritan
Jesus shared about in the Bible. Our job is to show God's love and
compassion."
Graham says he supports safe zones in Syria
and Iraq that are protected by the international community until a political
solution is found. He says Christians should help provide for and manage those
refugee camps.
Since 2014, Operation
Blessing International has been in the war-torn areas of the
Middle East, supplying fresh food, bedding, diapers and other necessities to
refugees who were forced to flee their homes on a moment's notice.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman, in a telephone
call on Sunday with President Trump, agreed to support safe zones in Syria and
Yemen, a White House
statement said.
And in an interview with
CBN News, President Trump told CBN News Chief Political
Correspondent David Brody that Christian refugees fleeing from the Middle East
to America should take priority.
"They've been horribly treated. Do you
know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to
get into the United States? If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you
were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair, everybody
was persecuted in all fairness, but they were chopping off the heads of
everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair.
So we are going to help them," President Trump said.
Nevertheless, David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA,
an organization whose mission is to help Christian refugees, said in a
statement that he opposes President Trump's plan to prioritize Christians.
"We stand for a need-based resettlement
approach that treats all faiths equally. We can't support a religious test in
the United States, or in any other country. Policies akin to this drive
horrendous persecution of Christians around the globe. A process that
prioritizes one religion over another, as the Trump administration has
proposed, can have negative effects not just in America, but around the
world," Curry said.
On the other hand, Nina Shea, director of
the Hudson
Institute's Center for Religious Freedom said in a statement
that Christians should be prioritized.
"Of the 12,587 Syrian refugees admitted
under the ramped-up refugee program during the last fiscal year, a mere 0.5
percent were Christians, equivalent to about a dozen families. Yet, by State
Department estimates, Christians accounted for up to 10 percent of Syria's
population," Shea said.
"The State Department argued it was
already prioritizing the 'vulnerable minorities.' But in several aspects, the
Christians were in reality put at the back of the line," she said.
______________________________________
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