The Bible and Borders

The Bible and Borders is part of a longer tradition of books by M. Daniel Carroll R. on the topic of immigration and Scripture. In 2008, Baker published Carroll’s first edition of Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible. A second edition of this book arrived from Brazos, a division of Baker, in 2013. The second edition provided an updated and extended version of much of the same content as the first edition.While both editions of Christians at the Border and The Bible and Borders are around the same length, a chief difference between the books is the first chapter. Whereas Christians at the Border begins with Hispanic immigration, sharing the history and experiences of Hispanic immigrants, The Bible and Borders removes this direct discussion of immigration history and instead begins by focusing specifically on how immigration is described within the biblical text of the OT and NT. In doing so, The Bible and Borders expands and updates the core biblical chapters of Christians at the Border.This shift has another implication. Rather than being focused specifically on Hispanic immigration, which is at the heart of Christians at the Border, Carroll speaks more broadly of diverse forms of immigration in The Bible and Borders. While Carroll’s Guatemalan background causes him to highlight themes of Hispanic immigration and Hispanic stories, this broader scope for The Bible and Borders allows readers to think about other forms of immigration more readily in this book than its predecessor.The book begins with a short introduction that sets up the structure, key themes, and definitions associated with the book. Carroll describes his goals for the book, which is “not exhaustive” as a survey “nor is it a technical exercise in biblical scholarship.” Instead, Carroll’s goal is to “demonstrate the breadth of relevant materials in the Bible as a reminder that God has much to teach all of us on these issues” associated with immigration (p. 10).In ch. 1, Carroll explores the implications of the Bible for understanding immigration by starting at the very beginning with Gen 1. Carroll argues that Gen 1’s claim that all people are made in the image of God should frame how we view immigration. All people––whether native to a country or an immigrant, whether documented or undocumented––should be treated as human beings who are made in God’s image. His exploration of immigration in the OT continues by exploring three key themes: “hunger, forced exile, and life as foreigners.” Carroll discusses the experiences of hunger in the stories of Abraham and Isaac and then the experiences of the Israelites such as Joseph and Daniel when they are forced into exile. Finally, he discusses their experiences as foreigners in the wilderness after they are freed from Egyptian slavery and again after wars with Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. Even when the Israelites are able to return to their land after the Persians take over, they experience the struggle of being foreigners in their own land and questions of who are the rightful owners of the land: the peoples already present in the land or the returning Israelites? Carroll demonstrates that these stories show us that migration was part of everyday life for God’s people, that they had internal “lively theological” spaces to discuss what it meant to be exiles and foreigners and how to treat foreigners in their midst, and that they experienced a link between migration and their mission (pp. 45–46).Chapter 2 continues exploring the OT and immigration by looking at the way the laws in Deuteronomy and Leviticus treat the foreigner in their midst: the sojourner. Carroll examines the different terms related to immigrants in the law. He points to the story of Ruth as an example of these laws worked out in a biblical narrative. Carroll ends the chapter by pointing to the implications of this portrait for today. A key point he makes is that OT law is intended to be read as a paradigm. In its context, it was intended to be a paradigm for other nations, but today it can remain a paradigm for how we engage the question of immigration.In ch. 3, Carroll shifts to discussing what the NT adds to the biblical picture of immigration. Carroll focuses on 4 elements in the NT: (1) the Gospels’ portrayal of Jesus and Jesus’s teaching on the topic, (2) NT passages that use the language of sojourner related to Christians and the church (especially in 1 Peter), (3) the NT call to hospitality, and (4) the implications of Rom 13 on the topic. The chapter concludes with an exploration how these portraits of Jesus and the church shape an understanding of immigration for the world today.The book ends with a brief epilogue tracing “the consistent ethic of hospitable welcome toward the outsider across both Testaments” (p. 117). Carroll does not downplay the complexity of how this ethic works out in political ways or in public policy, but he does encourage his readers to see the links between caring for the vulnerable and our worship in Scripture as he points to the need for just treatment of the immigrant, the refugee, and the asylee under this rubric of the “vulnerable.” Carroll hopes that “Christian homes and churches might stand as moral beacons in a confusing and sometimes cruel world” (p. 119).A great strength of The Bible and Borders is the accessibility and thoroughness of Carroll’s writing. Carroll provides extensive examples and support for his points about how the Bible discusses immigration while speaking to the average person meaningfully and clearly. The book reflects both Carroll’s decades of study and reflection on this topic and his pastoral compassion that reaches the reader’s heart as well as their head. While the overall context of the book is specifically American, readers from international contexts will still find the points Carroll makes helpful as they reflect on immigration in their own national contexts.If one is trying to find a weakness with the book, one might state that the book is at times brief about biblical passages where Carroll could have been more extensive. As Carroll’s book is not intended to be an “exhaustive” survey or “technical exercise in biblical scholarship,” it is not surprising that a biblical scholar who seeks either of these things will find the book lacking at times. Such a scholar may want more extensive sources or more fully articulated descriptions of differing perspectives on a given passage or topic. Yet such a critique would be reading against Carroll’s stated purposes and goals. This book will not provide readers with answers to every question they might raise about immigration, but it does provide a sense of the breadth of biblical materials associated with the topic of immigration. Perhaps most importantly, the book moves from simply stating what the Bible said to what the implications are for today in everyday life.In this way, The Bible and Borders is a useful book for diverse contexts. It could be used as an insightful secondary textbook in a Christian classroom, by a local church, or with a Christian family member who wants to think deeply about what the Bible has to say about immigration. Whatever the setting, the book will provide the reader with a richer understanding of the Bible and immigration

Immigration · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classics · History · Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies · Philosophy · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies

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