On Secular Governance by Duty Ronald W.;Failinger Marie A.;

Author:Duty, Ronald W.;Failinger, Marie A.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eerdmans
Published: 2016-03-24T18:40:52+00:00

Should Not All Lutherans Agree?

A Lutheran Spectrum on Immigration

At Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, we offer a course titled Theology of Compassion and Human Care. The course description reads as follows: “A consideration of the theological rationale for the church’s efforts in the world toward bringing justice, caring for the poor, relieving human suffering, preserving and protecting creation.” For a number of years, I have been invited to speak to the class for the sessions on poverty and immigration. One of the pedagogical strategies I use in approaching the often-­polarizing issue of immigration lies in showing students how Lutherans actually embrace a spectrum of positions on immigration law and reform. This strategy initially comes as a shock to some students. Should not all Lutherans agree on such an important issue?

Somewhat predictably, the two basic lines of argument in the classroom reflect those in the national debate. On one hand, students who are strong advocates for respecting the divinely ordained temporal authority of the state’s “rule of law,” and thus the rights of its citizens and legal residents, often tend to favor tighter enforcement policies and may not immediately see why there is even an immigration debate at all: “What part of ‘illegal’ do you not understand?” They focus on the need to uphold the laws of the land, whatever they might be, and thus tend to frame their concerns alongside the political spectrum of legality and illegality.

On the other hand, students who are strong advocates of immigrants and their families, whether documented or not, as well as the church’s work of gospel proclamation and mercy among the strangers, tend to highlight the divinely ordained church’s “Great Commandment” and “Great Commission” without legal conditions attached: “What part of ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ and ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ do you not understand?” They focus on the immigrants themselves, their needs and contributions to the church, family, and society, and therefore tend to look at matters more along a social spectrum of hospitality and hostility toward neighbors. At least initially, neither side considers that perhaps Lutheran theology can make some sense out of this disparity and tension, allowing for a deeper and more complex conversation about immigration and immigrants to take place, one that ultimately makes room for a diversity of more nuanced positions enriched by such dialogue.

To highlight the spectrum of Lutheran ideas on immigration, I have my students read two contrasting examples of reflections on the issue by Lutherans today. On one end of the spectrum, we have Bouman and Deffenbaugh, who, reminding Lutherans of their own immigrant roots and historic efforts in resettling Lutheran refugees, focus on the church’s evangelical hospitality toward the stranger as the main biblical/theological basis and guiding principle for advocating on behalf of immigrants, their needs and rights. While these authors are not against the need for immigration law, they nevertheless stress the need to move beyond immigration policies focused solely on enforcement. The authors do not advocate a policy of “open borders,”

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