Theology of Migration in the Abrahamic Religions

254 Pages·2014·1.528 MB·English

by  Elaine Padilla, Peter C. Phan (eds.)

PALGRAVE MACMILLAN’S
CHRISTIANITIES OF THE WORLD
Series Editors:
Dale Irvin is president and professor of World Christianity at New York
Theological Seminary, in New York City.
Peter C. Phan is the inaugural holder of the Ignacio Ellacuría Chair of
Catholic Social Thought, Theology Department, at Georgetown
University.
In recent decades, there has been increasing awareness in the academy of a
reality called World Christianity. The expression refers to the fact that today
Christianity is no longer predominantly Western, but has become a more
truly worldwide religion. This “catholicity,” a hallmark of Christianity and
a fruit of Christian missions, has resulted in a massive demographic shift
in the overall numbers of Christians from the Global North (Europe and
North America) to the Global South (Africa, Asia, and Latin America).
Consequently, the twin forces of globalization and migration have simul-
taneously intensified the interconnections and amplified the differences
among the various expressions of Christianity worldwide, radically trans-
forming the character of Christianity as it finds expression in diverse forms all
over the globe. In the twenty-first century, Christianity can only be expected
to become even more multiple, diverse, and hybridized. Similarly, one can
expect to find something that is recognizably Christian among all its diverse
and autochthonous expressions to make a meaningful conversation possible.
We call that conversation “Christianities of the World.”
To help understand this phenomenon, Palgrave Macmillan has initiated a
new series of monographs appropriately titled “Christianities of the World”
under the general editorship of Peter C. Phan and Dale T. Irvin. The inten-
tion of the series is to publish single-authored or edited works of scholarship
that engage aspects of these diverse Christianities of the world through the
disciplines of history, religious studies, theology, sociology, or missiology, in
order to understand Christianity as a truly world religion. To these ends, the
editors are asking,
(cid:77)(cid:1) How has Christianity been received and transformed in various countries,
especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America (the non-Western world)
in response to their cultural practices, religious traditions (the so-called
“world religions” as well as the tribal or indigenous religions), migratory
movements, and political and economic globalization (inculturation and
interfaith dialogue)? In particular, how have newer forms of Christianity,
especially those that identify with the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement,
changed the face of World Christianity? What are the major characteristics
of Christianities both old and new? What new trajectories and directions
can one expect to see in the near future?
(cid:77)(cid:1) How should the history of Christian missions be narrated? How does
one evaluate the contributions of expatriate missionaries and indigenous
agents? How should one understand the relationship between missions
and churches?
(cid:77)(cid:1) How should theology be taught in the academic arena (be it in universities,
seminaries, or Bible schools)? How should various Christian theological
loci (e.g., God, Christ, Spirit, church, worship, spirituality, ethics, or pas-
toral ministry) be reformulated and taught in view of world Christianity or
Christianities of the world, in dialogue with different cultures and differ-
ent religions, or targeted toward particular ethnic or religious groups?
(cid:77)(cid:1) How does the new reality of world Christianity affect research methods?
How should courses on Christianity be taught? How should textbooks on
Christianity, as well as on world religions, generally be structured? What
should curricula, course work, required texts, faculty hiring, criteria for
tenure and promotion, research, and publication look like in the academic
world that is responding to the questions being raised by the Christianities
of the world?
The issues are far-ranging, and the questions transformational. We look for-
ward to a lively series and a rewarding dialogue.
Pentecostalism and Prosperity: The Socio-Economics of the Global
Charismatic Movement
Edited by Katherine Attanasi and Amos Yong
Interfaith Marriage in America: The Transformation of Religion and
Christianity
By Erika B. Seamon
Contemporary Issues of Migration and Theology
Edited by Elaine Padilla and Peter C. Phan
Theosis, Sino-Christian Theology and the Second Chinese Enlightenment:
Heaven and Humanity in Unity
By Alexander Chow
Muslim-Christian Dialogue in Post-Colonial Northern Nigeria:
The Challenges of Inclusive Cultural and Religious Pluralism
By Marinus C. Iwuchukwu
Christian Responses to Islam in Nigeria: A Contextual Study of
Ambivalent Encounters
By Akintunde E. Akinade
Theology of Migration in the Abrahamic Religions
Edited by Elaine Padilla and Peter C. Phan
Christianities in World Migration
Edited By Peter C. Phan and Elaine Padilla (TK)
Theology of Migration in the

Abrahamic Religions
Edited by
Elaine Padilla and Peter C. Phan
THEOLOGY OF MIGRATION IN THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS
Copyright © Elaine Padilla and Peter C. Phan, 2014.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-00103-0
All rights reserved.
First published in 2014 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-43353-7 ISBN 978-1-137-00104-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137001047
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Theology of migration in the Abrahamic religions / [edited by] Elaine
Padilla and Peter C. Phan.
pages cm.—(Christianities of the world)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Christianity and other religions. 2. Abrahamic religions.
3. Emigration and immigration—Religious aspects—Christianity.
4. Emigration and immigration—Religious aspects—Judaism.
5. Emigration and immigration—Religious aspects—Islam.
I. Padilla, Elaine, editor.
BR127.T476 2014
201(cid:25).7—dc23 2014014797
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: October 2014
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents

Introduction: Migration in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam 1
Elaine Padilla and Peter C. Phan
Chapter 1
Theology, Migration, and the Homecoming 7
Dale T. Irvin
Chapter 2
“You Will Seek From There”: The Cycle of Exile and
Return in Classical Jewish Theology 27
Devorah Schoenfeld
Chapter 3
Divine Glory Danced: Jewish Migration as God’s
Self-Revelation in and as Art 47
Melissa Raphael
Chapter 4
Theology of Migration in the Orthodox Tradition 63
Kondothra M. George
Chapter 5
Embracing, Protecting, and Loving the Stranger:
A Roman Catholic Theology of Migration 77
Peter C. Phan
Chapter 6
Protestantism in Migration: Ecclesia Semper Migranda 111
Nancy Bedford
Chapter 7
The Im/migrant Spirit: De/constructing a Pentecostal
Theology of Migration 133
Amos Yong
vi CONTENTS
Chapter 8
Migration: An Opportunity for Broader and Deeper Ecumenism 155
Deenabandhu Manchala
Chapter 9
Toward a Muslim Theology of Migration 173
Amir Hussain
Chapter 10
Challenges of Diversity and Migration in Islamic Political
Theory and Theology 187
Charles Amjad-Ali
Chapter 11
Signs of Wonder: Journeying Plurally into the Divine Disclosure 209
Elaine Padilla
Selected Bibliography 239
List of Contributors 249
Index 253
Introduction: Migration in Judaism,

Christianity, and Islam
Elaine Padilla and Peter C. Phan
“M
igration is a subject that cries out for an interdisciplinary
approach.” So declare Caroline B. Brettell and James F. Hollifield in
the preface to their edited volume on migration theory.1 In an effort
to “reboot” migration theory through “interdisciplinarity, global-
ity, and postdisciplinarity,” they have assembled a team of specialists
in anthropology, sociology, economics, geography, history, demo-
graphics, political science, and law to investigate the phenomenon of
international migration. Conspicuously absent in this “talking across
disciplines” on migration is religious studies/theology—an absence
all the more poignant as both editors are professors at a Christian
university with a large divinity school.
It is of course legitimate for methodological reasons to limit
the discourse on migration to the social sciences, and Brettell and
Hollifield deserve great credit for having brought together specialists
in the above-mentioned disciplines for a common conversation on
migration, as a result of which a richer understanding of this phenom-
enon was obtained. Nevertheless, in claiming a seat at the table of
this interdisciplinary conversation on human mobility for theology,
this book intends to draw attention to the fact that migration cannot
be fully understood without a serious and rigorous examination of
how religious factors have played an influential role in it. It is beyond
doubt that throughout history, religion and religious freedom—or
lack of it—have exerted a powerful “push” and “pull” in the dynamics
of migration, whether internal or international/intercontinental, free
or forced, temporary or permanent, documented or undocumented,
planned or unforeseen. Furthermore, it is well documented that the
migrants’ religions have not only irreversibly changed the religious
landscape of the countries of destination but have also forged the
migrants into cohesive communities, providing them with effective
means for physical survival, economic upward mobility, social stability,
2 ELAINE PADILLA AND PETER C. PHAN
civil integration, cultural preservation, and of course, spiritual flour-
ishing in the host countries.2 On the other hand, migration is one of
the key factors that has contributed immensely to the geographical
expansion and internal diversity of religions across the globe.
While this reciprocal relation between migration and religion
obtains in all the so-called world religions—religion fostering migra-
tion and migration expanding religion—the focus of this book is
on the theology of migration in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,
as it is part of a trilogy entitled Theology and Migration in World
Christianity: Contextual Perspectives.3 That it is appropriate for a
work on migration and world Christianity to include a discussion of
Judaism and Islam requires no elaborate justification. It is common
knowledge that there exist strong historical connections and theo-
logical commonalities among these three religions, so much so that
they have been called the “Abrahamic Religions” or “Religions of
the Book.” As far as Christianity is concerned, since it stands in the
middle, to understand it fully, it is necessary to place it in relation
to the religious tradition that precedes it and that which follows it,
though obviously its indebtedness to the former is much greater than
to the latter. Conversely, to adequately understand Judaism and Islam
in their historical developments, it is also necessary to place them in
relation to Christianity and to each other.
Among the many features that link the three religious traditions,
no doubt migration obtains pride of place. A migratory act marks a
pivotal moment in the history of each of these three religions: Abram’s
journey (whose name will be changed to Abraham) from Haran to
Canaan, Jesus’ from Galilee to Jerusalem, and Muhammad’s from
Mecca to Yathrib (Medina). Though each of these migrations or jour-
neys is invested by the followers of the three religions with different
religious and theological meanings, they are all regarded as para-
digmatic responses of faith and obedience to the divine command.
Moreover, without frequent waves of migration, at times massive,
with whole populations on the move, as part of exile and diaspora,
wars of conquest, or missionary enterprise, these religions would not
be what they are today.
This book does not, however, provide narratives of these migra-
tions, which are readily accessible in any historical work on these
Abrahamic religions. Rather it presents the theology of migration to
be found in their sacred books, traditions, and sacred practices. Dale
Irvin’s opening essay shows the connection between migration and
religion, illustrates the central place of Abraham’s migration in the
collective memory of the three religions associated with his name,
INTRODUCTION 3
and argues that from the religious point of view, migration is not only
going forth but also “homecoming.”
The next two essays discuss the meaning of migration in Judaism.
Drawing on the Torah and the Talmud, Devorah Schoenfeld shows
the multiple meanings of exile for Jews—as tragedy, punishment for
sin, and places where God can be found. Melissa Raphael, review-
ing Jewish art and dance and post-Holocaust Jewish thinkers, helps
us see how migration is “a dance or series of rhythmic movements
through space by whose progression Israel makes straight the path
of the Lord.”
The next five essays deal with the theology of migration from the
Christian perspective and are divided chiefly along denominational
lines. Kondothra M. George presents an Orthodox view of migration
that demonstrates how historical events have positively contributed
to the interpretation of Scriptures and the development of spirituality
and liturgy in Orthodox churches in their host countries, and of an
Orthodox theology cued by the trope of pilgrimage. Peter C. Phan
surveys the teachings of modern popes, from Pius IX to Benedict,
and three major documents of the Roman magisterium on migration,
and sketches an outline of a Roman Catholic theology of migration.
Nancy Bedford offers a Protestant view of the church as ecclesia semper
migranda, with a particular focus on Latino and Latina Protestant
migrants in the United States. From his personal experiences as a
Chinese Malaysian migrant to the United States, Amos Yong outlines
a Pentecostal theology of migration, drawing especially on Luke and
Paul. Deenabandhu Manchala focuses on the thought of the World
Council of Churches on migration, in particular on hospitality as an
expression of inclusiveness.
The teaching of Islam on migration is presented in the next two
essays. Adopting the concept of of his mentor, Wilfred Cantwell
Smith, regarding “cumulative tradition,” Amir Hussain highlights
the migrations of the Prophet Muhammad and relates the Islamic
teaching on migration to the experiences of Muslim migrants in
North America. Charles Amjad-Ali surveys the complex political his-
tory of Islamic teaching and practices toward migrants, especially the
dhimmi and millat systems, from the times of the Prophet to con-
temporary Europe, and argues for a view of Islam that respects its
linguistic plurality (not only Arabic), its geographical multiplicity (not
only the Middle East), and religious diversity, characteristics that have
been greatly heightened by migration.
Elaine Padilla, in her concluding essay, develops a mysticism of
migration or migratory spirituality. Drawing far and wide on the