While Soerens said that he wasn’t “saying that the Old Testament law says that is how it ought to be,” he did want to point out that the Old Testament law “was a fairly radical standard that God gave to his people.”
Discussing the topic of national borders, Grudem pointed out that “the Bible has a lot of examples of cities building walls.”
“The people of Israel rebuilt the wall in Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah to protect the city from outsiders,” said Grudem, adding that other examples exist in Scripture of walls being built “to keep out thieves, robbers, others.”
“It’s a basic means of protection,” said Grudem, arguing that policies including passports and visas also protect immigrants, who might otherwise not feel comfortable coming to authorities when facing challenges.
Soerens agreed that the existence of borders in the Bible is a given, but he indicated that he doesn’t believe “there is a biblical prescription” for or against border walls. He said, “It doesn’t mean it’s illegitimate, but there’s just not a specific prescription.”
Grudem agreed, saying, “I would say I don’t think there’s any national border wall. It’s just cities.” Soerens also pointed out that the concept of nation states as they exist in modern times was not something on the minds of biblical authors.
Grudem clarified, however, that those who crossed national borders for trade or travel were generally “known,” or were otherwise spies. “I think the idea of a wall is a wise way to control who comes into a nation and who does not,” he said.
Notably, Grudem wrote in 2018 in support of the Trump administration‘s plan to build a wall across the United States’ southern border.
Soerens said that it is more than just “wise” for national leaders to protect the borders of the nation. Rather, leaders have “an obligation to protect the citizens of the country.” But he added, “Now, is a wall always the best way to do that? I think that is in that category of ‘prudential.’”
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“I think it’s appropriate for our government to know who’s coming into our country, to do everything reasonably possible to keep out anyone seeking to do harm, and also to treat everyone humanely in that process,” said Soerens. “And I think it is important to know that there’s a big difference between a secure border and a closed border.”
