Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible [Paperback]

M. Daniel Carroll R. (Author), Ronald Sider (Afterword), Samuel Rodriguez (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2008

Immigration is one of the most pressing issues on the national agenda. This accessible book provides biblical and ethical guidance for readers who are looking for a Christian perspective on the immigration issue. As both a Guatemalan and an American, the author has immersed himself in this issue and is uniquely qualified to write about it. Drawing on key biblical ideas, he speaks to both the immigrant culture and the host culture, arguing that both sides have much to learn about the debate. This timely, clear, and compassionate resource will benefit all Christians who are thinking through the immigration issue.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"With a foot in both cultures and a sensitivity to the arguments of all sides, Carroll presents Christians at the Border to sort through the complicated and confusing immigration debate with nuance. Read and learn."--Darrell Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary

"Immigration issues grip American politics and opinions. But what does the Bible say? What is at the heart of the Christian view on immigration? Danny Carroll's voice on this issue is like no other."--Leith Anderson, National Association of Evangelicals

"Danny Carroll's goal of providing Christians with a biblical and theological framework to participate in the US immigration debate as Christians is met brilliantly in Christians at the Border. It provides Christians of various political perspectives a framework from which to begin a conversation together."--Juan Francisco Martínez, Fuller Theological Seminary

"Carroll's grasp of the problems presented by immigration--political, economic, and familial--is balanced, restrained, and profound. Protestants and Catholics of all political leanings need to pay attention to this book."--William M. Shea, College of the Holy Cross

"A timely, must-read book for the church in the United States. This book helps us think through this complex issue clearly and soberly by presenting a well-documented historical and biblical perspective on immigration and people movements."--Dennis J. Rivera, Central Latin American District Council of the Assemblies of God, Denver, Colorado

"Combining prophetic zeal with a tender, pastoral tone, Carroll calls on Christians to adopt a distinctively Christian disposition to the issue of undocumented immigrants."--Daniel I. Block, Wheaton College

"With the skill of a biblical scholar, the heart of a prophet, and the rich background of a Guatemalan-American, Carroll speaks Solomonesque wisdom that will help us all."--Don Sweeting, Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, Greenwood Village, Colorado

About the Author

M. Daniel Carroll R. (PhD, University of Sheffield) is distinguished professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary and adjunct professor at El Seminario Teológico Centroamericano in Guatemala City, Guatemala. He is the author or editor of several books, including Amos--The Prophet and His Oracles: Research on the Book of Amos and Theory and Practice in Old Testament Ethics, and is a contributing editor to Prism. Dr. Carroll R. also founded IDEAL, a Spanish language training program at Denver Seminary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Baker Academic (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080103566X
• ISBN-13: 978-0801035661
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Danny Carroll R. (Rodas) is the son of a Guatemalan mother and an American father, who himself was the son of Irish immigrants. Danny was raised bilingual and bicultural in Houston, Texas, and he spent many summers of his youth in Guatemala. Before coming to Denver Seminary in the summer of 1996, he was an Old Testament professor for 13 years at an interdenominational seminary in Guatemala City. He continues as adjunct professor there.

Since his coming to Denver, Danny has been getting increasingly involved in issues related to Hispanic immigration. He attends an Hispanic church and is involved in an Hispanic ministerial association. The fact that he is comfortable in both Hispanic and Anglo cultures helps Danny bring an irenic spirit and lots of personal experience to the immigration discussion.

Danny has a B.A. in English Literature from Rice University, a Th.M. in Old Testament from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Old Testament from the University of Sheffield in England. He is Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Words August 5, 2008

By J. Helein

Format:Paperback

Daniel Carroll's book provides much needed information and inspiration to motivate and impassion the American church to heed the Biblical mandates of the Father to love the exile, stranger, sojourner, alien and foreigner.

In the way of legitimate introduction to the subject of immigration, Daniel Carroll is short on divisive statistics (thankfully) and long on presenting scriptural precepts to love the foreigner among us. He moves us into the immigration debate as Christians first , then as Americans; into our neighborhoods and communities to love the foreigner, then to advocacy on their behalf.

Carroll's inspiration for Christians to affect immigration is a result of his attempt to deepen our understanding of Yahweh, not only as Creator of all human beings, but also as righteous, omniscient provider and defender of strangers and aliens throughout history. In Christians at the Border, we come to a place of hope as we recognize the omniscience of God's design through the movement of people in the Old and New Testament. In HIS hands are man-made borders as well as the people who cross them, often in obedience to His call.

This hope precedes illumination. As we permit the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts with truth, we are invited to move rhythmically with God's plans, operating above the confines of earthly law, to accomplish far more spiritually with the divine weapons of love, compassion and humility.

One of the many strengths of the book lies in the abundance of Biblical references cited. Don't skip reading the very words of divine God. In fact, read them aloud. Let them saturate your heart to bring about the mind of Christ regarding the foreigner. These verses are pure liberation for the Americanized theology delivered weekly to Christians who have only known Jesus Christ in red, white and blue.

Another strength of this book is the generosity of spirit in which it is written There is a sense of urgency and longing in the book that is natural to an issue of great consequence. Yet Carroll makes no demands of the reader - scripture does that. On its pages readers will not find anger, judgement or bitterness- an indicator of a life (and pen) at God's complete disposal.

Deserving special attention are the five paragraphs entitled `The Browning of Christianity". I urge readers to dwell prayerfully on this passage. As well, the concluding Notes and Resources are detailed and give opportunity for maturity regarding immigration issues.

Daniel Carroll wrote this book but he doesn't get in its way. Like a stage hand he simply pulls back the curtain to reveal what the rhetoric of prejudice and economic preoccupation have obscured: an omniscient God moving people for His glory and divine purpose; a compassionate God inviting His people to know Him more deeply as creator and visionary; and as righteous God, exacting perfect justice in defense of widows, orphans and foreigners.

Thank you Mr. Carroll for reminding us of our first allegiance.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Well written but biblically unpersuasive April 26, 2012

By Joshua B. Henson

Format:Paperback

Though the issue of illegal immigration is no stranger to America's history, the perfect storm of 9/11, the war against terror, political parties struggling for identity, and an economy that is moving from recession to depression has brought the issue to the fore of not only American politics but also to the attention of the church. Though our country may struggle to identify the "ethical" answer to the political quagmire of "illegal immigration," the church claims that her ethical standard, the bible, is fixed for all times, peoples, and places. How does the church respond then to the issue of illegal immigration? Carroll seeks to answer that question in a winsome and compassionate manner in Christians at the Border.

Carroll is no stranger to the issue since every member of his family has immigrated or knows someone who has immigrated to the US. Recognizing that certain titles in the discussion can be politically and emotionally charged, he replaces "illegal alien" with "undocumented immigrant." Carroll is convinced that many, including Christians, either consciously or unconsciously approach the issue of illegal immigration from "passionate ideological arguments, economic wrangling, or racial sentiment" (19). Though by no means exhaustive, Carroll endeavors to re-orientate one's thoughts on the issue through a more biblical and theological lens.

Carroll sets the stage in chapter 1 by giving a brief history of Hispanic immigration focusing on two of the most hotly debated issue: national identity and economic impact. He successfully demonstrates that the issue is by no means simple. For example, many boldly speak out against illegal immigration while reaping the benefits of the cheap labor that such a reality brings. But matters become more complicated when one realizes that many "undocumented immigrants" are real confessing Christians. For this reason Carroll turns to the bible in chapters 2-4 in hopes of finding a "divine" answer to the matter.

Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to the light that the Old Testament sheds on the matter of illegal immigration. Carroll shows how the image of God bears upon the matter and also shows that many of the characters in the OT were "foreigners." Above all Carroll seeks to illustrate that foreigners are "human beings" and need to be treated as such. In chapter 3 Carroll deals with the "treatment of immigrant within the general ethos of hospitality that was common in the ancient world" and "the legislation concerning foreigners in Israel's laws" (89).

In chapter 4 Carroll focuses on light that the New Testament may shed on the issue. He works through Jesus' teaching as modeled specifically with his interactions with "outsiders," the general NT theme of "Christians as sojourners," and then briefly addresses the thorny issue of Romans 13 where Christians are commanded to "be subject to the governing authorities" (Rom. 13:1). Instead of starting with the lens of Rom. 13 and then reading the rest of the bible, especially the passages about the "foreigners" in the OT in light of the Rom. 13, Carroll makes the OT teaching about foreigners together with Jesus' teachings about hospitality and how to treat outsiders the starting point and then reads Rom. 13 in through that lens. Or, to put in another way, Carroll employs the analogy of scripture (i.e., the clearer passages govern the meaning of the more obscure passages) with a theology of compassion and hospitality for the foreigner as the clear scriptural default while the obedience to governing authorities is the more obscure passage.

Carroll is to be commended for moving the discussion forward. The bottom line is that there is not a simple answer to this issue. What is needed is an honest carefully nuanced position that takes as many scenarios into account as possible. It just won't do for Christians to say that that Bible instructs us not to disobey the civil authorities without any qualification that addresses the ineptitude of the American government to uphold its own laws. Blanket statements often times fail to deal adequately with the issue at stake and the matter of the church's role in ministering to Christians who are illegal immigrants is no exception.

At the same time, though Carroll has made a valiant effort to push the conversation forward, his own treatment of the text leaves much to be desired. It seems to this reviewer that Carroll has quite possibly fallen into the same error as the proponents on the other side of the debate, that is, letting one scriptural issue or theme become the theological black-hole that swallows every other objection. Given Carroll's position, the political debate of immigration at the civil level almost seems to become a gospel issue. Now this is a very hard pill to swallow but I'm not sure that the doctor prescribed it. To make connections between the Israelites treatment of the foreigner in the theocratic Yahweh-centered cultic-community and the church's treatment of the illegal alien (whatever his/her ethnicity be) in the New Covenant era disconnected from any kind of church-state theocracy involves a necessary treatment of the relationship between the Old and New covenants. Carroll gives virtually no space to such concerns. Carroll points out that the United States' laws on immigration are confused and contradictory concluding from this that they are unjust. Yet he doesn't show, in any concrete way, how this is the case. Carroll must show that the United States does not, somehow, have the prerogative to make the immigration laws that it makes. This is a tall order.

The bottom line is that the church must have a biblical-theological answer to this pressing modern issue and Carroll has made an earnest contribution to that discussion; for this he is to be commended. May this book be a "stepping-stone" to further discussion for the good of Christ and His Kingdom.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE IMMIGRATION QUESTION October 24, 2008

By W. Ball

Format:Paperback

Having spent much of my ministry reaching across racial and ethnic lines, and having studied what the Bible has to say, I have become quite passionate on these matters and have been a bit outspoken in this blog, as well as elsewhere.

I am saddened by the fact that many of my Christian friends hold views that I feel are unbiblical and sometimes even downright unchristian. Some feel that these issues are political and/or economic and have little to do with our Christian faith. This is especially the case in regard to illegal immigration. That is why I was overjoyed to find the book, Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church and the Bible, by M. Daniel Carroll R.

I have known Dr. Carroll for over 25 years, and though I would not consider him a close friend, I have known him well enough to be impressed by his deep and humble walk with Christ.

Dr. Carroll is presently Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary and is adjunct professor at El Seminario Teologico Centroamericano in Guatemala. He is the son of a Guatemalan mother and an American father and in a real sense has a foot in each culture.

He tells us the title to his book is a double entendre. Yes, there is a literal physical border to our southwest which divides the United States from all of Latin America, but he tells us that "for Christians there is an additional border. It is a metaphorical decision point." We must choose whether our stand in the debate is "based on the Word of God" or "on other grounds" (page 23). We "Christians must think about and act on Hispanic immigration as Christians."

Before diving into the biblical teachings on the issue, in the first chapter the book gives us some background: a brief history of Hispanic immigration, questions of identity and questions of economics. The book also points out the impact of Hispanic immigration on the churches.

The second chapter is devoted to showing that much Old Testament history is the story of immigration. Peoples were on the move from Genesis on: Abraham, Jacob and Joseph. ( Was Ruth an "illegal alien"? See the book of Ruth, cf. Deuteronomy 23:3.)

The third chapter deals with the Old Testament teaching on hospitality - care for the stranger. The various Hebrew terms for stranger or sojourner are discussed. Provisions were made for the alien along with those for other at-risk people: widows, orphans, hired workers, servants and the poor. Dr. Carroll sums it up in a rather eye-opening statement: " ... the arrival and presence of sojourners were not a threat to Israel's national identity; rather, their presence was fundamental to its very meaning. The people of Israel could not be who there were supposed to be before God and the world if they forgot who they had been and from where they had come" (pages 109, 110). See Leviticus 19:33, 34.

In chapter 4, we are taken to the New Testament to see Jesus' attitude toward outsiders. We also see Peter's teaching on Christians as sojourners. Each section is concluded with "implications for today."

I especially appreciated the fact that Romans 13 was dealt with in this chapter, albeit only briefly. For many of my Christian friends, the mantra on this issue is Romans 13. Dr. carroll answers that "Discussion on legality cannot be limited just to questions about complying with the present laws" (page 133). Though I agree, I wish he had dealt with it at greater length.

The book concludes with some final thoughts and the repeated admonition that we must approach this matter of immigration as Christians.

This is a brief book and can be read in a few hours, though it will take longer if the reader checks out all the Scripture references.

If anyone who reads this is forming or has formed an opinion on the immigration question, I would beg you, read this book before you set your ideas in concrete.

Bill Ball
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