Source: NPR

As many leading conservatives call for stopping Syrian refugees from entering the United States, several evangelical Christian organizations are pushing back.

Since last week’s attacks in Paris, at least 30 governors in this country, mostly Republicans, have called for keeping Syrian refugees out of the U.S.

Fewer than 2,000 have been admitted. House Speaker Paul Ryan is backing legislation to make the screening process in place even stricter. President Obama has promised to veto that bill.

Republican presidential candidates are weighing in, too. Dr. Ben Carson and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are among those asking Congress to block refugees from Syria. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has suggested allowing only Christians to enter and resettling Muslims elsewhere. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is calling for banning visasfor all travelers from any country with an “ISIS presence.”

All of those positions are rooted in security concerns, since authorities in Greece said one of the terrorists in Paris last week came into Europe with other migrants, carrying a Syrian passport.

But politicians who oppose settling more refugees from Syria and Iraq could risk alienating some evangelical voters, a key voting bloc for Republicans. The National Association of Evangelicals has issued a statement calling for continued resettlement of Syrian refugees.

President Leith Anderson said his faith teaches the importance of “compassion for those who are in need. And that’s a long American tradition as well as a Christian principle.”

Anderson points to a famous story in the Bible, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, who helped a traveler who’d been beaten and robbed after others passed him by.

“[He] came and took a risk, and helped, and invested his own money. People often know the story of the good Samaritan, but they forget how Jesus ended it. And his last words were, ‘Go and do likewise.’ So he’s calling on Christians, his followers, to be good Samaritans,” Anderson said.

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