You Shall Love the Stranger as Yourself

Fleur Houston is a minister of the United Reformed Church with extensive local, national, and international experience. She serves on the steering group of the Churches Refugee Network, a UK-based ecumenical body concerned with refugees and those who seek asylum.

"At a time when migration is increasing worldwide and the backlash against outsiders is growing, we need an informed and experienced voice to offer direction. Fleur Houston guides us through the labyrinth of terms and current legislation related to refugees and asylum-seekers to expose the crushing obstacles these individuals face as they look for a safe haven. More importantly, the author connects these issues to the Bible and Christian faith and identity. Learned and compelling, You Shall Love the Stranger as Yourself is an important contribution to current debates."M. Daniel Carroll Rodas, PhD, Denver Seminary, USA"The 21st Century has seen a shocking rise of racism and a cold resentment directed toward the most vulnerable peoples—millions of whom are desperately fleeing violence and hunger. In this work, Houston offers an impressively measured, yet prophetically stirring, analysis of how these modern crises call on Western Christians to re-engage Biblical themes of displacement, treatment of the stranger, and even the central Biblical stories of Exodus refugees, Exilic displacement, and a refugee Messiah. Houston's work is a striking example of informed Biblical analysis fueled by an equally informed indignation about the modern suffering of others. This is an important work."Daniel Smith-Christopher, Loyola Marymount University of Los Angeles, USA

• Preface Abbreviations 1. INTRODUCTION 2. A WORLD OF REFUGEES 3. ASYLUM 4. THE STRANGER IN YOUR MIDST 5. HOW TO SING THE LORD’S SONG IN A STRANGE LAND? 6. A STAKE IN THE PLACE 7. JESUS 8. WELCOMING THE STRANGER Chapter 9. CONCLUSION Bibliography Index of biblical references Index