May 29, 2020 @ 18:00

The Center for Biblical Studies at the Bible Society and the Biblical Association invite you to attend a seminar entitled:

Jesus' Missionary Trip to Phenicia, Lebanon

(In the context of the topic of the Bible and Lebanon that we chose for this year)

The speaker:
Rev. Dr. Issa Diab
Professor of Semitic Studies and Interfaith Relations
Location: on the Zoom app
Time: Friday, May 29, 2020 at 6 PM
__________________________________________________
About the Seminar:

This seminar is the second for this year. In this year’s symposiums we tackle the topic “The Bible and Lebanon”, and we chose it on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of Greater Lebanon.

The theme of this seminar is "Jesus' Missionary Trip to Phenicia Lebanon."
Among the four gospels, Matthew and Mark mention that Jesus made a journey to the areas of Tyre and Sidon, entered a house in the areas of Tyre, and healed the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15: 21-28; Mark 7: 24-30).
By undertaking this journey, Jesus would have gone against the traditional Jewish trend that would have prevented any interaction between the Jews and the pagan Canaanites, and that God's salvific message is only for the "lost Israel sheep". This is in terms of religion and theology. As for the way Jesus behaved, in his comings and goings, and the time that Jesus spent in Phenicia Lebanon, the Biblical texts do not give us any clear details, and we have to find our way relying on history to know the ways that the travelers traveled at that time.

There are questions related to the topic of the symposium raised by the Lebanese reality:

• Did Christ pass through Tire in the Bisri plain, in the place where the Lebanese government approved a dam construction project, and some civil societies and political bodies oppose the project? 
• Did Christ pass near Damascus on the way back? 
• What is the impact of the visit on religious tourism in Lebanon? 
• Finally, what is the theological dimension of Christ's visit to a pagan land, which in our view is the most important topic?

The duration of the seminar is 90 minutes, of which 45-60 minutes is a lecture, followed by 30-45 minutes of dialogue.
________________________________________

About The lecturer:

Priest Dr. Issa Diab, expert on translation of the Bible and ancient Semitic languages ​​at the International Federation of Bible Societies, is Professor of Semitic Studies and Interfaith Relations at Saint Joseph University and the School of Theology of the Near East.
Dr. Diab holds doctorates in theology, a doctorate in ancient Semitic civilizations, a doctorate in the cultures and societies of the Arab and Islamic world, a doctorate in religious sciences specializing in Judaism and the Biblical philology, and a merit certificate in research supervision. He has many books and specialized articles, and a member of the Biblical Association in Lebanon.

________________________________________ 

Register: