Jonah, Jesus and Other Good Coyotes
Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, Abingdon, 2007
During the Howard era, “People Smugglers” became part of the dirty vocabulary promulgated to justify border protection. It gained traction as part of a suite of fear-based “them-and-us” policies designed to keep “us” safe from people who might want to destroy our way of life. “People smugglers” were the bad guys ripping off “queue-jumpers” and leaving them to sink in leaky boats. The Ruddock idea was that if you could make our detention centres bad enough, this would deter the “illegals” in the first place and stop the “trade” of “people smuggling.” The word would get around and they wouldn’t come!
But what about good “people smugglers”? What if there are good people wanting to help those seeking to escape desperate situations? Surely they are unsung heroes! There are enough examples of good people hiding Jews and others facing certain death from the Nazi’s during the Second World War to give us pause for thought.
Daniel Smith-Christopher is a Biblical scholar based in California. He has been thinking about Mexican border crossings, where the “people smugglers” are known as “Coyotes”.
Smith-Christopher has written a timely book, accessible to the lay reader, which in Australia might be re-titled Jonah, Jesus and Other Good People Smugglers. Reminiscent of the imaginative style of his mentor, Walter Brueggemann, he lays out a Biblical theology of peacemaking, from Genesis to Revelation, challenging us to live in a Biblical tradition crossing barriers between “them” and “us”. His insights are pertinent to understanding the gospel of Jesus in these times when we are more aware of international, national, social and religious differences.
As a bonus, there is much to be learnt from fresh perspectives into how we read the Bible and insights of modern scholarship bearing on our understanding of the text. Those who appreciated his lectures when he has visited Australia in the past will find equal satisfaction in his refreshingly honest and open commitment to Biblical theology, informed by a life of cross-cultural engagement.
Reviewed by Geoff Boyce
September 2009