Old Testament Group Meet in Fairview

Members of the OT Group of CBAP

September 2007 meeting

Although this post is not exactly about news in and out Divine Word Seminary, this may interest readers of this blog.

Last Sept. 19 (2:00 pm - 4:00 pm) the Old Testament group of the Catholic Biblical Association of the Philippines (CBAP) met in the hall of the Holy Spirit Church in B.F. Homes, Fairview (QC) to listen to and discuss the papers of two pastors/professors.

Pastor Leo F. Galanza, Jr delivered a paper on "Biblical Interpretation in the Second Period" where he outlined the complexities of this period. The body of literature in the Second Temple Judaism is not only diverse but also bigger than the canonical texts of the Old Testament. He assured that this period provides a better background to the New Testament rather than the Old Testament. He recommended to the group to take a look at George W. E. Nickelsburg, Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins: Diversity, Continuity, and Transformation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003). The group also also referred to Gabriele Boccaccini, Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of the Ways between Qumran and Enochic Judaism (Grand Rapids, Mi / Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1998) and idem, Roots of Rabbinic Judaism: An Intellectual History, From Ezekiel to Daniel (Grand Rapids, Mi / Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2002).

Pastor Leo is a senior pastor of Marikina Christian bible Church and faculty member of Center for Biblical Studies. He is working on an MA degree at the Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary.

The second paper was delivered by Pastor Noli Mendoza on "The Threat of Chaos: Jeremiah's Vision of a Suffering Earth". He argues that the "in the book of Jeremiah there exists and intimate relationship between God, human community, and the environment... the threat of chaos... in Jer 4:23-26 portraying the reversal of creation into disorder, is cuased by a profound violation in the symbolic relationship between God, the environment and human community" (from the abstract).

Pastor Noli is a faculty member of Asian Theological Seminary teaching where he also finished Master of Divinity in Biblical Studies (2001). He is writing a thesis for his Master of Theology in Biblical Studies at the Asia Graduate School of Theology - Philippines. he is a chaplain and translator in the Philippine Bible Society, pastor of Family Christian Fellowship of the Conservative Baptist Association of the Philippines (also abbreviated CBAP). He is married to Ma. Melissa Mendoza with whom he has two daughters, Haraya Marikit and Biyaya Marilag.

Listening to these pastors before a Catholic organization such as CBAP in Catholic parish, I remember what the late Raymond E. Brown said of biblical studies as the greatest achievement of ecumenism ("The Contribution of Historical Biblical Criticism to Ecumenical Church Discussion," in Richard John Neuhaus (genearal ed.), Biblical Interpretation in Crisis: The Ratzinger Conference on Bible and Church, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989), pp. 24-49.

Present in this meeting were Sr. Arleene Riccio, DSMP who hosted the meeting; Sr. Helen Graham, MM; Fr. Fruto Ramirez, SJ; Msgr. Noe de los Santos (who came all the way from Naga); Fr. Mer Viuya, MJ; Fr. Chris Pine, OFM; Bishop Ambo David; Pastor Caleb Dignadice; Mr. Resty Adoremus; and Ms. Bing Kasilag acted as the coordinator.

Important Announcements

1. The next OT meeting will be on February (date to be fixed yet) in Villa San Miguel in Mandaluyong. Speakers will be Bishop Ambo David and Carmelo Sorita (author of The Son of Man as Jesus and His Messianic Community (Naga: Ateneo de Naga, 2005). They will be discussing collective messianism and the "son of man". Bishop Broderick Pabillo will host this February meeting.

2. The New Testament group will meet here in Divine Word Seminary (Tagaytay) on October 6 (Sat) beginning at 9:00 am. Frs. Vic Nicdao and Carlito Reyes will discuss issues in Paul as preliminaries to the celebration of the Year of St. Paul (2,000th birthday; celebration is from June 29, 2008 - June 29, 2009).

3. The Ad-Infinitum group (members are lay who are into biblical studies) will hold their regular meeting tomorrow (22 Sept) beginning at 2:00 pm where Mr. Mike Lapid will deliver a paper on the Crisis of the Documentary Hypothesis and will also share his experiences with the Bat Kol program in Jerusalem.