The following is a list of discussion questions composed for a CrossWay Community Church small group, Christ & Culture, for use throughout December 2018 and January 2019.
- Understanding ourselves:
- What influences are at play in your own life shaping the way you react to and approach this topic (e.g., experiences, sources of news, upbringing, neighborhood, relationships, political views, etc.)?
- What concerns do you have / what things are important to you in this controversy and subject matter?
- What are our biases?
- Understanding our Christian starting point:
- What values, priorities, and principles should we, as Christians, be applying to this situation / question?
- What Bible passages speak to this issue?
- Are there any seeming tensions? If so, how do we resolve or reconcile them?
- Understanding the role of government:
- From a Christian perspective, what is the government’s obligation to immigrants and/or refugees.
- As Christians, what should we hope or strive to see realized in our government when it comes to policy on immigration or refugees?
- Evaluating society’s approaches:
- What are the common approaches and reactions to immigration, immigrants, and refugees we find in our society? What messages are we hearing?
- On the Right:
- “A government needs law or order” (e.g., controlled borders). And with that, “If you come here illegally, you need to face the consequences” (e.g., deportation or sanctions of some kind).
- “Immigrants need to assimilate to our culture and learn our language.” Or, resistance to immigration/immigrants on the grounds that, “We need to preserve our culture.”
- “We need to spend our resources taking care of our own before we take care of others.”
- “We might let in terrorists” (in the case of refugees).
- “They are violent gang members and drug pushers” (in the case of immigrants).
- “We’re not saying you can’t come here. We’re just saying, ‘Do so legally like other people.’ Follow the process that’s in place. When you come here illegally, you undermine those those who seek to come here legally.”
- “They’re taking our jobs” (referring to immigrants, legal or illegal).
- On the Left:
- “Borders are an arbitrary or outdated concept. We don’t need them. It’s a human rights issue — people should be free to migrate and move as they please.”
- “These folks are simply seeking a better life here.”
- “It’s okay to break the laws” (e.g., sanctuary cities) “if those laws are unjust.”
- “It’s not realistic to deport all these people who are here illegally.”
- “This is the only life and country they’ve ever known” (speaking of illegals who have been here for quite some time, or who have grown up here). “They are American for all intents and purposes, even if they are undocumented.”
- “You can’t punish children for the crimes of their parents” (speaking about so-called DACA individuals).
- “You’re tearing families apart” (e.g., by deporting parents who are illegal, but who would leave behind legal children, or by not allowing individuals into the country who have family members here).
- On the Right:
- Why do you think folks think these ways? What concerns are at play in these sentiments? Can you see how these expression could be (or could seem to be) reasonable, or come from a place of genuine good-interest and sincerity (even if misguided or erroneous)?
- How might we analyze, assess, or critique these arguments, beliefs, reactions, dispositions, etc. from a Christian perspective?
- What are the common approaches and reactions to immigration, immigrants, and refugees we find in our society? What messages are we hearing?
- Considering policy questions:
- How can we justly, fairly, and compassionately treat migrants seeking to enter our country?
- How should we assess policies that demonstrate partiality towards would-be immigrants based on where they are from? Is this justifiable?
- Should we build a border wall, as the Trump administration is seeking?
- What do we make of the Trump administration’s policy of separating families at the border? What is a Christian response to this policy?
- What policy changes could be made to improve the immigration system in our country?
- Considering our responsibility:
- What is the church’s responsibility in addressing or engaging these matters?
- The individual christian’s responsibility?
- On the ground:
- What are some practical things we can do to make a difference here?
- What are some ways we can helpfully speak to others (Christians or non-Christians) about these matters?
Kirk E. Miller 