Disheartening

In regards to the letter to the editor that was published in the Jan. 21 issue of The Alabama Baptist, I find it extremely disheartening that our state Baptist paper would publish such a hate-filled and unbiblical letter.  

I can appreciate that the issue of refugees entering the United States is a highly complex one and that every voice has a right to be heard. That being said, not everything that is right or even lawful is beneficial for the saints. 

The pastor’s use of Old Testament instruction given specifically and historically to the people of Israel as they are establishing a kingdom in the promised land is irresponsible and he should not be commended for such. His notion that his neighbor only includes those who share similar cultural and religious views is not only unbiblical, but also not what Christ said or lived out.  

Christ’s instruction was to love those who hate and pray for those who would do you harm. His plea to His followers was to live, with Him as their example, among those who would persecute them, not separate themselves because of fear and the threat of harm.  

Jesus Christ Himself lived among, prayed for, wept over and ultimately died for the very ones who would accuse Him of blasphemy, try and convict Him in a sham of a trial, beat, mock, spit upon Him and nail His already broken body to a tree. He went to the cross, suffered the shame, bore their sin and our sin on the cross willingly. That is the message we as believers in Christ should be encouraging each other with, not one filled with hatred and disregard for all human life.  

Brian Turnbull

Cropwell, Ala.