It seems the partisan line has been drawn over the issue of accepting Syrian refugees. More than half of the nation’s governors have said they won’t allow refugees in their states — despite having no authority to actually keep them out. All but one of those governors is a Republican.

The supposed party of Christian values is apparently willing to set those values aside when it comes to terrorism.

Gov. Phil Bryant said this: “I will do everything humanly possible to stop any plans from the Obama administration to put Syrian refugees in Mississippi. The policy of bringing these individuals into the country is not only misguided, it is extremely dangerous.”

If bringing refugees — who are vetted for up to two years by several different federal agencies — into the country is “extremely dangerous,” then one would assume accepting tourists and immigrants is also “extremely dangerous.”

Do these governors plan to attempt to keep those people, who undergo much less vetting, out as well? Their logic would dictate that we should. But no one’s calling for a complete sealing of state borders because the argument for keeping refugees out isn’t a logical one, it’s an emotional one.

We fear terrorism, and we act out of that fear. But fear doesn’t typically lead to sound government policy. Reason, logic and thoughtfulness usually do.

Do Syrian refugees present a danger to this country? It’s reasonable to assume they might. But that’s why refugees are vetted so thoroughly. They are subjected to “an interview, a medical evaluation and an interagency security screening process aimed at ensuring the refugee does not pose a threat to the United States,” according to CNN. Several federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department, the National Counterterrorism Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are involved in the process, which Deputy State Department Spokesman Mark Toner recently called, “the most stringent security process for anyone entering the United States,” CNN reported.

Some have suggested that we should only accept Christian refugees from Syria, but have offered no details on how the government would go about determining exactly who those people are.

“I mean you can prove you’re a Christian. I think you can prove it, if you can’t prove it, you err on the side of caution,” presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said.

How exactly does one “prove it?” Knowledge of the Bible? Reciting Bible verses? Church attendance records?

The Bible offers a few clues on how to know if you’re a Christian. Below are two.

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death,” 1 John 3:14.

“We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did,” 1 John 2:3, 6.

So what are those commands? How did Jesus live?

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44.

“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous,” Luke 14: 12-14

“Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you,” Matthew 5:42.

Those seeking to keep refugees out might want to revisit a couple of those verses.

Let’s not forget that Jesus himself was once a refugee. His family fled to Egypt to escape an evil King Herod. Would we welcome his family to America today? Based on what I’ve seen, most probably would not.