Today, I read the weekly commentary of Lou Dobbs on CNN and found it rather interesting. Before you start to wonder if Allison has lost her mind, I typically read his weekly commentary to see what he has decided to whine about this week. I do not necessarily agree with him, but he seems to have an influence over the middle class and determines which issues are important to them. A recent example comes to mind - immigration. Yes, there have been rumblings for a while over the issue of illegal immigration, but there was certainly a correlation between his rants and public opinion. But I’m not here to discuss Lou Dobbs’ vociferous view of whether or not we have broken borders and the problems that allegedly come from the mass immigration from the South. I want to discuss his recent article, “A Call to the Faithful.”

This article begins by describing the continuing encroachment of religious beliefs in national politics, and then it devolves into an immigration rant, as usual. What I thought would be the overarching theme of Separation of Church and State is what caught my attention, as well as a particular quote. Lou begins by saying that Protestant and Catholic churches are putting pressure on the political system and influencing their congregation’s views with threats of Hell. This time, churches are standing on the other side of the mainstream Republican Platform, and Dobbs, on the issue of immigration. As an example, Dobbs mentions the head of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, Cardinal Rogers Mahoney, who is quoted as saying, “Anything that tears down one group of people or one person, anything that is a negative in our community, disqualifies us from being part of the eternal city.”

(Imagine the sound of Vinyl being scratched on a record player, as you make the Scooby-Doo head shake noise)

I have to pause for a second and re-read the quote. Yep, it says what I thought it said. I knew churches were on the amnesty side of immigration, and traditionally speaking, they should be. Churches have always been a place of sanctuary. However, let’s examine the quote; Cardinal Mahoney wants the Church to be inclusive of all groups of people or risk going to Hell. Ok, I get it – I love the quote (except for the threat of Hell), it is loving, caring, and christianly, right? It is essentially a derivative of the Golden Rule, and who doesn’t love the Golden Rule? However, what if we removed the group in question, illegal immigrants, and replaced them with, let’s say, the LBGT Community? Will the belief behind the quote above still be applicable? It depends on the church, but most probably would not extend the sentiment to that oppressed group.

Seems contradictory, doesn’t it? Lou Dobbs finishes off his commentary by pointing out the contradictory nature of the Christian belief system regarding immigration by mentioning Romans 13, a passage addressing the role of a government and that it should be followed (Of course, I completely disagree with the use and character of this passage). Perhaps, since Lou Dobbs is so concerned about the incongruous nature of religion and the ever dwindling separation of Church and State, we can coax him to point out the inconsistency in the support for immigrants and non-support for the LBGT Community and complain as effectively on the issue of Church/State as he does immigration. Maybe that will change some minds.