The Hospitality of Nations: Kingdom Theology, Public Policy & the Refugee Crisis

[Daniel L Heck]

Abstract:

Does the proclamation of Jesus Christ’s Kingdom include an invitation to nations to engage in Christlike love and hospitality, or is this simply a call to individuals and the church? This question is given fresh urgency by the current Middle East refugee crisis, which has forced an estimated 4.4 million people to flee from Syria alone. Refugees find themselves appealing, in the first instance, to the hospitality of governments, which must decide whether to welcome them into a country, and how to treat them if they arrive safely. The capacity of churches and individuals within nations to show personal hospitality to refugees is, therefore, highly contingent on the hospitality of the country in which they live. This paper articulates some ways in which the Gospel might call nations to hospitality, as well as individuals and the community of the faithful. It does this by drawing on Walter Wink’s exegetical work in Naming the Powers and Matt Croasmun’s theological articulation of emergence, in order to expand on sermons and public declarations from Rich Nathan and Derek Morphew.

The full paper is attached to this post.

[MiriamJoy]

@Daniel L Heck  I would like to share this paper on my FB page and with other friends. Would that be okay?

[MiriamJoy]

@Daniel L Heck has anyone responded to your paper with a critique?

[Daniel L Heck]

Sure, feel free to share!

It did have a formal respondent and audience response at SVS when I presented it. It was positive ... with a focus on practical implications, more than on the ethical or philosophical aspects of the paper.

I always love critique though! So if you're interested, go for it

[MiriamJoy]

I don't have anything, but I will probably go read/listen to some of your sources. I haven't come across ideas as delicious as these in a long, long time, so of course, I like to read any critiques, could things really be this awesome - a theology for the immigrant, a new way to read critical passages in Romans, and a way to think about an institution having a soul...