It's Not Unchristian to Be Worried About Refugee Resettlement in America, Religious Freedom Advocate Says
As many in America have voiced concern that the resettling of Syrian refugees and other refugees from the Middle East could put the safety of the nation at risk because it could allow for terrorists to access the country, World Relief asks, "What will rule our hearts — fear or compassion?" That question was posed in an advertisement for the new book Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis, which is co-authored by Soerens and World Relief President Stephen Bauman.
"There is this thing about 'Are we going to respond with fear or compassion?' I think that is a false dichotomy," McDonnell said. "I think that you can be compassionate and still have the appropriate concern about the situation. They challenge American Christians and churches to respond biblically with Christ-like compassion and not give into fear, which they insinuate is not only sinful but in some cases, they ridicule people for it."
McDonnell also took issue with a remark given by prominent megachurch Pastor Rick Warren, who said earlier this year that if Christians are not helping refugees, then "I doubt our Christianity."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Rick Warren saying that if we are not helping, he doubts our Christianity. I think that is really appalling," McDonnell said. "If we look at what is happening right now in Europe, is it really compassionate and Christian to subject Americans to that kind of nightmare, to the rape that is going on and the changing of the entire cultures?"
Although advocates for Syrian refugee resettlement say that the State Department's 18-month vetting process is adequate enough to keep terrorists out and keep the country safe, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., recently highlighted 20 examples of refugees who passed the State Department vetting process but were implicated in or convicted for terrorism or terrorism related offenses.
McDonnell warned that the Muslim appeasement happening in European countries should not be allowed to happen in America. Just recently, it was reported that wealthy citizens in Sweden have been asked to let newly arrived migrants stay in their own country homes.
"We are voluntarily becoming dhimmis (non-Muslims citizens in an Islamic state) to Islam and seeing ourselves as second-class citizens in our own countries because of this," McDonnell stressed.
McDonnell said that one of the things that shaped her opinion on the refugee resettlement issue was news that came out of Maine last year, when an African Christian man was slaughtered by Somali refugees.
"Maine is kind of crazy in that way, saying, 'Oh, we embrace refugees.' And then that is what happens because there is no sense of prudence about it at all," McDonnell added. "I would be interested to know which one of the VOLAGs had resettled those Somali refugees and if they had any concern or compassion for the man who died at their hands," McDonnell said.
Also, it was recently reported that an Iranian refugee in Maine became radicalized and left to join the Islamic State.
"There is enough evidence to say that at least part of this is people who are choosing to migrate as part of Islamic hegira, to spread Islam in the West and to work on behalf of groups like the Islamic State to build the caliphate around the world," McDonnell said. "You sound like a crazy person when you say that but that sounded crazy when people talked about a caliphate five years ago and here it is."
