“There is no more, and there should be no more important voice than the voice of Christians.”  

As a Christian, that statement on one level should sound validating.  Trouble is, it was uttered in the context of pitting Christians and immigrants against each other.  Unsurprisingly, it was said by Donald Trump.

“Every day (Kamala Harris) is flooding our country with millions and millions of illegal aliens.  She wants to make them citizens.  She wants to have them vote which will destroy the voting powers of Christian conservatives forever.”

Setting aside the fact that multiple millions of people are not crossing our borders every 24 hours and no one is suggesting that they be shown directly to a polling station, the idea that Christian political influence rises and falls based on immigration is a misnomer.  It is a blatant attempt to pit Christians and immigrants against each other.

Our church has had a long history of assisting immigrants seeking asylum in our country.  These are people who often come with little or no documentation because they are literally fleeing for their lives.  Since Christ himself was a refugee child in Egypt, our faith finds a strong affinity with refugees and ministry to them is, consequently, a natural act.

While we may see the above quotes as ridiculous, they are also dangerous.  When one group is pitted against another, the only real outcome will be hatred and violence.  This is exactly what is happening with regard to immigrants to our country during this election year.

Oddly, it seems that it is when addressing Christians that such extreme things get said.  At a Turning Point Action’s Believers Summit in July, Trump assured Christians (and presumably everyone else, too) that, if elected, we would never have to vote again: 

“You won’t have to do it anymore.  Four more years, you know what?  It’ll be fixed.  It’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.”

That last line is a rather frightening turn of phrase.  No other politician has ever referred to those of our faith as “my beautiful Christians.”  While some Christians may belong to his party, none of us are his “beautiful Christians” as if claiming a sense of ownership.  Our first and only allegiance should always be to our God of love, diversity, and compassion.

I hope that our faith will inform your views this election season.  At the same time, I hope that you will not allow our faith to be fodder for cultivating hatred between people when what is needed most is common ground, optimism, and hope for the future.

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic