Mike Delgado

Most of the theology and church history that I’ve studied (and been exposed to) was passed along from the Western church tradition.

And I’ve been blessed to learn a lot from various theologians and thinkers like Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Thomas Merton, C.S. Lewis, and N.T. Wright.

However, I never knew about the early church history and Christian tradition that developed in Africa, the Middle East and Asia — and how the beautiful Christian theology and spiritual traditions in these regions reveals how Christianity is not a product of the Western world.

In this podcast, Dr. Vince Bantu talks with us about early African Christianity and what led him to pursue academic research into the origins of Christianity in Egypt, Nubia and the continent of Africa.

He also discusses the need for ethnic representation in our churches, the sins and destructive impact of systemic racism and white supremacy in our church history, ways for us to better support our BIPOC church communities during times of tragedy and trauma, and the powerful faith and example that our Black church has set for all Christians. He also shares ways that parents can help raise anti-racist children.

You can subscribe or download this episode on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

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The topic of immigration is a huge theme in our Hebrew Bible & New Testament scriptures.

Think about the story of Abraham being a foreigner in Egypt and Canaan, or Jacob moving his family to Egypt to reunite with Joseph, or the story of Israel being strangers in Egypt (and then being a displaced people wandering in the desert).

I mean, even the story of Esther is about an immigrant woman speaking up to protect her oppressed, immigrant community.

And, of course, we remember that Jesus was an immigrant and refugee. 

The Bible is chockfull of stories of immigration and God’s people living in the margins. And there are countless commands in scripture to love and care for displaced people.

Here are just a few passages:

Deuteronomy 10:18-19: “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

Leviticus 19:34: “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizens among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

Ezekiel 47:22: “You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten among you. They shall be to you as citizens of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.”

However, the the Biblical mandate to love and care for the foreigner is often debated by Christians as some have concerns on how immigrants and refugees can impact a nation’s economics, national security or their cultural identity.

So that’s why I was blessed to read “Refuge Reimagined: A Biblical Kinship In Global Politics” by Dr. Mark R. Glanville and Dr. Luke Glanville.

In Refuge Reimagined, Mark R. Glanville and Luke Glanville offer a new approach to compassion for displaced people: a biblical ethic of kinship. God’s people, they argue, are consistently called to extend kinship—a mutual responsibility and solidarity—to those who are marginalized and without a home. Drawing on their respective expertise in Old Testament studies and international relations, the two brothers engage a range of disciplines to demonstrate how this ethic is consistently conveyed throughout the Bible and can be practically embodied today.

I had an opportunity to chat with them about their new book and ways to better love and care for our immigrant and refugee communities. You can subscribe or download this episode on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

Here are some video clips from our conversation:

• • Refuge Reimagined
• • Idolatry of Nationalism
• • Romans 13 & Obeying Government
• • Biblical Ethic of Kinship & Solidarity
• • The Good Samaritan
• • Missional Church
• • Economic & Security Concerns
• • Welcoming the Stranger
• • Creative Kinship
• You can catch the full video conversation on Biblical perspectives on immigration and refugees here.

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We’ve been examining the ways our theology and personal faith evolves — and how oppression, disability, trauma and racism can shift the way we understand God, our scriptures and ourselves.

Today, we’re going to be focused specifically on addressing the marginalization and oppression of our Asian American communities — and how living in a liminal space (sometimes not accepted as fully American or fully Asian) has shaped Asian American theology and helped us to better understand our God who dwells in liminal spaces, too.

And we’re grateful to learn from Dr. Russell Jeung, a leading sociologist of Asian American identity, race, and religion. He is also professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and author of many books focused on race and religion — including “Sustaining Faith Traditions: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion among the Latino and Asian American Second Generation” that he wrote with Carolyn Chen, published by NYU Press.

In 2020, Dr. Jeung launched Stop AAPI Hate, a project of Chinese for Affirmative Action, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, and SF State Asian American Studies. It tracks Covid-19 related discrimination in order to develop community resources and policy interventions to fight racism. His spiritual memoir, At Home in Exile: Finding Jesus Among My Ancestors and Refugee Neighbors, shares his experiences living among the foreigner and the poor.

In this podcast and video, Dr. Jeung talks with us about Asian American identity, the history of Asian American studies, the formation of Asian American theology and how churches have responded to Anti-Asian American racism. He also discusses how he’s tracking the rise of racism and hate crimes during COVID-19 with the STOP AAPI Hate project.

You can subscribe or download this discussion on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

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As you know, we’ve been living in a tragic time in our country amid COVID-19, political turmoil, friends and family members losing jobs, domestic violence increasing, and we’re seeing more violent examples of xenophobia, racism, and white supremacy around us.

A few weeks ago, we witnessed domestic terrorists invade our U.S. Capitol, people waving confederate flags and nooses to incite more violence, and “religious” people holding crosses, blowing Shofars, and plenty of signage with Bible verses to help incite more election anger and protests.

As a Christian, it’s absolutely appalling to see people use God’s name to incite violence and insurrection. Sadly, it’s another reminder of our church’s history of causing trauma.

People are hurting — especially our marginalized and immigrant communities. And the church has a responsibility to address these atrocities and be part of the healing process. And that’s why I’m grateful to have Dr. Robert Chao Romero as our guest on the podcast.

Dr. Romero is a historian and professor in the Departments of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of California, UCLA. Dr. Romero has a unique perspective on social justice as an attorney, pastor, historian, and the son of a Mexican father and Chinese immigrant mother.

His academic research is focused on issues of race, immigration, history and religion — and his last book “The Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology & Identity” discusses the various ways our Hispanic church has fought oppression, slavery and other social justice issues.

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