Dennis P. Hollinger offers clear thinking and Biblical hope.
“As followers of Christ, we have no choice on this matter of immigration. In our churches and personal lives, we are called to love, show mercy, and bear witness to the Gospel for the immigrant sojourners in our midst.” This summarizes the foundation for an evangelical approach to addressing immigration policy presented by Dennis P. Hollinger in the December, 2020, issue of JETS (“The Role of Government and the Immigration Issue: A Christian Ethics Perspective”).
Dr. Hollinger argues a framework for rethinking immigration policy that is grounded in Scripture, informed by history and common sense, and more promising for beneficial outcomes than what currently exists.
He demonstrates from Scripture that the primary duties of government are to provide order, freedom, and justice – in a healthy and interaction – for all citizens. He then applies these principles to the question of immigration reform, offering helpful insights and guidelines for how to think more Christianly about this prickly subject.
He defines his terms concisely – order, freedom, and justice. He shows how thinkers from other periods have sought to apply these, and where they have gone wrong. He insists that these must always be considered together, or else the social fabric will fray and tear in one direction or another.
Dr. Hollinger does not try to solve the immigration issue, but he offers a broader and brighter foundation on which to discuss it. This is an article pastors should read and discuss together, to consider ways they and their churches might contribute to what will surely be an ongoing debate, and one that – apart from such suggestions as Dr. Hollinger makes – will continue to be rancorous, unfruitful, and hurtful to those strangers and sojourners who most need the order, freedom, and justice that this issue requires.