(This is a translation of the Spanish language post published above.)
For years, immigration reform has been a hot-button issue in the United States. There has never been a time, however, when the topic of immigration was more controversial. Likely voters in the mid-term elections recently stated that immigration is their top concern. The recent controversy regarding the detainment of children at the border has added fuel to the fire.
Many Christians are asking what, if anything, Scripture says to guide us. Our first question when examining any issue should always be, “What does the Bible say?” By God’s grace, I hope to share some of those verses and principles with you. That being said, I am a pastor, not a politician. While I am more than willing to speak out on any moral issue the Word of God addresses, I do not believe you will find in the Bible a clear immigration policy for the twenty-first century. What you will find are principles that should shape how we, as Christians, view our immigrant neighbors. Politically, this is an issue on which good Christians will disagree. Spiritually, we can all agree on what is proper Christian conduct.
Let’s start with this: Jesus was an immigrant. You hear this story every year at Christmas. In Matthew 2, Herod attempted to eliminate the new “king of the Jews” by ordering the deaths of all male children in and near Bethlehem under two years of age. Joseph was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt. They fled to Egypt because God instructed them to and because doing so fulfilled prophecy. But by fleeing to Egypt, Jesus’ family became, in the truest sense of the word, “immigrants.”
The fact that our Savior was once an immigrant should cause us to look at the issue from a different standpoint. Imagine, for a moment, if Jesus had been born in 2018 and his family was forced to flee, not to Egypt, but to the United States. Ask yourself this: “How would you want Jesus to be treated?” However you answer that question, that is how you should treat your immigrant neighbors, those who came legally and those who did not. We must treat them as made in the image of God. We must treat them as sinners in need of a Savior. We must treat them as worthy of respect. Deuteronomy 10:18-19 says, “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.” Love the foreigner!
Although I am not a fan of Jorge Ramos’ politics, I have benefitted from his insights into the plight of most immigrants. For example, Ramos said in his most recent book (my translation), “Immigrants do not go because they want to. They are almost obligated to become immigrants in another land…Who wants to leave their parents, brothers, and friends? The ideal would be to grow, work, and live with those who love you. But that’s not always possible.” There are certainly exceptions to what Ramos stated. Yes, some who illegally enter the United States do so for nefarious reasons. The majority, however, came because they were forced to separate themselves from a dangerous or precarious situation.
I learned Spanish while ministering to Mexican migrant workers in North Carolina. These men endured what can only be called hard labor, knowing that they would not be any better off because of it…but their children would. They did not want to be in the United States. I assure you that every one of them would have preferred staying in Mexico and being able to feed their families. For these men, that was not an option.
How would you want to be treated if you were in that situation? Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, “Whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them.” This is known as the “Golden Rule.” At the time, there was a popular saying that stated, “Whatever harm you do not want done to you, do not do unto others.” Jesus turned the negative into a positive. Whatever good things you would want someone to do for you, do for them. How would you want to be treated if you were an immigrant? What good would you want done unto you? What blessings would you want others to bestow on you? That is how you should treat your immigrant neighbors.
According to Jesus, how we treat the most vulnerable is how we have treated Him and a reflection of whether we truly know Him. In Matthew 25, Jesus taught what is called “The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.” In that parable, He repeatedly said that when you care for “the least of these,” you do so for Him. Speaking to the sheep in verses 35-36, He said, “For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’” Notice in the middle of this list, Jesus said, “I was a stranger and you took me in.” “Stranger” can also mean “immigrant,” or “sojourner.” It means someone from the outside who is unknown to us. When we take them in, we take in Jesus.
Some have misquoted this verse to state that the United States is obligated to “take in” every person who desires to come. That is not the case. Jesus was not proposing an immigration policy for the Roman Empire. He was talking about how we, as Christians, treat the “strangers among us.” We take them in by caring for them when they are vulnerable, and meeting needs at a time when they are unable to do so for themselves.
I recently had the opportunity to see this in action. A member of my church who is a school teacher brought to our attention a little girl in her class whose family had just arrived in the United States. They did not own a thing except for the clothes on their backs. This teacher worked hard to provide beds for them to sleep on and clothes for them to wear. Our church met some important physical needs and I personally shared the gospel with them. The generosity of the church made a tremendous impact on them and I can only hope that the seeds we planted will result in the fruit of salvation.
In another example, one of our Sunday School teachers called me up a few years ago and asked for a couple hours of my time. God had put it on this brother’s heart to purchase a truckload of food and visit a part of town where central American men gather in the mornings in hope of work. Seeing he did not speak Spanish, he asked if I would accompany him to help give away the food and to distribute Bibles. I thought to myself afterward, “This guy gets it.”
Unfortunately, this is not how all Christians react. When I was a pastor in North Carolina, I once overheard one of my members say that there should be a law banning the speaking of any language but English in public. Try to imagine that you have been forced out of your homeland against your will. Now imagine a woman (and professing Christian) saying you should not be allowed to ask your wife whether you need to pick up a gallon of milk at Walmart because you lack the ability to do so in English! Such an attitude is unbelievably cruel and such cruelty should be nonexistent in the church of God.
More than anything else, when we think of the immigration issue, we should think like missionaries. We regularly emphasize the importance of the Great Commission. And yet, if the same person we want so badly to reach in a different country, happens to move to your town, should you not see that as an opportunity to witness? Would you really sacrifice your money to send a missionary to witness in Iran and not witness to an Iranian neighbor across the street? Whatever you believe about immigration reform, one thing is clear: God is bringing the nations to us and it is our job to share the gospel with them. Whether you agree or disagree with a particular immigration policy matters little. Whether you seize the opportunity to practice the Great Commission at home matters greatly.
If you are a born-again Christian, your allegiance is to the Kingdom of God. You can be a flag-waving, founding fathers citing, anthem-singing, pledge-quoting, barbeque-eating, America-loving patriot. (I am!) And yet, however much you love your country, you must love God’s kingdom more. And loving God’s Kingdom means seeing opportunities to share the gospel with everyone, including your immigrant neighbors.
I have an idea. Rather than spend five more minutes engaging in fruitless online debates about immigration, bless an immigrant neighbor. There are plenty to choose from! And let me let you in on a little secret. Many of our undocumented neighbors are afraid to attend an established church. They are afraid of the exposure. They are afraid that a police officer might attend that church, find out, and turn them in. There is only one way we can combat that: by loving our neighbors. Get to know them. Express genuine interest in them. Care about their needs. Show them the love of Christ. Earn their trust.
To some of you, this article will be deeply unsatisfying. You prefer the political debate to the spiritual discussion we should be having. If I honestly believed that our greatest problems were political, I would devote my life to politics. But whereas I believe our greatest problems are spiritual, I have devoted my life to the gospel. I hope you will as well.
Howard Harden received his BA at Samford, his MDIV and DMIN at Southeastern. He pastors FBC, Homestead, the oldest remaining SBC church in the Miami Baptist Association which has over 400 churches. He preaches four times a Sunday, three times in English and one time in Spanish. The church also has a worship service in Creole (Haitian mission).
First and foremost are we discussing our neighbors who wish to immigrate to our great country? It seems lately a great many are attempting to thwart our immigrations laws. So who is rightfully included in this discussion?. The spiritual aspect differs greatly depending on who you are discussing.
What are the differences?
Whether they are legal or illegal matters not one bit in terms of our needs to minister the gospel. Right?
Yeah, I went though the article again and I can’t find anything the author is suggesting that would be dependent on the legal status of the immigrants.
Again to take a political, social or cultural position by using a Biblical reference to support a position on a secular political issue is not a good idea , in my opinion. Let’s start with this Jesus was not an illegal immigrant. The section of Judea/Egypt was known as Aegyptus, a Roman Empire province. Judea was the east border. The Emperor was Caesar Augustus previous knows as Octavian , who defeated Anthony and the Queen of Egypt. Going from one part of the Roman Empire would be like going from Florida to Georgia not from Mexico to USA. Same with the refugee status, the Holy Family did not leave the Roman Empire and entire another country, they were not refugees. I cringe when commenters and pundits who never have any interest or reliance on the Bible use it to enhance their secular political stance, whether I agree with them or not.
Pastors for sure should know the danger of taking Bible quotes out of context with out the full flavor of meaning. You know the theological group of principles far better than I do, I hope. Our foundation as a nation is Christian and that has been our guide and cornerstone that led to successful political and secular decisions.
Welcoming and caring stranger, foreigners, sojourners in the ancient Middle East cultures was a necessary , universal custom among the people in the harsh, arid desert lands that many nomads traveled. Hospitality was a formal, even sacred, code of conduct. There was the “traveler” and the resident alien, for example. Without belaboring the issue the resident alien had a few right but the “traveler” was at the mercy of his host. There was the foreigner, alien, sojourner, wayfarer or gentile just to name a few. So again do we want to get into this area when setting national policy to protect the USA , which is the main purpose of our government , to protect the people and borders of the USA.
Again we are mixing all kind of issues here but I am sure they will be covered. Our individual Christian actions are on a personal nature and may be different than what our secular political position .
The author did not say Jesus was an illegal immigrant.
Bill Mac You are correct . I inferred illegal as that is the usual talking point but The author did not I’d as legal. My point is still valid, Jesus was still in Roman Empire. Thanks for clarifying. I live in Florida we have a lot of immigrants from NY.
On your last paragraph. Nope. Try again.
If your “secular political position” is not informed by your biblical worldview, you have created a false, second faith. Which is by definition idolatry.
How we live. How we work. How we raise our kids. And yes, how we vote and the policies we support and oppose are all informed by our faith.
Ryan Abernathy, I may not expressed it well as you point out. Of course my support of policies and how I vote is informed by my faith as you correctly state. How we live our lives is informed by our belief system and our faith. So my secular , political decision is to be in favor of enforcing our immigration laws as written, securing our borders in a lawful manner and as the United States has done historically done so in a manner based on our Christian foundation. My politics is not my faith, I can separate the two issues and expect the leaders of our country to do. Otherwise I am confused with where the other position is,, a theocracy. We are a nation of Christians not a institutionalized Christian theocracy . So as Christians we can have disagreements on political issues without one side or the other losing their Christian values. Am I still missing your point? Thanks
steve,
Look at it like this: there is nothing wrong in your position to support stronger immigration laws and to enforce the ones on the books. But if the legal status of the hungry person next to you prevents you from getting him food, then there is a problem with your understanding of your faith. At that moment he is not an immigrant as much as he is a HUNGRY person. See the difference?
And yes—how we vote. This is precisely the reason evangelical Christians prevented the Godless left from retaining power in 2016. America, the most benevolent nation in the history of mankind, is once again standing for what is right and doing everything possible to reverse the debauchery that was thrust upon our country. Hopefully men and women of true faith across the nation will once again cast their ballots tomorrow.
Exactly, the legal status of our neighbor should have no bearing on our willingness to give them aid to meet their basic need[s]. Even if we are for tougher immigration laws to make it harder to get into our country legally, the person near us that needs our help should get the help we can give.
Michael White, Yes , of course as an individual Christian or any moral , compassionate person you would not neglect the person in dire need. However the issue as a nation is how do we solve this problem of illegal aliens coming into and remaining in the country. Mandatory E verify of all people seeking employment and enforcement of laws prohibiting hiring of people here illegally would be first step. Rigid enforcement of three month limit on visa , stopping legal entry overstays would be another issue. However political forces, Democrat and Republican will not act on these issues for their own special interest concerns and using the faith based institutions to blur the issue.
It just appears to me we are conflating individual actions based on faith with a practical, , workable and rational enforcement of laws passed by our Congress. I as a citizen want the USA government to treat people fairly with compassion as it enforces the laws of this land. The USA certainly does that however it does not even enforce the law. I live in Florida and I travel a lot . There are not a lot of illegal aliens that are living in the “shadows”, that is just not the reality. However, to expand the point , how should someone who knows they are in a country illegal live? Our entire economic network in the USA is almost a two language press 2 for Spanish system. For every person that is hostile and mean spirited to someone who only speaks Spanish , most Americans are compassionate and try to bridge the communication gap in individual transactions. The average American has been very accepting and at least tolerant of the large influx of illegal aliens.
As noted in a comment above, Pastor Harden only used the description immigrant which denotes legal status, yet most the article is appears to be directed at illegal aliens There are very few “migrant” farm workers in N.C or anywhere as most do not work seasonally and return to Mexico. Of course the illegal aliens here are here for economic reasons and to make a better life for their families but that is not what the immigration laws and enforcement of those laws should be based on. Mexico has had historically a much lower unemployment rate than the USA because of the flow of illegal aliens into this nation.
Jorge Ramos is a rich, dual citizen , enabler of the corrupt Mexican government that use the illegal flow of people into the USA as a safety valve for their own well being. There are about 47 million legal immigrants or residents in the USA. I have never heard Jorge Ramos address their issues or their voices , instead he is an advocate for the 12 to 20 million people here illegally.
No SBC member , no Christian that I know advocates or treats illegal aliens with distain or hateful actions . This is a political issue about national policy, how to protect the lawful borders of our nation and who and how many people the USA allows into this country legally.
Just to clarity there are appox. 47 million legal immigrants or residents that classify as Hispanic in the USA but advocates like Ramos and most activist only represent and show concern for the illegal aliens. Mr. Ramos is correct , 80 percent of South and Central America would love to come to the USA, should their need and desires drive USA laws based on our Christian compassion.
steve,
Quit conflating the issue.
There are American laws,
and there is Christian compassion.
How many and what kind of immigrant this country takes in is not a Christian issue.
It is not a Kingdom issue but an American one.
Vote your conscience.
We have the freedom to disagree on American issues. Too long has the church wedded American issues and Kingdom issues as if we, the USA, were the new Israel. We are not, and we shouldn’t. But in doing so, we were drawn away fro our primary mission, theGospel, and led down many rabbit trails.
As an American, you can have an opinion on the immigration issue. But it is not a Christian issue. Until they live next door or in our community. How we treat them is a Christian issue. Why they are here, is not.
Even if their coming affects you and I economically to the detriment of our society in the material sense, it is not a Christian issue. God will provide what we need. Even if their coming destroys the nation as it is now, it is not a Christian issue. God raises up and obliterates nations all the time. We do not know what is best for the future, so we simply trust God and obey Him. And since we have the responsibility, we also vote our conscience. And if our conscience dictates, we can engage in political discussions with others so inclined. Or run for office. But those are secular things separate from, but informed, by our faith, as all things we do should be informed by our faith.
steve,
Thats a different issue.
A political issue.
We must keep them separate.
In the end, not a Christian issue.
Vote your conscience.
Let’s stop for a moment and take our political hats off and speak as Christians. Howard does a good job showing us what we should do. I agree with him and his presentation. Yet… Is that the real issue?
Here is what I am getting at.
We can debate all day about what we should do and never a one of us change our mind. Isn’t the real question we need to ask…
What are we going to do?
Does it really matter what we should or should not do but rather what are we going to do when we quit talking long enough to be A VERB and act on what is right?
See… It really doesn’t matter if we think they should get in or not. That is not our mission. That is the government’s mission. Our mission is to take the gospel to them, no matter which country they are standing in. Let the government send the troops. Let the SBC send the yellow hats and every able bodied SBCer go hand out meals and blankets and build bridges to share the gospel.
Ok – got it off my mind – now back to the debate.
I think you can advocate for stronger border protection and still carry out the “Christian” things the author is talking about. But we have to be careful. In the current political climate , you cannot constantly hear that those seeking to come in illegally are a dangerous horde of evil invaders bent on raping and pillaging their way through our country and spreading smallpox and leprosy (really?) and not have that affect how we treat these people as Christians. This isn’t the Mongol invasion of China.
I just don’t get how we can leave working Christians out of the discussion. SBCers include police, judges, sheriffs, court officials, clerks, doctors, nurses, apartment managers, employers, teachers…people who serve “whosoever comes” but then often have to make hard decisions in the line of duty. These Christ-followers are all sitting in your churches – donating, volunteering, going above & beyond, making local & foreign missions possible, quietly giving their old car to a needy family, constantly giving & doing as a service to the Lord. Most of them are not advertising what they are doing all day, every day and on weekends too. They ARE doing.
I agree that we should love our neighbors regardless of their immigration status. The problem that I see, as others have pointed out, is with people trying to twist Scripture to mandate a particular American immigration policy. As examples, I’ve heard the “Jesus-was-an-illegal” argument in favor of open borders. I’ve also heard God’s command that the Israelites not intermarry with foreigners as the reason why the US shouldn’t let anyone in. Everything gets taken to the extreme, and instead of discussing the difficult pros and cons we jump to labeling those who disagree as racists on one hand or snowflakes on the other.
Jeff,
Thats right. We have to separate the two issues. One is American, relating to secular politics and the other is Christian, informing us how to treat others. We are not Old T Israel reborn as the USA. But we are foreigners in a foreign land that in a true sense is not our home, a place to be in but not of. How does it go:
I’m just a wayfaring stranger traveling through this world of woe…
So let us treat all others with love and dignity no matter what their political status is.Especially to be good to those society looks down on, the poor, the alien, the weak, the abused, the forsaken, and so forth.
Thank you! This is the proper focus for Christians. The solution for our spiritual obligations is almost never political. The governing authorities do not bear the sword in vain, but the focus of the Church is to glorify God in discipling the “nations” – people groups rather than governments.
We’ve ministered in Venezuela since 2005 until the door was shut a couple of years ago because of the current crisis there. Our Venezuelan workers were staying in Venezuela until it was no longer possible for them to stay. We just evacuated them to Mexico a couple of months ago after also investigating Ecuador, where some of the church had already gone. Some have also gone to Chile. Most have gone to Mexico. So that is where we moved our ministry.
Wow, I know it was not intended but what I hear in this post is: what we “should” and “must” do; who “gets it” and who doesn’t; what we should and shouldn’t discuss and prefer; what matters and what doesn’t. And it made me cry. Because there is so much Jesus truth in the post but somehow I can’t take it in.
Christian brothers & sisters, we are differently called & gifted. The Lord knows your heart. If you are called & gifted to be salt & light in service – sometimes at personal risk – EVERY DAY ALL DAY to whomever calls or walks in, regardless of origin or immigration status, and you serve in love, the Lord knows. You are walking the talk. If you carry responsibility to faithfully carry out an oath, administer policies, dispense justice, enforce laws, tell truths, make hard choices, and you do so with love & grace in the Lord, He knows. He knows. Let us not become weary.
Maybe the most practical & direct step for churches is to bring on Hispanic staff members, and/or to have a Spanish-language service (or whatever language spoken in the community), as the author has at his church. But each as called by God.
Karen,
Many churches are small and poor. Their pastors are bi-vocational. My church does have a full time pastor, but we have no funds for increasing our staff. Let us trust that our brothers and sisters are allowing their lives to be directed by the Spirit and are seeking to reach their communities with the Gospel. Those that are not will eventually be gone or replaced by those that do. God WILL grow His church with or without us, as He sees fit.
Something that might be more beneficial and possibly within reach of even smaller churches, is to have some ESL training. I hear a lot of angry calls for assimilation but very little in the way of assisting with it.
Agreed Bill…good idea
” have some ESL training.” Great idea Bill Mac. Our church has ESL classes and it is affording incredible opportunities for us to love our immigrant neighbors.
Agreed.
Another great idea for the church is to reach out to some Hispanic (if that’s a prominent language spoken near your church) leaders and see if they would offer to help you learn to speak Spanish. I think often times we are always willing to help them learn our language or our culture, but we neglect learning about theirs.
If there is another language that is spoken fluently in your area then work toward that end. Maybe have a night where you join up and have a dinner cooked by the folks in your area that are immigrants. Offer to pay for their supplies & cook at your church. Go shopping with them & cook with them. Invite them to bring things that are near & dear to them to show you of their home country so your church can get to know them better.
All too often we want “them” to be like “us”. It’s not us vs. them. I know most aren’t saying this, but many might feel it.
First, no one of Christian conscience wants to see anyone treated poorly or indecently or inhumanely regardless of their life circumstances. That’s why there are prison ministries, for instance. Second, the Gospel ought to be preached to as many as will hear it, again, regardless of circumstance. These are givens.
Yet it isn’t inconsistent to treat people decently but also feel concern about broken laws. People who are here illegally are not merely “undocumented.” That’s like arguing someone who drives without obtaining a license is an “undocumented” driver. Does that mean I treat such a person badly? No. Does it mean I don’t share the Gospel with them? Of course not. But it doesn’t mean that I must “combat” their fear of getting caught. People who are breaking the law ought to be afraid of getting caught, because breaking the law has consequences. If no one were afraid of getting caught for breaking the law, the deterrent effect of the law would be made void.
So I agree with the author we should share the Gospel indiscriminately, including with illegal immigrants. I disagree that combating fear of lawbreaking is in any way a Christian mandate.
Amen! Thank you for saying this!
“That’s why there are prison ministries for example.”
I hope that is not what you think of immigrants. Illegal or otherwise.
There are those who are saying ‘Well, you have a right to disagree….’ But do Christians have that right? We as Americans certainly do, but I am speaking as Christians. Do we have a right to disagree on this particular subject? I don’t think we do and remain Biblical. I don’t think we can and remain who Christ changed us to be and commanded us to do. Commanded, not just asked or suggested. As usual I think Russell Moore and ERLC says it well: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2018/11/02/christians-should-see-migrant-caravan-bibles-call-honor-dignity-all-humanity/?utm_term=.319b919aa5a0
First, the reference to prison ministries is to show that Christians take seriously the mandate to treat everyone as an image bearer. However, that doesn’t mean that we think prisoners who are rightly and justly convicted should be immediately let out of jail – and this part is very important – even if they accept Christ while in prison.
Second, I read the piece you cited and it is a discussion about policy and doesn’t address my concern at all. I agree with Dan Darling that our immigration system is a mess (it has been a mess for as long as I can remember – going back into the early 80’s when I was in college). That is a political matter upon which Christians ought to bring to bear our compassion. But even Dan agreed that our laws matter and are not something we can simply disregard. He wrote “Admittedly, the United States cannot take in all the world’s most vulnerable, and our elected officials have a responsibility, according to Romans 13, to keep us safe and to set reasonable limits. ”
Let’s put this in a context that gets the emotion out of it. If you have rules at your house and your child breaks those rules, they receive some form of discipline as a result. That doesn’t mean you don’t love your child and it doesn’t mean you don’t forgive your child or fail to preach the gospel to your child. Quite the opposite – it shows you love the child because you do make them accountable for breaking the rules.
The author of this piece suggests, at least as I read it, that we have a Christian duty to “combat” people’s fear of getting caught for breaking the law. The word “combat” is his, not mine. If you will point me to Scripture that tells me I have a duty to ignore it when someone breaks the law of the land, please point me to it and I’ll change my position. Otherwise, I’m at a loss to understand your claim that we can’t disagree about this.
Debbie K., When the WAPO publishes an opinion piece from an SBC spokesman, you know it is a political issue . Would the WAPO let an ERLC spokesman give their views on abortion? How about complementarianism much less patriarchy ?
The majority of SBC members support the immigration policy and direction of President Trump as a secular political matter. They understand the difference between a secular governmental policy that enforces our laws and can still maintain their Christian values in interpersonal individual relationship.
So be specific, an SBC member supports this home church, gives support to Lottie and Annie, supports the CP , missions and trust the SBC leadership to use the money entrusted to them for world wide missions.
This SBC member looks at the social, economic and cultural issues that are happening with the influx of illegal aliens into our nation. They vote for a political party that seems to address the issue in a problem solving manner. Have they “lost” their Christian values? Be specific what would you want me, this SBC member to do? What does the ERLC want the SBC members to do in a specific manner?
81% of SBC, it is estimated voted for Trump with illegal alien influx and the security of the nation as well as the economy being their main concern. . They disagree with the ERLC on this secular political issue just as they disagreed with the ERLC in the Republican primary. Where does the SBC leadership want to go with this? Are we back to a Moral Majority our faith must be demonstrated with our vote.
The SBC is getting drawn into the political arena either by being naïve or by design. Again, the average SBC member would not agree with the WAPO opinion piece that really does not address the issue other than in general terms. I think the SBC is trying to get into the NGO money line.
Amen Gus! I agree… And we should not conflate legal immigrants with illegal aleins, they are totally two different things. Both should be treated humanly and justly by the law and both should receive care, love and the gospel by the church but the church should not cover up illegal activity nor is it to be the law enforcement of the land. Advice needed and given by the church to legal immigrants and illegal aleins should be totally different.