A concept of exile developed beyond the historical events of the Babylonian exile. The term “exile” is used in the HB as well as in Jewish history, not just to designate a period of time but also to symbolise an experience. The recognition of the importance of exile in HB scholarship is part of the revisioning of the concept of loss as not being an end but a crucible of faith. There is a difference between the history and the ideology of exile, and although not denying a relationship between them, discussion around exile needs to be cognisant of what is being talked about.125 Exile as a metaphor is central to the biblical story of the Israelites.126 The development in thinking about exile as more than an event, expressing experiences of alienation beyond forced displacement, is the focus of Halvorson-Taylor’s extensive study.127 She demonstrates the extension of the term to include all forms of distress.128 The wound
124. In this sense I do not intend to contribute to historical or archaeological discussions on exile. My study is a textual and contextual analysis. Appreciating the historical context for the rhetoric and the sociological environment of exile contributes to the study. See on this relationship between historical reconstructions and rhetorical criticism, Patricia K. Tull, “Rhetorical Criticism and Intertextuality,” inTo Each Its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application, ed. Stephen R. Haynes and Steven L. McKenzie (Louisville, Ky.: Westminister John Knox, 1999), 175-176. I also note here Green’s proposal about the value of incorporating Bakhtin in biblical studies precisely because of the “severe challenges to recovery of adequate, clear information for understanding well the referents of production and setting.” Barbara Green, Mikhail Bakhtin and Biblical Scholarship: An Introduction, SBL Semeia Studies (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2000), 28. See also p. 61. She emphasises the study of language without ignoring the historical setting.
125. On the topic of exile as ideology and the history debates seeLeading Captivity Captive, and note Jeppesen in this volume “we cannot know whether the Judaeans were saved because they knew a myth, or whether they invented a myth themselves or applied a well-known myth to their situation because and after they were saved.” Knud Jeppesen, “Exile a Period - Exile a Myth,” 139-144, 143.
126.Carroll, “Exile! What Exile? Deportation and the Discourses of Diaspora,” 64. 127. Halvorson-Taylor, Enduring Exile.
128. Halvorson-Taylor cites Daniel 9, the Animal Apocalypse, and the Damascus document which all give longer durations for the exile than the traditional Jeremianic 70 years. Also the work of 4 Ezra which was possibly written after the Second Temple destruction of 70AD but uses the Babylonian exile image as a shaping metaphor for their experience. As she notes, the significance of all these documents is the concept that even post-Cyrus, the consideration of the authors is that the exile continued, even if they were back in the land. Halvorson-Taylor, Enduring Exile, 8-10.
inflicted by exile was so deep and the questions it raised so big that a mere return to land could not deal with the theological havoc wrought by the exile.129 Exile came to be associated in Judaism with “...death, sterility, bodily and emotional pain, and servitude. Exile would thus come to be understood as a paradigm for human suffering and a separation from God.”130 These extended theological concepts of exile may seem to be in contrast to other HB notions of a limited exile. Halvorson-Taylor argues that they are actually based in the treaty curses of Deut 28 and Lev 26, and she explores their ANE links to Assyrian treaty curses.131 In these pre-exilic forms exile was already associated with rejection by a deity, and related to a concept of punishment and death.132 In Isaiah, Halvorson-Taylor sees the use of the exilic metaphor in connection with economic debt, marriage dissolution, punishment for sin, links to the Exodus situation and slavery, and that the position of YHWH in response included the image of לאג: redeemer, of husband, and liberator.133 The exilic motif influenced apocalyptic
writing, which saw it as: a historical event; an ongoing condition, and explored it as a theme related to God’s justice.134
There are different nuances to the theological interpretations around the causes of exile and we will see these variations in the study of just one section of text - DI. The ongoing development of the consideration of exile as an enduring state and metaphorical
representation of suffering or separation from God, rather than as a fixed historical event, is of interest to leaders in the field of diasporic studies. The metaphorisation of the concept of exile is also what makes biblical texts regarding the exile accessible to contemporary readers beyond being a historical study. Halvorson-Taylor terms this exile’s “elastic” or “flexible” meaning.135 Contemporary scholarship relating to exile has sought not to be confined to debates surrounding the extent of the Babylonian exile that tended to dominate the
129. Halvorson-Taylor, Enduring Exile, 201. 130. Halvorson-Taylor, Enduring Exile, 203. 131. Halvorson-Taylor, Enduring Exile, 9, 16. 132. Halvorson-Taylor, Enduring Exile, 16. 133. Halvorson-Taylor, Enduring Exile, 126.
134. James C. VanderKam, “Exile in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature,” in Exile: Old Testament, Jewish and Christian Conceptions,ed. James M. Scott (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 89-109, 91. Vander Kam focusses on exile in the apocalyptic writings during the Greco-Roman era. The book also covers issues of Jewish diaspora, understandings of exile in the Midrash and rabbinic literature, and NT expressions of exile. See also James M. Scott, ed. Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions” JSJS (Leiden: Brill, 1997).
conversation in previous decades. Benefiting from the acknowledgement of the importance of the exile in biblical studies, many scholars today have connected their study of this theme to contemporary research into areas such as PTSD. Fields of psychology, sociology and
anthropology all contribute to the understanding of the trauma that displacement can lead to, and the impact that war, crisis and loss of home can have on identity.136 The situations that communities find themselves in today may provide some helpful parallels that provide a deeper appreciation of and insight into the psychological impacts of the Babylonian exile, consequently influencing the writings of exilic and post-exilic biblical texts. Therefore, I believe that rhetorical and sociological approaches to DI will contribute positively to post- church exiles today.
(1) Exile in contemporary context
There is an increasing popularity of appropriating an exilic metaphor as a motif to interpret theologically the position of the Western church post-Christendom. Exilic theology holds much promise in contextual biblical studies and has long been overlooked so the attention it has more recently received is something for which I am grateful. However, this focus requires scrutiny and the challenges or strong criticism that is given by some in this field of study are important to assess. I will broadly consider the basis for the growing use of the exilic motif in contextual studies, the warnings and boundaries of its use and its applicability to an
Australian context, but more specifically I will argue for its relevance to the church leaver.
Ralph Klein as a scholar of the theological implications of the Babylonian exile foresaw the parallels of the exilic theme in contemporary settings by suggesting:
Israel’s experience of and reaction to exile greatly illuminate our own situation in faith and culture. For us too the old answers no longer hold; our optimistic
expectations are contradicted by our increasingly depressing experiences. One can be in exile without ever leaving the land.137
Given this understanding, Walter Brueggemann stands large as a significant scholar establish- ing the use of the exilic metaphor as applied to a post-Christendom context, especially the
136. Kelle, “An Interdisciplinary Approach,” 7.
137. Klein,Israel in Exile,149. This sentiment about understanding exile beyond geographical interpretations will be further explored in the exile chapter.
Western church, as well as proposing new models of church.138 His writing on the topic is prolific, ranging from commentaries that use the concept to whole works on prophetic imag- ination, hermeneutics and homiletics.139 Brueggemann’s contribution to this study is particu- larly useful because of his writing across disciplines, and in particular, with regards to DI. Brueggemann encourages Christians in America to see their faith as diametrically opposed to the consumerist culture around them and interprets the growing dislocation between church and power as a positive change. He suggests that there are Christians who would not see a difference between their faith and church life and the wider society, who are so enculturated that there is no sense of being on the “outside” as such, a situation that he critiques. If the fo- cus of the mainstream church has shifted towards a popularist or business model, it may not be in exile as such but in a worse position than exile - as it would not be being faithful to the core of the ethics of the Kingdom of God. Brueggemann’s work brings exile into a possible conversation with the context of the church in Australia. I find particularly useful for the post-church context the idea that exilic biblical texts are helpful for informing new notions of community.
John Howard Yoder’s work sought to bridge the gap that has existed between Judaism and Christianity, a signature of the relationship since the time of Constantine.140 Bringing a deeper theological consideration of the theme of diaspora, he expressed “galut as vocation.” As Peter Ochs, in his Forward to one of Yoder’s works, observes:
The texture of Rabbinic Judaism is through and through, the texture of a faith that knows how to affirm the life of a biblical people away from home, deep in exile, and deeply wounded by loss and dislocation. It is also the texture of a life lived apart:
138. Walter Brueggemann,Hopeful Imagination: Prophetic Voices in Exile(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 92. Brueggemann outlines the use of the exilic motif by Protestants in the time of Luther to explain the view that the Roman Catholic Church exiled the gospel. Walter Brueggemann,Cadences of Home: Preaching Among Exiles, 1st ed. (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 1997), 41. On his point regarding new forms of church see p. 1; Brueggemann, Hopeful Imagination, 92.
139. To name a few more relevant texts: Brueggemann, Hopeful Imagination; “Rethinking Church Models Through Scripture,” Theology Today 48, no. 2 (1991): 128-138; Texts Under Negotiation: The Bible and Postmodern Imagination (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993); The Prophetic Imagination, 2nd ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001); A Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church, (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 2007); Out of Babylon (Nashville: Abingdon, 2010).
140. Note also in regard to assessing the work of Yoder, the corresponding views of Daniel Boyarin, an anti- Zionist Jewish scholar who has sought to encourage peaceable relationships with Palestinians in modern day Israel. Boyarin tends to define diasporism in political terms. Jonathan Boyarin and Daniel Boyarin,Powers of Diaspora: Two Essays on the Relevance of Jewish Culture(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002). See also Weaver, States of Exile, 39.
apart from other traditions, other communities, as well as apart from dimensions of human life that threaten rather than serve as a vehicle for a life lived in imitation of God.141
Yoder noted the failure of Constantinianism, problems in Western civilisation and particularly the issue of colonialism, all as pointers towards a time to look at new models and new visions of community. Known as the “Free Church Vision”, Yoder saw the Jeremianic model as a framework which is possible to use today to show how the faith can be reframed. Yoder argued that the history of Christianity has been strongly influenced by the story of the kings, to disastrous ends. A revisionist viewpoint would place more emphasis on the exilic and post exilic formation of the faith. Even upon the return it was the exile that shaped the people, as the lack of temple forced a reliance on smaller group worship (synagogue) and formation of community around Scripture.142 Yoder suggests that Christianity during Christendom fell into rites and rituals, neglecting Scripture. Acceptance of diaspora as the norm rather than fighting it was seen by Yoder as a core part of his vision of free-church.143
The theological understanding of exile is informed by the text as well as by tradition. Weaver, picking up on Yoder’s concept of “not being in charge” argues for an embracing of exilic theology that is sensitive to the marginalised.144 Aligned with this tradition of moving away from a model of the church in power, Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon have explored the theme of exile within a post-Christendom context, with works such as Resident Aliens and the use of the Watership Down story as a metaphor which appropriates exile as useful for the church.145 They emphasise that the best space of church is in the margins, not as the centre of power.146
141. Peter Ochs, preface to John Howard Yoder,The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited,Michael G. Cartwright and Peter Ochs, eds, Radical Traditions Series (Grand Rapids; London: Eerdmans; SCM, 2003), 2.
142. Yoder,The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited,78. Yoder goes on (p. 79) to argue that exilic and diasporic existence and thinking permeated Judaism and Jewish identity beyond the historic events of 70AD, noting particularly the place of Scripture - particularly Jeremiah and Ezekiel - in forming that ideology.
143. Yoder, The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited, 183.
144. Weaver, States of Exile, 160. ‘Not being in charge’ is a term also favoured by Daniel Boyarin.
145. Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony (Nashville: Abingdon, 1989); Where Resident Aliens Live: Exercises for Christian Practice(Nashville: Abingdon, 1996); Stanley Hauerwas, After Christendom: How the Church is to Behave if Freedom, Justice, and a Christian Nation Are Bad Ideas (Nashville: Abingdon Pr, 1991).
The study of exile overlaps and benefits from fields of study that look at broader issues of diaspora, forced migration, and internal displacement that are from a political, sociological, historical, and anthropological as well as theological angle. As Segovia suggests “We are thus always strangers or aliens, the permanent ‘others’ both where we came from and where we find ourselves. As such, we find ourselves always defined by somebody else.”147 These works of diasporic theorists are increasingly significant to exilic biblical studies.
(2) Michael Goonan
Michael Goonan’s exploration of the theme of exile in an Australian context is strikingly ahead of its time in his analysis, in finding the exilic theme so resonant to a particularly Australian spirituality.148 His literary reflection relates two Australian novels (Cloudstreet by Tim Winton and Woman of the Inner Sea by Thomas Keneally) to the stories of Esther and Tobit.149 Using the novel Cloudstreet Goonan asks “a crucial question underlying the text…: is it possible for non-Aboriginal Australians to belong to this land? The inference is that they do not belong, that they remain aliens and exiles.”150 The implication is that this exile will continue until non-Indigenous Australians accept the experience and wisdom of the original inhabitants.151 He identifies a few key uniquely Australian experiences of exile that are part of our national heritage and story: the First Fleet; the exilic experience (or internal
displacement) of the Aboriginal people from their own home; and the waves of immigrants and refugees, that span from the era of the Gold-rush and throughout the post-war periods in Australia.152 Goonan relates this sense of exile in Australia directly to the Babylonian exile as portrayed in the Bible, and connects this to questions regarding God’s presence and issues of suffering.153 One of the crucial questions faced by those on the fringes of church is: Will God abandon me if I abandon the church? This apprehension perhaps keeps many from leaving. Goonan explores notions of exile that go beyond the historical experience of the Judahites, proposing exile as a season that can be a time of great self-honesty, forcing a deeper reliance
147. Segovia, “Hermeneutics of Diaspora,” 64.
148. Michael. G. Goonan, A Community of Exiles: Exploring Australian Spirituality (Homebush: St Pauls Publications, 1996).
149. Goonan, A Community of Exiles.
150. Goonan, A Community of Exiles, 58. 151. Goonan, A Community of Exiles, 85. 152. Goonan, A Community of Exiles, 58. 153. Goonan, A Community of Exiles, 25.
on one’s own inner resources as well as transitioning to new frameworks of faith.154 Goonan affirms the more positive associations with exile without underestimating the pain that may come with such a move. He highlights the contrasts between the Babylonian exile and elements such as the convict experience where in the former the educated were transported, whereas the convicts sent to Australia were generally the British underclass.155 Goonan’s exploration of the exilic theme in an Australian context articulates many significant features that are relevant for the post-church, such as marginalisation, and may also provide some key insights helpful to a reading of DI.
(3) Critique
I see the use of the exilic theme and diasporic theology in contemporary contexts as a positive move. However, there are challenges with the association if false analogies of ancient and contemporary parallels are made, particularly when the present context is privileged, wealthy and part of the powerful in the world.156 There is also the poignant warning against the idealisation of the exilic theme. In her article on the ‘trope of exile’ Sharp assesses the development and appropriation of the theme in theological study by scholars such as Ackroyd, Klein, Brueggemann and Smith-Christopher. For example, she suggests that Klein’s analysis can be read too simplistically if the questions in the time of the exile (she particularly notes the issue of God’s silence) are directly related to today without appreciation for the vastly different cultural, economic and political contexts.157
Smith-Christopher reminds us of the importance of listening to exiles who are seeking to find identity beyond diaspora. In outlining Sze-Kar Wan’s challenge to scholars such as Daniel Boyarin regarding the positive appropriation of diaspora for those who experience positions of powerlessness, we are reminded of the issue of ambivalence in postcolonial contexts.158 Wan talks about exiles needing a place in the academy, and about being allowed some sense of power before being told to give it up again. Smith-Christopher also engages the warning by Caren Kaplan against theology taking on language of marginality such as “borderlands
154. Goonan, A Community of Exiles, 47. 155. Goonan, A Community of Exiles, 56.
156. See particularly Sharp, “The Trope of “exile”,” 153. 157. Sharp, “The Trope of “exile”,” 156-158.
and hybridity” (to which I might include threshold and liminality) because it is the latest thing.159 The holocaust has had a profound effect on the conversation around idealistic exile,