It's here! (I've been waiting for this one.)Dr. Danny Carroll, Professor of Old Testament here at Denver Seminary, has written a book designed to help Christians think through every side of the immigration issue - Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible. His study begins with an historical examination of immigration in the United States, an important place to start. He then works through the Bible, exploring those passages that have something to teach citizens and immigrants. He does not make any political policy recommendations at the book's end, rather sticking to his area of expertise (biblical and cultural studies) and trusting that his exposition of the Scriptures and the situation at hand can help to lead discerning readers to see more clearly the elements involved in policy considerations. He does not shy, however, from making recommendations for the churches in our country.
My educational experience has been enriched by Dr. Carroll; even more significantly, my church experience is being deeply enriched through the presence of Hispanic immigrants in our church. Meggan and I are subsequently hoping to explore ministry to Latin American and North African immigrants in Spain this summer. Spiritually, I am an "alien" in this world(1 Peter 1:1); as part of the family of God, my family has been in exile, so I consider it a part of my calling to welcome those who are away from their homeland for whatever reason. I pray that the church will step up to fill that role more and more in our country.
2 comments:
I too look forward to reading this book someday.
I did have one critique of Carroll when he talked at chapel this last Fall semester...
He went on and on about some great stuff about immigration but never really nailed down any sort of "action plan" beyond raising awareness about this "elephant in the room". I don't know if he was trying to avoid getting into the politics for the upcoming election or what.
Somebody asked him during the Q and A about his personal thoughts about how a Christian should act politically. He danced around the question and reaffirmed his position of "talking about it".
I know he's Democrat. It bothers me when people write books raising awareness of an issue and then don't take a stand politically on that issue.
Healthy critique; I've seen that instinct in him. I've also seen him give his thoughts more explicitly about the issue... a few months before the book was published.
At any rate, with the 2.5 candidates remaining for president, it won't be a hugely contentious issue in that race - they all have pretty similar ideas about immigration.
(Welcome to my blog, Danny-boy!)
Post a Comment