Robert Jeffress: Majority of Muslims Are 'Peace-Loving,' but It's Not Christians Carrying Out Terror Attacks
Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, said that while Christians cannot possibly look at the Syrian civil war crisis and not feel compassion for the people, that doesn't mean the United States should accept unvettable refugees.
Jeffress said in an interview with Stuart Varney on Fox Business on Wednesday that while he believes most Muslims are peace-loving, it's also true that radical Muslims, and not Christians, are the ones carrying out terror attacks.
"No Christian, no human being can look at the situation in Syria and not feel compassion for the suffering Syrians. There are many things we can do and should do as a nation, but allowing un-vettable refugees into our country is not one of them," the megachurch pastor said on Wednesday.
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"We have no idea who these people really are," he added, noting that his home state of Texas has pushed back against President Barack Obama's refugee resettlement program.
"Let's do whatever we can to help, without putting our own people at risk," Jeffress said.
The war in Syria, which according to some U.N. estimates has killed over 400,000 people, is being waged between the government of President Bashar Al-Assad, numerous Islamic rebel groups, and the Islamic State terror organization, which has captured cities across Iraq and Syria.
The civil war has caused millions of people to flee the region as refugees, and while the majority of them are living in camps in neighboring countries, many are also seeking refuge in Western Europe, Canada and the U.S.
Jeffress insisted that while the majority of Muslims are "peace loving individuals," the truth is that recent terror attacks in America, ranging from Fort Hood to San Bernardino to Orlando, "have not been committed by Christians shouting out 'Jesus Christ is great,' they have all been committed by radicalized Muslims shouting 'Allah is great.'"
As for what the U.S. can do to help in the situation in Syria, the pastor suggested that efforts need to go beyond accepting more refugees.
"We need to put pressure on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to quit assisting Assad in this massacre of Syrian people," he said, and called for Americans to elect a commander-in-chief who can deal effectively with IS.
Back in September, Jeffress called Obama's plan for the U.S. to admit 110,000 more refugees in 2017 "absolutely ludicrous."
"Why in the world would we allow undocumented Muslims to come into this country right now?" he asked.
"Obama's policy is not rooted in Christianity, it's rooted in insanity," Jeffress added.
Other prominent evangelical leaders, including Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren, have in the past said that Christians need to follow in Jesus' footsteps and help refugees.
"Why must we care about these refugees? Why must we care about foreigners? Why must we care about immigrants? What the Bible sometimes calls aliens, foreigners, strangers in the land? Because God commands it. All throughout Scripture, God says you are to treat people who are out of their country kindly," Warren said at the GC2 Summit at Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, back in January.
Warren also warned that despite the increasing urgency of the crisis, many people are choosing to ignore it, and are instead deciding to close down borders, which he argued is not the solution.
