A critical assessment of Daniel Groody’s conceptualisation of the incarnation and its implication in challenging the church to embrace and respond to migrants’ needs

Abstract

This article identifies the church as obligated by God to respond to migrants’ challenges and, as it does so, what is at stake is the theological foundational status of migrant theology challenging the body of Christ to embrace and integrate migrants. With this in mind, this article considers Goody as the leading theologian in migration discourse. He has offered theological foundational status of migration theology that challenges the church to be practically responsive to the plight of migrants. Groody advances the theology of the incarnation as the major theology of migration with far-reaching implications for this subject. Unfortunately, Groody’s theology of the incarnation has weaknesses in both conceptualisation and application. In addressing the weaknesses in Groody’s conceptualisation and the application of the doctrine of the incarnation in urging the church to be proactively involved in migration issues, this article attempts to move beyond Groody by articulating the doctrine of the incarnation to counteract the weaknesses arising from Groody’s conceptualisation and application of the doctrine of the incarnation to migration issues. Thereafter, this article reaches a conceptual convergence with Groody by reinforcing the leading aspects of the incarnation that challenge the Church to respond to migrants’ challenges in an effective manner.