--- title: Nothing Christian About Blocking Non-Christian Refugees description: It goes against the gospel of Jesus Christ canonical: https://time.com/4116633/paris-attacks-syrian-refugees/ author: Christopher Hale article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-18T14:25:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:40:03.944Z article:section: Ideas og:title: There's Nothing Christian About Blocking Non-Christian Refugees to the U.S. og:description: It goes against the gospel of Jesus Christ og:url: https://time.com/4116633/paris-attacks-syrian-refugees/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bfb6b187821e2a7/6988719d2dce0180b79e68de/cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks during the Sunshine Summit conference being held at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 13, 2015 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There's Nothing Christian About Blocking Non-Christian Refugees to the U.S. twitter:description: It goes against the gospel of Jesus Christ twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bfb6b187821e2a7/6988719d2dce0180b79e68de/cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There's Nothing Christian About Blocking Non-Christian Refugees to the U.S. > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=283f7a11-12e8-4cde-a2dc-86e10874559a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Politicians React to U.S. Policy on Syrian Refugees [Watch (HLS stream): Politicians React to U.S. Policy on Syrian Refugees](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xRGMbKjA.m3u8) (1:57)  _Published 2015-11-17_ by [Christopher Hale](https://time.com/author/christopher-j-hale-2/) ## Christopher Hale Nov 18, 2015 2:25 PM UTC by [Christopher Hale](https://time.com/author/christopher-j-hale-2/) ## Christopher Hale Nov 18, 2015 2:25 PM UTC In light of the terrorist attacks on Paris Friday, some, including Republican presidential candidates [Ted Cruz](http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/ted-cruzs-religious-test-for-syrian-refugees) and [Jeb Bush](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/15/jeb-bush-u-s-assistance-for-refugees-should-focus-on-christians/), have called on President Barack Obama to focus on accepting Christian refugees from Syria. But there’s nothing Christian about only prioritizing Christian refugees into the U.S. In fact, such an idea flies in the face of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself was an immigrant child in a strange land. When Mary and Joseph were looking for a place for Mary to give birth to Jesus, [Bethlehem’s innkeepers denied the Holy Family a hotel for the night.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity%5Fof%5FJesus#Place%5Fof%5Fbirth) After Jesus’s birth, Mary and Joseph [fled with their refugee child to Egypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight%5Finto%5FEgypt) to avoid King Herod’s despotic rule. They did this even though their Judaism was a visible minority in the North African land full of indigenous and polytheistic beliefs. If ancient Egypt can make room for refugees of religious minorities, why can’t the U.S. do so today? “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” Jesus tells us this is [one of the top criteria](http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25) that God will use to judge our lives. Jesus’s radical worldview even suggests that our enemies are our neighbors and can even be helpful to us in our times in need. That’s certainly what Pope Francis thinks. The summer after his election in March 2013, Francis’s first visit outside of Rome was to the Italian island of Lampedusa, where hundreds of aspiring immigrants have died in the past few years trying to come into Italy from North Africa. [His words that July day](http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco%5F20130708%5Fomelia-lampedusa.html) continually echo in my ears: --- > “” --- Thousands of people and organizations, including Christian humanitarian groups like World Vision and Catholic Relief Services, are on the ground helping refugees. These groups don’t distinguish between Christians and non-Christians. They serve everyone—without exception. The model of only serving only Christians “is totally foreign to the way we do things,” says American priest Father Tom Smolich, SJ, the international director of [Jesuit Refugee Service.](http://en.jrs.net/) “The idea of only taking Christian refugees is contrary to what we stand for as an immigrant nation. It says we’re afraid. Fear is never a place to make decisions. It’s contrary to where God is calling us. And frankly—it’s bad policy.” The U.S. should be a nation for people of all faiths and people of no faith. Why? Because Jesus tells us everyone is our neighbor—particularly those who are different than us. As we turn towards the winter months, surely Ted Cruz, the son of a pastor, can take Jesus’s message to heart and make room at the inn for people of every faith. That would be the Christian thing to do. ## Transcript [00:00] When I hear political leaders [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:03] suggesting that there would be a religious test [00:05] [ BLANK_AUDIO ], [00:08] for which [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:11] a [00:13] person who's fleeing from a war torn country is admitted. [00:16] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:20] When some of those folks themselves come from families [00:23] who benefited from protection when they [00:27] were fleeing political persecution, that's [00:32] shameful. That's not American. And [00:36] when hundreds of thousands of people have lost [00:40] everything, have nothing left but the shirts on their backs, [00:44] we will not turn our backs on the refugees from Syria and [00:49] Afghanistan. [ APPLAUSE ] Refugees are pouring into our [00:53] great country from Syria. We don't even know who they [00:55] are. They could be ISIS. They could be anybody. What's [00:59] our President doing? Is he insane? We can't act as [01:03] though we're shutting the doors to people in need without [01:08] undermining who we are as Americans and the values we [01:11] have stood for. [ APPLAUSE ] Our nation has always [01:15] been welcoming. But, we cannot let terrorists take [01:18] advantage of our compassion. This is a moment where it's [01:21] better to be safe, than to be sorry. We need to hear from the [01:24] White House and Homeland Security on exactly what [01:28] these background checks are. What they, how they [01:31] communicate to us in the States where these people are [01:34] settling, so we can keep track of exactly what's occurring [01:38] within our states. I believe the United States and the world [01:40] needs to go on offense and stop the reason people have to [01:42] leave Syria. The good people are leaving because they're [01:46] being raped and murdered, and some terrorists are trying [01:48] to get in their ranks. My heart says that we should let them [01:50] in. But my head says that I have to protect the people [01:54] of the state of Alabama and keep them secure. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4116633/paris-attacks-syrian-refugees/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4116633/paris-attacks-syrian-refugees/"},"headline":"There's Nothing Christian About Blocking Non-Christian Refugees to the U.S.","datePublished":"2015-11-18T14:25:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:40:03.944Z","description":"It goes against the gospel of Jesus Christ","url":"https://time.com/4116633/paris-attacks-syrian-refugees/","keywords":["Religion","Refugees"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bfb6b187821e2a7/6988719d2dce0180b79e68de/cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Christopher Hale","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/christopher-j-hale-2/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bfb6b187821e2a7/6988719d2dce0180b79e68de/cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican presidential candidate Sen. 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