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The North Carolina Pastors Network has erected a large billboard sign near Claremont, NC on I-40.
Lots of people see their sign every day---as the pastors knew they would.
Some say the billboard---which was paid for by the pastors themselves---is a message America needs to hear---a sign for our times.
Others say it's heresy?
What is the message?
The billboard pictured above says, "Why Support President Trump's Immigration Ban? 19 Muslim Immigrants killed 2977 Americans. September 11, 2001."
Oliver Reitzell, who opposes the billboard, told WSOC Fox TV 8, "I believe in the Christian way and that's to embrace everybody. Kind of the hate message behind it--I'm not for that."
Veteran Andrew Katocs, who served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, says, "That billboard, it sounds like somebody is trying to cause issues that don't need to be worried about now."
I'm certain everybody is grateful for his service to our country---does he really believe that?
The Pastors Network has the support of about 600 pastors across the state. One of the network pastors told TV 8, "I'm saying it now, that this is not what this is about. There's certainly nothing hateful in our billboard. Some have interpreted it to be that way and say that. It was not. It is the truth."
David Kistler, who heads up the group, believes if the terrorists behind the 9/11 attack had converted to Christianity, the attack wouldn't have happened.
He says, "This isn't about hate. The issue we're trying to make is the problem with Islam and its ideology."
But WGN TV 9 in Chicago makes the point in their reporting, "The billboard seems to stress that Muslims are to blame for the 2,977 lives lost on 9/11. It doesn't mention that at least 32 innocent Muslims also lost their lives on 9/11."
What TV 9 misses is that these pastors are not talking about moral equivalence, they're talking about protecting themselves and others from terrorists willing and anxious to die in doing so. Nowhere do these pastors suggest that all Muslims are terrorists.
Paul Cummings, an associate pastor with the Corinth Reformed Church in Hickory, NC, believes the billboard contradicts teachings from the Bible.
He says, "My opinion is that these people need the saving gospel of Jesus more than I need to be protected. I'm perfectly willing for people who are hostile to us, to be in our country, because that's what loving your enemy is all about."
Is "loving your enemy" all about removing the borders from a sovereign nation and inviting any and all who seek to destroy us to have at it?
Dr. Alex McFarland, a noted Christian apologist, and educator says, "Christianity doesn't mandate that America has irresponsible open borders policies"---and he a argues that those who advocate for such don't know what they're talking about.
He says, "Those who play the Christian card and say it's unloving to have consistent, responsible immigration policies; [those who say] it's un-Christian to vet out potential terrorists and those who would migrate here from terrorist nations---they don't understand theology or politics."
McFarland says, "The terrorists hate America because we've sided with Israel so often They hate America because they believe we're infidels. They want us dead."
"I thank God for our president who said either we have a country or we don't," he said.
The Pastors Network posted this on their web site:
PASTORS SUPPORT PRESIDENT’S TRAVEL BAN
As a lone voice of truth in a desert wasteland of political correctness, we have chosen to prominently place this billboard for maximum impact on the westbound lane of I-40 in western North Carolina.We understand that the challenge we face today is not primarily political, but rather spiritual. If the 19 Muslim immigrants that attacked America on September 11th had become born again believers in Jesus Christ prior to that dreadful day, there would have been no “September 11th”. The dilemma we face with Islamic terrorism is one of the religion itself. Plain and simple, Islamic ideology/theology is the problem.
If America refuses to correctly identify the enemy (Islamic ideology), many more Americans will be offered up on the altars of political correctness, pluralism, and post modernism. Additionally, our government’s expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars attempting to promote “moderate Islam” as the solution to terrorism has been an abject failure and responsible for the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and ISIS in Syria.
Not until Muslims embrace the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, will the incessant desire to kill the infidel cease. Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, is THE Answer to ALL humanity’s need, including that of the Islamic world.
The heresy lies with the religious Left---and their strong advocate for open borders.
Jim Wallace and other leaders of the Religious Left have misled well-intentioned Christians.
The Scriptures make it clear that national sovereignty, including clearly defined borders, is God's idea. In Acts 17:26 we read, "And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling places..."
We are told two things are under God's sovereign control in this regard---how long a nation lasts, and where its borders are.
The verb translated "having determined" is the Greek verb "horizo" from which we get the word "horizon." It means to "to mark out or define." So God has marked out and defined the borders of each country.
My friend Bryan Fischer has written an excellent article on "The Bible and Borders" giving a full, but concise account of what the Bible actually teaches on national borders. I strongly recommend you read it.
Fischer says the bottom line is that "borders are biblical, and are there by God's sovereign design. And they are to be respected by everyone."
Be Informed. Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Prayerful.