Alabama's Religious Left Sues

By James R. Edwards, Jr. on July 15, 2011

Even Alabama has a Religious Left, and the ecumenical crowd – typically more concerned with bringing about temporal comfort than heavenly peace – has joined the despicable Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU in suing to stop the state's new immigration enforcement law.

Here's what one of the liberal plaintiffs clad in sheep's clothing asserted:

"Today, our mission and the missions of many religious groups across Alabama have been made impossible by the recently enacted Alabama immigration law," said Scott Douglas, executive director of Greater Birmingham Ministries, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. "This law interferes with the free exercise of religion. It violates core values of various faiths because it criminalizes acts of love and hospitality – commandments from our God of many names."


These Leftists of religious costume seem unfamiliar with certain Scriptures, which are morally and theologically authoritative for serious Christians. Romans 13:1: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established." I Peter 2:17: "Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king." And the Son of God, Jesus, who is called the Christ and from whom the very term "Christian" comes, said, "[G]ive to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Luke 20:25).

Like many other states and localities, Alabama has enacted a law seeking to address the failures of the federal government in enforcing immigration law and of Congress in leaving legal immigration levels at four times our historical average. This law deals with the consequences of immigration as ramrodded upon states and localities. It was duly enacted by legitimate democratic means. Alabama's law does no such thing as the things the misguided Pharisees claim. (See for yourself here.)

There remains plenty of room for individual acts of love and hospitality to be shown even to illegal aliens without committing unlawful acts, under Alabama's law. But that's apparently an inconvenient truth, so in the name of religion some have chosen to break one of the Ten Commandments and bear false witness against state lawmakers and the state law. Woe to those hypocrites! To quote the Lord, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains" (John 9:41).



Topics: Alabama