No Room at the Inn: Immigration and misplaced Christian Charity

By M. V. Gray
December 21, 2010

The Christmas season is here, and the Huffingon Post is running the annual “No Room at the Inn” screed. This line of reasoning attempts to conflate the nativity story with illegal immigration. I would like to point out in the interest of truth that Joseph was actually following the law- dragging his very pregnant wife to the city of his birth for the census. The only reason that there was no room at the inn was because they were late, and apparently everybody else was rather refreshingly following the law. There is no suggestion in this story that Joseph was demanding free lodging or that he could not afford to pay, or that he had no right to be in Bethlehem.

When the family traveled to Egypt after the birth of Jesus, there was no suggestion that they expected to stay, or to be given any particular status there. It is also to be noted that they returned to their homeland, and that apparently Jesus suffered no ill effects from being torn away from the only home he had ever known. It does appear by-the-by that he never learned Greek or Latin while in Egypt.

Recently a large number of leaders from Christian denominations have embarked on a misguided attempt to use the power of the church to persuade the U.S. government to provide extensive immigration amnesties. While the Roman Catholic Church is most frequently identified as a leader in this, they are absolutely not alone. Mainline Protestants and non-denominational Christians are also heavily involved in this activity. They argue from scripture usually using the nativity story recounted in the gospels of Matthew and Luke and the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke (10:25-37)).

Much criticism has been aimed at these leaders from the perspective of secular anti-immigration activists- people who are concerned about sovereignty, national security and overall population numbers. Much of the commentary has been cynical and has accused the churches of attempting to increase their tithe-bases and to fill their pews with immigrants.

This is not fair. It is very likely that the Christian leadership is acting entirely with the best of intentions, but they have forgotten what charity is. Charity is a gift of love given freely by the giver of his own property. The sovereignty of the United States does not belong to the churches, nor does it really belong to us. It is a heritage that belongs to past, present and future Americans. We Americans hold our sovereignty in trust, and have a duty to pass it on to future generations. This is a gift that the Christian church does not possess, and therefore has no right to give.

Citizenship is a precious thing. Paul of Tarsus (he of the many New Testament epistles) lay claim to his rights (and was accorded the privilege) of Roman citizenship in demanding a trial under Roman law. It is clear that early Christians including Jesus himself (render unto Caesar…) acknowledged the rights and privileges of worldly rulers. They believed in living within the laws of their respective nations, and did not demand that the local governor provide the charity that was needed for the care of the poor. Christians provided charity out of their own pockets as they continue to do today.

No one objects to Christians assisting and helping the needy and poor. There are many Christians in many countries providing free education and medical care as well as many other services and this is an honorable thing. For Christians to demand that a secular government should tax all people to provide charity that the Christians cannot or will not raise themselves is simply wrongheaded. We do not see the Christian leadership providing education for illegal immigrants and their children- they demand that the state provide this service.

For Christians to demand that charity be implemented through taxation is an attack on the very ethos of Christianity itself; to attempt to hand away American citizenship to people who have knowingly imposed on the hospitality of America is to step away entirely from the Christian propositions of duty, lawfulness, and responsibility.

There are a great many things that Christians could do with respect to immigration. They could certainly help to identify relatives for young people who have become separated from their families, they could provide temporary shelter, they could provide emergency medical care, they could assist with legal services relating to travel documents, they could visit the detention centers to provide comfort, and they could finance and assist with repatriation. All of these things would be charitable things to do; they would follow the example of the Good Samaritan, they would be legal, and I cannot imagine that anyone would object.

M. V. Gray is the Membership and Development Coordinator for Californians for Population Stabilization (www.CAPSweb.org) and can be reached at [email protected].