People of faith stand with the most vulnerable

MY FATHER, Jack Bobroff, and I came to Christianity in mid-life, from very different directions. I joined La Mesa Presbyterian to be part of its commitment to help build God’s Kingdom on earth. My dad joined his evangelical church as a result of his personal relationship with Christ. In over 40 years as an educator, he was deeply committed to equity and opportunity for all children . ...

Attorney General (Jeff) Sessions cites Romans 13 to support his policy, the same Bible verse slaveowners used to defend slavery. He might try Romans 12: “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

If my dad were here, he’d be pleased the Southern Baptist Convention just declared its support for immigration reform, seeking a pathway to legal status, “maintaining the priority of family unity” and honoring “the value and dignity of those seeking a better life for themselves and their families.” It recognized “longings to protect one’s family from warfare, violence, disease, extreme poverty and other destitute conditions are universal, driving millions of people to leave their homelands to seek a better life for themselves, their children and their grandchildren.”

It went on to say “God commands His people to treat immigrants with the same respect and dignity as those native born.” (Leviticus 19:33–34; Jeremiah 7:5– 7; Ezekiel 47:22; Zechariah 7:9–10.) Our policy now does nothing of the sort.

My father would be happiest. I think, that his church’s convention declared “any form of nativism, mistreatment or exploitation inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Dad’s gone, but he’d want all people of faith — religious and democratic — to stand with the most vulnerable among us, as Jesus would.

KIP BOBROFF Albuquerque attorney

Jack Bobroff, Albuquerque Public Schools superintendent from 1986-1992, died in 2014.