After Attacks in Paris, U.S. Government’s First and Foremost Responsibility Is Safety of Americans
Over the past several days, we have been overwhelmed by the grisly scenes and heartbreaking stories from Paris. The radical Islamist jihadists have struck again, with devastating impact—nearly 130 dead and scores critically injured. These people are the latest victims of this death cult that has sprung up within Islam, which is determined to murder and slaughter its way to power—absolute power—both in Europe and the Middle East.
Now we find there is evidence of at least some of the terrorists having made their way through France, masquerading as refugees from the Syrian civil war. As literally millions of Mid-Eastern refugees engulf Europe, security specialists tell us that ISIS terrorists have infiltrated their ranks and are using a refugee cover to reach their destinations in Western Europe and the U.S. ISIS has issued a warning to America that we are next. Make no mistake about it; they are deadly serious. Since they have been at war with us since Sept. 11, 2001, we ought to be at war with them.
The French Prime Minister declared that the attacks amount to an act of war. He is right, whether President Obama understands it or not. Now, our government is lying to us by telling us that any Syrian refugees that we take in will be well and thoroughly vetted and checked out. How? Syria is a failed state; it has no records to check. Unless we want to welcome terrorists and murderers into the homeland, then we need to take drastic measures. Anyone seeking to enter the country from that area of the world ought to be given, at the very least, a polygraph test or a lie detector test to see if they are jihadis. Even that might not work, since lie detector tests are notorious for being inaccurate when dealing with psychopaths—and these people are psychopaths, people without a conscience. My view is that we should provide aid and assistance to the Syrian refugees, but because the potential terrorist risk is much too great to bring them into America, a “safe zone” should be created in Syria in which to provide assistance and assist neighboring countries that are aiding refugees as well.
Romans 13 tell us God ordained government to punish evil and to reward those who do that which is right. We must insist that our government protect first and foremost and always the people of the United States from those who would do them harm.
How do you balance Christian compassion with a divinely ordained mandate of the government to punish evildoers and reward those who do that which is right? For instance, if someone murders my wife, as a Christian, I do not have the right to kill that person or to take any kind of personal revenge. In fact, I am commanded to pray for that person and to love them as someone for whom Jesus died. However, I do have the right to expect the civil magistrate to punish them to the fullest extent of the law, once they have been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of their peers.
Just so, as Christians, we need to have compassion for Syrian refugees who are fleeing the horrible violence of their civil war. Does that compassion compel us to grant them access to our country as refugees? I think not. Especially when ISIS has declared they are going to use the refugee flood as a Trojan horse to infiltrate terrorists into the U.S., duplicating the dastardly deeds they perpetrated in Paris. Being passionate does not compel us to expose our jugular veins to our enemies.
As a nation, we can provide these refugees a safe zone in their own country, guaranteed with American air and military power. We can offer to feed, clothe and house them in refugee camps or help them relocate to adjacent countries, like Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. However, since we cannot properly vet them, I believe our government has a responsibility to say that no one enters the U.S. as a refugee from Syria until ISIS is defeated. Our government’s first priority must be the protection of the American people.
