BERRIEN SPRINGS MI—A recent guest speaker at Andrews University, a Christian institution in Berrien Springs, Michigan, told students that their churches should hide illegal immigrants to protect them from deportation.

According to a report by Campus Reform, Andrews University guest speaker James Standish encouraged American churches to hide illegal immigrants. Standish, the communications director for the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists, even went as far as to compare ICE deportations to conditions under Nazi Germany.

“In the law, there is a doctrine called equitable estoppel. Equitable estoppel means that you can’t watch somebody invest and build something and wait until they built it, knowing they exist and they come in and take it away from them,” Standish said referring to the deportation of illegal immigrants.

Standish told students that American churches should open their doors to illegal immigrants because ICE policy allegedly restricts their ability to raid religious buildings.

“A church entity asked me to look into this [immigration policy] because of our members being deported…” Standish explained, “today, except in unusual circumstances, ICE will not raid a church.”
“This is my challenge to you: why not open your church as a sanctuary? Why not say to people that have good reason to be afraid, ‘if you are afraid, come and live in our church? We will turn our sanctuary into a real sanctuary,” Standish continued. “Enough with the blah blah blah, people are being hurt right now across this country. Many of them are our brothers and our sisters. And we stand by with our churches empty where they could be.”

Although Andrews University students were not required to attend the lecture, Standish’s event did count towards an academic requirement. Students at Andrews University are required to attend a minimum number of lecture events. Many students attended Standish’s event to receive this credit.”

Video here:

Our Commentary:

There was a time when Seventh-day Adventists were known for their obedience towards laws of the land and the Law of God. When Gerhard Hasel was ticketed in Tennessee for speeding, shortly after coming here from Germany (a country with few speed limits), the judge teased him “I thought Adventists obeyed the Law.” Hasel paid his fine and left, and obeyed the traffic laws of the land thereafter.

Today the Adventist Church has a heavy infestation of political leftists in North America; their views dominate our religious Liberty departments, Division leadership, major magazines, and Academic institutions. This is now starting to bring national scrutiny upon the Church, as seen in this news story.

A comment from a Seventh-day Adventist on the Breitbart site, a few hours ago,

I attended Andrews University in 1970-1972. How far they have fallen! They would never have allowed a speaker who taught this to have a platform.

If the Church is to draw the attention of the world around us, let it be for upholding the Law of God, not for advocating that Churches break American immigration law. A Christian does not get to break laws just because he doesn’t like them, and advocating for this needlessly divides the Church, and brings shame upon us (Romans 13:1-7). If we want to help people, perhaps we could help them come here legally.

The day will come when we must stand for God’s Ten Commandments in spite of a civil law ordering us to break it. Enmeshing ourselves in political agendas today, will make it more difficult to stand for God when the real test comes. It could also jeopardize the Church’s 501c3 status.

In my opinion we should eschew political parties and agendas, as we “Occupy until He comes” (Luke 19:12-13). How do you see it?

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“Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:13-17).