Abstract
Some nationalists may suggest that divine election is the best possible way to defend their rights against an influx of people from elsewhere. Others would argue that divine election is the worst possible way to address the plight of refugees. In this contribution the question mark in the title is defended by drawing on a) ecumenical discourse on migration, b) Heiko Oberman’s notion of “the reformation of the refugees†and c) by reflecting critically on teaching practices at UWC. It is argued that divine election can indeed offer consolation, especially to refugees, but only if the retrospective and doxological logic is recognised.
Highlights
For a privileged few migration is a positive experience, for most contemporary migrants this is associated with hardships: being uprooted, detained, trafficked or dying on the journey (WCC 2013:39)
Some nationalists may suggest that divine election is the best possible way to defend their rights against an influx of people from elsewhere
That the theme of migration is discussed in the context of political decision making, ethical discernment, religion and theology is a function of the emergence of nation states and notions of citizenship
Summary
The migration of people1 – mainly from Africa to other parts of the world – forms an integral part of the evolution of the human species and its predecessors. That the theme of migration is discussed in the context of political decision making, ethical discernment, religion and theology is a function of the emergence of nation states and notions of citizenship. The boundaries between nation states will necessarily be contested since these protect the interests of some and limit the movements of others This suggests an urgent need to reconsider notions of citizenship. I will not seek to contribute to contemporary discussions on the immense challenges associated with current patterns of migration (e.g. regarding Syrian refugees, African migrants or human trafficking). From a purely functional perspective, the role of religion both in the root causes of migration (religious conflict amidst fundamentalist truth claims) and in addressing the plight of refugees (e.g. Muslim welfare organisations and Christian churches in Germany and South Africa alike) cannot be underestimated. I will suggest that the conceptual problems related to migration are structurally similar to the problems discussed in debates on divine election so that the one may illuminate the other
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