[SOURCE: ChristianStandard.com]

In the March 2017 cover story for the Christian Standard, Dr. Kevin “Kip” Lines, Professor of Intercultural Studies, shares a Biblical perspective on the hotly-debated topic of immigration and refugees.

“There is no question immigration reform is needed in the United States,” Lines’ article states, “but as a missional Christian, my focus here isn’t on that political debate. My position is that Christians need to respond first as Christians participating in God’s mission in the world and that the Bible can be our fundamental resource for understanding how we should treat migrants.”

Dr. Lines’ own ancestors immigrated to the United States from Switzerland and Germany in the 1690s. They were Anabaptists seeking religious freedom; they settled in Pennsylvania, a colony William Penn founded in 1681, specifically with religious freedoms in mind. Dr. Lines grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an area still heavily influenced by Anabaptist Mennonites and Amish.

“Understanding my own family’s migration for religious freedom, having friends whose families had emigrated from Puerto Rico, and meeting migrant workers were all experiences in my early life that put a human face on who migrants were,” writes Dr. Lines.

Lines later became involved in assisting newly arrived refugees through Kentucky Refugee Ministries, and began to wonder more about what the Bible says about aliens and strangers.

// To read Dr. Lines’ entire article on the Christian Standard website, click here.