Stories about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dominate the news. A rhetoric of fear and uncertainty and the premonitions of violence and disorder that these stories carry makes it increasingly difficult to look at the issue through a Christian lens. Eastern’s motto of faith, reason and justice, however, can provide a Christian interpretative lens for thought and conversation about current events. As Christian college students, how does our faith inform our understanding and conversation about ICE?
Steven Boyer of the theology department at Eastern University talked about the Christian duty to God before man. He said, “Biblically and traditionally [as in, the Christian tradition] there is a role for government in securing the safety of the population, securing borders” and a mandate for obeying government authority (for example 1 Peter 2:13). However, Boyer went on to say, “it may be that, in my concrete interactions with the world, there are times when I need to resist authority and need to be ready to suffer the consequences.” As Christians, we ought to first and foremost, “obey God and not man” (Acts 5:29).
In a situation where we must resist authority, how can we resist in a Christian way? One place to begin might be a focus on the image of God, the humanity in other people around. In Boyer’s words, we can look to the “humanizing factors in the midst of political uproar. That is exactly what Christians should be doing. The image of God… can remind people of the humanness of those around them.”
Focusing on the image of God is important because the rhetoric and fear mongering surrounding stories in the news can lead to dehumanizing whole demographics of people. Jonathan Reimer of the history department at Eastern reflected that he is “really troubled by the way that language functions in some of these debates. When people talk about ‘illegals,’ [that language is] profoundly dehumanizing.” Linguistically reducing immigrants to illegals and aliens (or even stronger language, like criminals, rapists, drug lords, etc.) denies a whole group of people their humanity.
“As Christians,” Reimer said, “we ought to resist anyone whose language seems to be obscuring the image of God…. [when] we say, ‘this isn’t really a person,’ [that is] profoundly un-Christian.”
A Christian approach makes an effort to recognize the humanity of dehumanized people. Cathleen Saunders, a sophomore at Eastern who is very involved with service clubs on campus said, “In the experiences I’ve had leading a ministry, focusing on humanity is a big defining factor… not putting labels that people have given them… [but rather] seeing people as having dignity and worth.”
This means encountering individuals personally, not abstractions, and seeing each person as someone whom God has commanded us to love. Saunders recommends staying grounded in the question: “How can I care for you?”
“The idea is to focus on what people need,” she said. “Regardless of what happens at a federal level, [we can focus on] the local level and serving my neighbor.”
How can I serve my neighbor on the local level? Saunders suggested a few action steps for students at Eastern. Step one is “to be educated” on current events, so we are “not making blind decisions.” Along with this step is “to understand what Scripture says. What the Bible says is kind of our basis.” Therefore, an education on current events and understanding of Scripture come first. Keeping up with the news and studying Scripture can help guide us towards helpful and godly behavior.
Reimer talked about a few concrete ways to educate ourselves, beyond reading the news and the Bible. First, as students at Eastern, we should be “aware of what the university has said.” He mentioned the email sent out by Public Safety, offering “Community Guidance Regarding Federal Agent Inquiries.” Students should be up to date on the guidelines the university has offered. Second, we have an “obligation to educate ourselves in terms of organizations that are combatting this,” like local churches and Philadelphia based organizations. Along with this, Reimer recommends education on boycott movements to “put pressure on organizations” which have responded unethically to ICE operations. Reimer emphasized we need to mobilize on a group level, because “as individuals, we can feel very disempowered.”
Saunders also encouraged service on a community level. This means “getting involved in conversations,” she said. Conversation includes “hearing other people’s points of view: not demeaning, but rather seeking to understand.” Conversation does not have to be all about discernment, however. It also means making a public statement. Like Reimer, Saunders recommends “finding a local organization or group and getting involved in marches or peaceful protests.”
Saunders pointed out, “As college students, we are in a unique position. The world is looking at us. Use your voice,” Saunders urged. “Let’s bear witness to what’s going on, to people’s stories.”
Storytelling, and bearing witness to people’s stories, is another way of combatting the dehumanizing narrative. dehumanization. Saunders described a trip “down to the border where I got to hear first hand what people have gone through. It shifted my perspective…. suddenly it’s not ten thousand people; suddenly it’s a mom with a kid.”
Reimer talked about something similar, stating we understand the issue differently “when we start to see people that are actively affected by – this a child that they’re taking from his school or this is someone that I know that has a family member, etc.”
Chaplain Joseph B. Modica said, “it’s complicated because these conversations are often seen through a binary lens (either/or) rather than a multi-layered way (both/and).” Modica then pointed to a recent chapel message by Gregory Thompson.
In the chapel message, Thompson describes the role of the church to “bear witness to the truth for the good of our neighbors.” Thompson retells the story of Cain and Abel and emphasizes God’s words: “Cain, what have you done? I heard your brother’s blood crying out from the ground.” Thompson posited that Christians have the role to bear witness to and keep remembrance of the suffering of the people around us. He said: “The Christian church has the responsibility to… bear prophetic witness.”
This chapel message could be applied to current events. The Christian church has the responsibility to tell the stories of individuals who are suffering. The Christian church has the responsibility to tell the truth about violence and human rights violations that are swept under the rug. The Christian church has the responsibility to not just witness but bear witness. A Christian witness is not a passive witness, but rather a martyric witness. As a Christian, you should not just watch suffering passively, but rather should actively seek to relieve that suffering – even if that means taking the suffering on yourself.
Finally, Saunders said that Christians have a role of hope. We ought to “encourage one another,” according to Saunders. “There is a lot of darkness,” Saunders admitted. “But it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
Similarly, Boyer noted that “the two sides at their worst are not trying to seek truth or balance or wisdom… so almost inevitably we’ll be in a situation where that’s unpredictable and uncontrolled.” But Boyer noted for us, as Christians, that means it is a “time to be holy, holy in a public way, ready to suffer in public.” Now is the time to have no fear, but rather to trust in Christ and to remain on His holy path.
