Cougars among the flock

Immigration: Pastor and author David Dykstra on a biblical approach to a generous—but wisely selective—immigration policy | Marvin Olasky

Most Christians recognize that the civil law of ancient Israel is no longer binding on us, but it is still vital to understand and apply the principles that law embodies. New Jersey pastor David Dykstra makes such an application in his book, Yearning to Breathe Free? Thoughts on Immigration, Islam, & Freedom (Solid Ground, 2006).

WORLD: You lay out some biblical principles that can help us think through the immigration debate. First, you note that in ancient Israel foreigners were able to move onto Israel's land and become Jews.

DYKSTRA: Yes, citizenship in Israel was never based on any concept of so-called "purity of blood." O. Palmer Robertson's The Israel of God is helpful in understanding this point. "No legislation in Israel forbade the marriage of an Egyptian proselyte to an Assyrian proselyte. The offspring of such a union would be fully Israelite, yet completely non-Abrahamic in ethnic origin. For these reasons Israel could never be defined along purely ethnic lines." Racism and xenophobia have never assisted any country's development, and God's law made it clear that foreigners not deemed to be enemies were to be welcomed and loved, no matter what their race or ethnicity.