Churches aiming to show “hospitality” to immigrants offer “the worst thing you could ever say or do,” according to a self-proclaimed liberation theologian and professor of “Latinx studies”.
The Rev. Dr. Miguel De La Torre spoke February 9 at the annual Slater-Wilson lecture hosted by Saint Paul School of Theology, a Kansas-City based United Methodist Seminary. His immigration address titled “Why Do They Come?” forwent theology and instead intended to answer the questions of why immigrants come to the United States and how, as Christians, we can respond.
Dr. Jeanne Hoeft, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Saint Paul School of Theology, introduced De La Torre, Professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies at Denver’s Iliff School of Theology, and told the audience about his forthcoming book, titled Decolonizing Christianity: Becoming Badass Believers.
De La Torre shared a personal story of receiving a letter from the U.S. government in 1960, stating that he had overstayed his tourist visa. He and his family chose not to leave the United States and from that point forward were considered undocumented. “What racist people today call ‘illegal,’” stated De La Torre.
Later in the lecture, De La Torre claimed, “The reason that I am in this country is not because I want to be. I would rather be in my own country and my own culture. We [immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America] are following all that has been stolen from us.”
“We’re talking about immigration but I’m going to give you a history lesson,” De La Torre previewed early in the lecture. His history lesson included statements such as, “In the 20th century, the United States conducted 47 regime changes in the Caribbean and Latin America,” and “Just a few years ago, we [the U.S.] were invading… trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government.”
He also blamed passage of NAFTA in 1994 and industrialized countries, namely the United States, “subsidizing their crops” and therefore driving down crop prices in Caribbean and Latin American countries as being the major causes of poverty in the third world and causing the modern immigration crisis. “When NAFTA was enacted, we had an immigration explosion,” stated De La Torre.
When asked by one viewer, a pastor at a rural Midwestern church, about what the United States government should do if not subsidize farmers, as he personally knows Americans who depend on those subsidies to survive, De La Torre answered, “I wish I was an economist” and “I don’t make policies, I’m an ethicist.”
After insisting that “the worst thing you could ever say or do” as a church or clergyman in the United States is call for “hospitality” towards immigrants, De La Torre stated, “I don’t want your hospitality. I want my damn house back.”
He continued that the proper response by the Church and Christians is restitution. When asked what that entails, De La Torre said, “I purposefully use restitution because it’s one of those words that makes people uncomfortable.”
When asked how Christians can show proper social and political witness on these issues, De La Torre did not provide many solutions or express much hope. “A liberal president will just as quickly defend [Exxon] Mobil, Microsoft, and McDonalds as a conservative president will,” he stated. “Gotta protect the empire.”
“You’re calling for a revolution and I love it. I’ve been through a few of them myself,” answered De La Torre to the question of one viewer. The full lecture can be found here, and more about De La Torre, including details on his forthcoming book, can be found here.
Comment by Star Tripper on February 11, 2021 at 7:23 am
The Leftist “pastor” has hit on some truths but misses the reality. Yes, NAFTA was a disaster for many countries but it was wonderful for the globalists and corporatists. Hitting up the middle and lower class of one country to pay some sort of restitution to another is just another financial shell game. Breaking up the multi-nationals and putting restrictions back onto corporations (no political or charity involvement, limited lifetime, etc.) like we had in the past will help strangle this and other depravities.
Comment by Gary Bebop on February 11, 2021 at 3:48 pm
Another clever hit piece full of dissimulation from the Church Left. Mystification of language like this would get you cancelled if used by conservatives. Think it over.
Comment by Dan W on February 12, 2021 at 3:13 pm
Professor De La Torre comes off as a huge jerk in this article. His life story sounds really interesting. I wonder if he is as big a jerk in his classes? It seems to me he missed the opportunity to tell that story to a diverse group of believers.
Overstaying a tourist visa to live/work in the U.S. is illegal. “Undocumented Immigrant” makes it sound like a clerical error, not an intentional violation of immigration law.
Comment by binkyxz3 on February 12, 2021 at 8:50 pm
The term “illegal alien” is a proper English legal descriptor in the United State Code. Torre’s parents broke the law and if he did not become naturalized (not disclosed in the article), he is breaking the law. Breaking a law over a long period of time does NOT mitigate said law. Until his citizenship status is established, I suggest he shut up.
Comment by Enough Already on February 13, 2021 at 9:26 pm
A theologian that curses puts me off from the start. He blames NAFTA for his misery, but so do many Americans that saw their livlihoods disappear as well. As an american that had to scrap for a living all my life, I don’t see myself owing him something. BTW, the democrat-controlled congress could easily fix the immigration laws for his situation, but they won’t. Who is the racist here?
Comment by floyd lee on February 14, 2021 at 6:36 am
Two brief notes:
(1) If the Rev. De La Torre is the best St. Paul can offer for their Slater-Wilson Lecture, then that seminary must necessarily be on its last legs (or something).
(2) Nothing’s wrong with either a liberal or conservative president “defending McDonalds.” Especially “defending” those Big Macs. Now THAT’s good ethics!
Comment by Mike on February 14, 2021 at 1:22 pm
Whew! Talk about saying a whole lot of words to say nothing of substance. Where do Methodists come up with these weirdos?
I am not even going to try to refute his speech. He’s just another leftist, full of himself, with no room left for the Holy Spirit.
Comment by Dan on February 15, 2021 at 9:19 am
Yet another reason why the UMC will split like a cracked nut. The current UMC is a mash-up of Stockholm syndrome and the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment (look it up) where the inmates (members) willing accede to the punishment meted out by the prison guards (the clergy, bishops, and agencies). This is a strange and perverted relationship also present in such other bodies as PECUSA, PCUSA, ELCA, et. al.
Comment by Wanda Parker on February 16, 2021 at 9:54 pm
“Just as in 2019 it is now the seeds planted long ago in Africa and Asia by missionaries that have born fruit to maybe, just perhaps, save the lands that sent those missionaries.”
A reply to a post I read this morning. A CHURCH IN SCHISM: An African Perspective on the Theological Impasse in The UMC
This man needs one of the above mentioned missionaries – individuals who know Scripture, thus know the Triune God. If this man is a Liberation Theologian he is not a believer of the Jesus of the Triune God. He follows a false Jesus.
Comment by Mercer on February 23, 2021 at 10:56 pm
Nothing he said is contrary to Christianity is it? It’s interesting because even though I think sites like this would like to claim that they’re defending theological orthodoxy, it’s almost always just a defense of conservatism, at least the cultural variety.