How should Christians approach the question of immigration? Given that those who profess faith in Christ span a great range of views on the subject, from Tim Farron to Tommy Robinson, it is by no means obvious what the “correct” answer might be.
Making the attempt is Tim Dieppe, writing for the Affinity church network in the latest edition of its Social Issues Bulletin. Dieppe argues that a distinction should be made between the responsibilities of the government and those of the individual believer.
The government has a duty to protect the nation, which definitionally means securing its borders, while ordinary Christians are commanded to love all who cross their path, both the native and the stranger.
He believes that Christians should join in calling on the government to protect the nation's borders and limit the number of migrants.
Dieppe states, “A government’s primary responsibility is to protect its citizens. This necessarily means limiting who can and cannot cross the border.
"The government has failed to do this for many years.
"Christians should join with others in calling for the government to properly control our borders for the good of the country, while at the same time loving, welcoming, evangelising and having compassion for all immigrants in our local communities.”
As well as basic questions of law enforcement and Christian love, Dieppe also looked at the thorny question of integration, citing the Casey report which found that public institutions were actively undermining efforts at integration, particularly with the Muslim community.
The report stated, “Too many public institutions, national and local, state and non-state, have gone so far to accommodate diversity and freedom of expression that they have ignored or even condoned regressive, divisive and harmful cultural and religious practices, for fear of being branded racist or Islamophobic.”
Muslim immigration, Dieppe notes, has presented particular challenges arising from attempts to set up sharia courts, impose effective blasphemy laws, and advance polygamy, in some cases even support terrorism. This contrasts sharply with large numbers of immigrants from Ukraine, Hong Kong, Nigeria and South Korea.
More broadly, assaults and sex crimes by migrants are widely reported in the mainstream media.
Dieppe writes, “Today no one will say that the problem has gotten any easier or that any sensible steps have been taken to improve integration. Instead, levels of immigration have increased to levels that almost everyone agrees are unsustainable.”
Despite the scale of the problem, there could be a silver lining in the opportunities for evangelism.
“Christians can see the immigration of Muslims to Britain as a fantastic evangelistic opportunity," says Dieppe.
"It can be very difficult or even dangerous to be a missionary in an Islamic country so it’s great that they are coming here where we can freely preach the gospel to them!”
He added, “Muslim immigrants are often disillusioned by what they have experienced of Islam in their counties of origin. This is a great opening for the gospel, and many churches are now seeing growing numbers of converts from Islam amongst migrant communities.”
Dieppe concluded his argument by calling on Christians to look to the Bible to guide both their individual response and ideas around government policy.
“The Bible has radical ideas that conform to neither left-wing nor right-wing simplistic ideologies. This is an opportunity for Christians to speak into a debate with compassion and conviction demonstrating the enduring relevance of Biblical principles," he said.
