The Debate over Where G!d Stands in Pr William's

The Washington Post reported on an open letter from 50 religious leaders offering to help mediate the strife over illegal immigration in Prince William's County (VA). I commend these religious leaders for defending the humanity of illegal immigrants when so many in Pr William's County have vilified them. They cite some of the Biblical passages that are most moving to me about the need to treat the stranger like one's self for we were once strangers in the land of Egypt.

Here's what I find remarkable about the board of county supervisors' response. Corey Stewart, an at-large Republican member, said of the religious leaders, "We don't need them as an intermediary . . . They need to do what they do best: serve their congregants and attend to their denominations and not get involved in partisan politics."

His statement pretends that the anti-illegal immigrant movement in Northern Virginia (NoVA) has not relied on faith-based arguments itself. But, in fact, it has. Greg Letiecq, president of Help Save Manassas, can be seen on youtube citing biblical passages about the importance of following law as an argument for why NoVA must crack down on illegal immigration. The utter biblical illiteracy of that argument is striking.

Biblical passages that exhort people to follow the law and the authorities have nothing whatsoever to do with man-made law. Rather, they refer to G!d's law and, I believe, to the theocratic authorities of the time. There is no religious argument to be made for man-made law because no religion that I know of believes that man or his laws are infallible.

I don't wish to see this debate degenerate into a war of feuding Biblical interpretations. Rather, I find this to be a case that highlights how people of faith can disagree , and, contrary to common belief, faith can motivate people to take the left side of an issue, not just the right.