{"id":5451,"date":"2017-01-30T12:37:42","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T17:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/?p=5451"},"modified":"2017-01-30T12:37:42","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T17:37:42","slug":"refugee-ban-perhaps-christians-misunderstood-salvation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2017\/01\/refugee-ban-perhaps-christians-misunderstood-salvation.html","title":{"rendered":"How Do Christians Support a Refugee Ban?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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\"bible<\/a>by Crystal St Marie Lewis<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Nearly five years ago, I wrote in an essay called \u201cKingdoms, Afterlives and Political Shenanigans<\/a>\u201d that one of mainstream Christianity\u2019s fundamental flaws is found in its teaching about personal salvation. I wrote about how self-focused salvation perspectives ultimately influence everything from our political opinions to the way that we interpret God\u2019s plan for the world. The doctrine of personal salvation also colors our perspectives on matters of justice, equality and inclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We in Christianity focus a great deal of our energy on getting people \u201csaved\u201d\u2014 mostly because we\u2019ve been taught to view the world\u2019s population as a mission field overrun with souls bound for Hell. We operate from within a dualistic ideology that imagines a God who is preoccupied with sifting people into two categories: the saved and the damned. We see ourselves as an intervening factor in this perceived reality; we believe most of the inhabitants of our world are doomed unless we find some way to convert them to our religion, one by one. Many Christians even overlook the needs of the newly \u201csaved\u201d\u2014 they take a headcount of people who responded to their altar call and pat themselves on the back for work well done while neglecting to learn about the very real needs that impact the new convert\u2019s life. I suppose one could say that we are well-trained when it comes to \u201csaving\u201d people, but tend to fail miserably when it comes to rescuing<\/em> them.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My old essay about Christianity\u2019s salvation distraction came flooding back to me as I read about one of Donald Trump\u2019s latest executive orders\u2014 a directive that temporarily halts America\u2019s acceptance of refugees from a number of majority-Muslim countries. As news of Trump\u2019s executive order unfolded, several popular Christian leaders took to social media in support of what many agree is essentially a \u201cMuslim ban.\u201d In their haste to ban the \u201cother,\u201d these Christian leaders callously dismiss scripture\u2019s admonishment to welcome and care for the stranger.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As I read the news, I thought about how Christians have been trained to read the Bible through tainted goggles. Those goggles prevent us from seeing that there are many overarching narratives available in scripture, especially where the concept of \u201csalvation\u201d is concerned. The God of scripture is indeed one who \u201csaves\u201d souls\u2014 but this very same God was an incurable rescuer whose greatest dream was that humankind would become rescuers as well. This God heard the cry of the Israelite slaves and responded by leading them to another land\u2014 a place where they would be both refugees and religious minorities. After rescuing the Israelites, he instructed them to \u201cwelcome the stranger\u201d because they themselves had once been \u201cstrangers\u201d in Egypt. He even provided a miracle that would feed not only Jesus\u2019s twelve disciples, but the multitudes\u2014 a group that surely included people outside the disciples\u2019 religious persuasion. The scriptural examples of God rescuing people \u2014 or sending others to rescue them \u2014 are abundant.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Christianity\u2019s preoccupation with \u201cpersonal salvation\u201d has rendered us unable to perceive our faith\u2019s greater spiritual imperative. The primary goal of Christianity shouldn\u2019t be about increasing the religion\u2019s numbers by getting them saved<\/em>; the primary goal, instead, should be to participate in God\u2019s efforts to rescue the world. This paradigm shift would place Christianity closer than ever to God\u2019s heart \u2014 a heart that unconditionally loves all people, regardless of their religion or nationality. May our religion become one that subordinates the comfort of personal salvation to God\u2019s dream of a rescued and liberated world.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Crystal St. Marie Lewis is a R3 Contributor.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Donate to the Work of R3<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Like the work we do at Rhetoric Race and Religion? Please consider helping us continue to do this work. All donations are tax-deductible through Gifts of Life Ministries\/G\u2019Life Outreach, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, and our fiscal sponsor. Any donation helps. Just click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to support our work.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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by Crystal St Marie Lewis Nearly five years ago, I wrote in an essay called \u201cKingdoms, Afterlives and Political Shenanigans\u201d that one of mainstream Christianity\u2019s fundamental flaws is found in its teaching about personal salvation. 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