Series #1: Refugees
This series interviews experts from around the world - both scholars and practitioners - on how Christians can rightly understand and respond to the growing number of refugees.
Episode #1: Why should any Christian care? With Matthew Soerens
Why are refugees a Christian and biblical issue? Are they a drain on the economy? Should we get involved politically, personally, or both? If so, how? These questions and more are discussed by Barney Aspray and Matthew Soerens.
Relevant links:
Learn more about World Relief, the organization Matthew works for.
Learn about the Evangelical Immigration Table of which Matthew is the national coordinator.
Check out Matthew’s two books, Seeking Refuge and Welcoming the Stranger.
Episode #2: Listening to refugees themselves & the struggle to find an identity - with Prof. Peter Rona
Barney interviews Professor Peter Rona, a Hungarian refugee from 1956.
It's easy to talk about refugees without taking time to listen to refugees. In this episode, Peter Rona describes his experiences of being a refugee in the 1950s. We talk about the identity crisis that comes from being forced to be part of a new culture, the kindness of the native population in Austria and America, and how America has changed since then.
Episode #3: Focusing on the Future, the Afghanistan Crisis, and avoiding the ‘Savior Mentality’
Barney chats with two representatives of Refugee Education UK: Cat Gladwell, Chief Executive, and Shna Olesczcuk, a trustee and also formerly a refugee herself.
We talk about the importance of hope for refugees, the Afghanistan crisis, problems with the ‘savior mentality’, and the challenges of being a young refugee.
Visit the REUK website here.
Episode #4: Refused Asylum Seekers and the Nationality & Borders Bill - with Dave Smith
Barney interviews Dave Smith, founder of The Boaz Trust and author of The Book of Boaz and Refugee Stories. We talk about what it means to be a failed/refused asylum seeker, the urgent need for accommodation and the poor options currently available, and Dave gives his frank opinion of the upcoming Nationality & Borders Bill in Parliament.
Episode #5: How can churches be effective in welcoming refugees? - with Emily Holden
Barney interviews Emily Holden, co-founder of Welcome Churches, a charity that equips churches to welcome refugees of all kinds. In the face of an often hostile and unwelcoming host country, how can churches offer a different experience, helping refugees to find community and friendship? What about refugees of other faiths or no faith? Can they be welcomed without feeling the pressure to convert? And what is Emily's take on the Nationality & Borders Bill? We hope you enjoy the episode!
You can find the Welcome Churches website here.
Episode #6: Action and Contemplation in the Sermon on the Mount
This is an unusual episode because Barney is not interviewing, but interviewed for a course on 'contemplative well-being' by Nadya Pohran. Nadya asks Barney lots of questions about the Sermon on the Mount and its relation to social action and contemplation. Only the first 30 minutes are about refugees, but the rest is there in case you find it interesting.
First we discuss refugees as those who "hunger and thirst for justice" (Mt 5:6) and as those who are persecuted (Mt 5:11).
Then we move on and ask: do you have to be a Christian in order to live by Jesus' teachings? Or can anyone benefit from the Sermon on the Mount whether or not they believe in God?
Next, we ask what it really means not to worry about our lives (Mt 6:25) in light of modern psychology and mental health.
Finally, we talk about different interpretations of "ask, seek, knock" (Mt 7:7) in the Christian tradition.
Hope you enjoy the episode!
Episode #7: State sovereignty, open borders, and national responsibility for refugees - with Prof. Luke Glanville
The most political episode so far. Should nations have an ‘open borders’ policy? Or do they have the right to restrict entry to whom they choose? Should the secular state be expected to enact Christian principles? In this episode, Barney puts these hard-hitting questions and others to Luke Glanville, Professor of International Relations at Australia National University. It’s a no-nonsense episode that gets straight to the heart of the controversies!
Check out Luke’s book, Refuge Reimagined.
Episode #8: ‘Love the legal immigrant as yourself’: borders, checkpoints, and visas in the Bible & the modern West - with James Hoffmeier
What does the Bible really say about loving the stranger? How can Old Testament law guide our national immigration policy? What criteria should governments use to decide who to admit into their territory? In this episode we put these questions and more to James Hoffmeier, professor of Old Testament and author of The Immigration Crisis: Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible (2008), a popular and influential book in its time although currently out of print.
Episode #9: Are churches helping asylum seekers ‘game’ the system? Emad Al Swealmeen & the Liverpool bombing - with Anna Rowlands and Dave Smith
Following the Liverpool bombing on November 14th by Emad Al Swealmeen, newspapers like the Telegraph and Express have accused the church of helping potential terrorists to remain in the UK by allowing them to convert to Christianity and helping them ‘game the system’. In this episode, Barney interviews Professor Anna Rowlands and Dave Smith (who we also interviewed in episode 4) to discuss whether these accusations are true, and whether the church should be doing so much to help asylum seekers.
Also check out the Broadcasting House coverage of the same event.
Episode #10: Welcoming the Stranger as Family in the Old Testament - with Mark Glanville
What evidence is there that the Bible is pro-foreigners? What about the xenophobic parts of scripture? Should we only care for ‘legal’ immigrants? How do we live out the biblical vision of the stranger as kindred? Barney puts these questions & others to Professor Mark Glanville of Regent College in a powerful and moving episode that unfolds the beauty of God’s compassion and love for every part of his creation.
Check out Mark’s book, Refuge Reimagined.
Episode #11: Opening our eyes to the vulnerable people around us - with Cardinal Michael Czerny
Seeing refugees as a ‘global phenomenon’ is dangerous because it may cause us to lose focus on the needs of particular refugees in our locality, says Cardinal Michael Czerny, under-secretary for the Migrants & Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development at the Vatican. The first step in cultivating a welcoming attitude is to open our eyes to the vulnerable people in our midst, who many things prevent us from seeing. This leads to four verbs of action that characterize how we should respond not only to refugees but to any vulnerable people we encounter: welcome, protect, promote, and integrate.
This is a powerful interview that gets at our heart’s attitude towards those on the margins of society.
Check out the resources on the Migrants & Refugees Section website.
Episode #22: Rescuing refugees at the Ukraine border - with Rev Ryan Cook
Barney interviews Rev Ryan Cook about his experiences transporting refugees from the Ukraine border to south Germany. We discuss questions like:
What’s it like to befriend people when you don’t speak a common language?
What are the practical nitty-gritty difficulties of integrating refugees into a new country? What are some of the unexpected challenges?
Why does Ryan call love a ‘painful word’?