In the 15 months leading up to December, the United States “delivered” about 20,000 bombs and missiles in the fight against the Islamic State. At the time, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh said the munitions were being expended faster than they could be replenished and could potentially run out.

Those facts were revealed in tandem with a growing chorus of political voices criticizing President Obama for what they believe to be a weak response to Middle Eastern terrorism and a dangerous welcome of asylum seekers who, they fear, could be poorly disguised terrorists.

In these situations, a dose of perspective can highlight facts in new ways.

If Germany absorbs the 1 million refugees it has pledged to accept, roughly one in every 82 people will be a recent immigrant.

The potential U.S. ratio is one refugee for every 32,200 Americans, based on President Obama’s initial pledge to accept 10,000 asylum seekers — a paltry sum roundly rejected by conservative presidential aspirants.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bold pledge underscores the curious differences between the two nations’ biggest conservative political parties. Her Christian Democrat Union is Germany’s most powerful party. It puts religion in its name, but in practice largely leaves faith a private, personal matter.

Meanwhile in the U.S., many political conservatives trumpet religious credentials while pursuing policies that treat biblical calls to welcome aliens and strangers as a dusty book’s obsolete utopian dream.

While conservative American politicians stoke fears about the coming hordes — even suggesting that only Christians should be allowed to enter — Merkel warned against religious intolerance and fear. She advised those who would turn away refugees to return to attending church once in a while and have some biblical foundations.

“Fear was never a good adviser,” she said of some German responses to the refugee crisis. “Cultures that are marked by fear will not conquer their future.” In an interview a month later, she said, “My faith in God makes many political decisions easier.”

Rather than fanning fearful flames, Christians should welcome victims of war.