The Flight into Egypt

Nothing has alienated this writer from the "social gospel" of contemporary Christian do-goodery than the obsessive sentimentality some of his Christian acquaintances have towards asylum seekers and refugees. It has been a controversial issue in Australia for over a decade, and recently it has emerged as a global controversy and, in fact, one of the defining issues of our time. The constant refrain of these Christian acquaintances, and the cornerstone of their case, is simply that "Jesus was a refugee!" They draw attention to the gospel story of the Flight into Egypt by the Holy Family under threat of infanticide by Herod. Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus packed up from Bethlehem, or Nazareth, or whatever they were resident in Judea or Galilee, and fled across the desert to Egypt. They were, that is, refugees - seeking refuge from a tyrant. It is a familiar theme in Christian art. Here is a wonderful version of it by Carpaccio:

And here is another, in the International Gothic style of Gentile de Fabriano, a personal favourite:

For a more contemporary rendering here is lovely version by the Georgian naif artist Natalia Slovinskaya:

And among the orientalists here is a wonderfully atmospheric painting by Luc-Olivier Merson entitled 'Rest on the Flight into Egypt':

So, there is no denying that the refugee is a gospel-based Christian theme. But in answer to these Christians who want to use it as a justification for their own 'open border' policies, the following two points need to be said:

1. Jesus didn't flee from the Middle East to Germany or Canada or Australia. He fled to the nearest safe haven. Egypt is immediately next door to Judea. And,

2. He went home again. In the same gospels we see Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem as a boy, so presumably he and his parents returned to Judea after the threat of Herod was over.

Strictly speaking, therefore, the gospel models set practical limits to refuge. The model offered - since these Christians want to use the gospels as the model for refugee advocacy - is that refugees should flee to the nearest safe haven from the threat they face and they should return home again after the threat has passed. That, in short, is what Jesus did. That is the answer to the question, What would Jesus do?

This, broadly speaking, is the view this present writer takes to this vexed issue. There is, of course - by any Christian or other humanitarian reckoning - an obligation to shelter the refugee, but at the same time there are real limits to that obligation, and those limits are reached once a refugee becomes an immigrant. Refugees do not have the right to pick and choose what haven they shelter in. They are obliged to go to the nearest suitable haven. And then, when danger has passed, they are obliged to return home. If they exceed these limits they are no longer refugees but immigrants.

This is the proper response to the following picture which is circulating around social media:

It is not a picture of Syrian or Libyan refugees fleeing to Europe, it is a picture of southern European refugees fleeing to North Africa from the dangers of the Second World War. Once again, the same limits apply. Yes, Europeans fled to North Africa from the Nazis, but please note: (1) at the time North Africa was the nearest safe haven and (2) they went home again. (It might also be added that if you look closely they were mostly women and children.) That is what is different now. Currently we have waves of people - most of them young men - from Africa and the Middle East heading to Germany, not merely looking for safe haven but looking for residency. That is what makes them immigrants, not refugees. And to immigrants, different rules apply.

Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black