The Faculty of Religious Sciences at Saint Joseph University, in partnership with Bible Society Lebanon, and in collaboration with the Institute of Abrahamic Relations (IFAR) « Abraham’s Bridge », organized, on the 22nd of February 2025, the 5th Intercultural Conference addressing the Sacred Texts’ controversies in Christianity and Islam under the title of “The Role of Contextualization and Contemporarization in Reading the Sacred Text.”
The ceremony began with the inaugural speeches of the President of Saint Joseph University, Father Professor Salim Daccache, the General Secretary of the Bible Society, Dr. Mike Bassous, and the President of the Institute of Abrahamic Relations, Dr. Kurt Richardson.
The lecturers of the international conference were held by Muslim and Christian scholars. Contributors from Tunisia and Lebanon presented their lectures at the USJ hall in Beirut, while one speaker from the United States joined via Zoom to deliver his speech.
The opening session discussed the controversies of the Contextualization and Contemporarization in Reading the Sacred Text. The other research topics were entitled “The Sacred Text from Origins to Compilation to Contemporary Reading”, “Historicism and Reading the Sacred Text” and “Techniques, Benefits, and Cautions of Contextualization and Contemporarization in Reading the Sacred Text.” In the last session, the lecturers gathered around one table to draw conclusions, make summaries, and discuss questions among themselves.
Around 100 individuals were present physically for the lectures, allowing time for questions and answers.
The book from last year’s conference, entitled “The Sacred Texts and humanism – Proceedings of the 4th Conference on ‘The Sacred Texts’ Controversies in Christianity and Islam,’” was distributed for free to the attendees, along with the proceedings of the first, second and third conferences for those who had not previously obtained them. Everyone shared a lunch – a fellowship meal – during which participants got to know each other better and built stronger connections.
The lectures were marked by a strictly scientific and academic approaches, while the discussions were carried out with transparency and understanding. And the conference received significant interaction and response from the listeners. All attendees acknowledged that this collaborative research was essential in a country of many religions and cultures.
And the conference was broadcasted on the social media platforms of both Saint Joseph University in Beirut and Bible Society Lebanon.
The Bible Society’s mission is to spread the Holy Bible’s message and culture to all generations through translating, publishing, and distributing the Scriptures using visual, audio-visual, readable, and digital formats, encouraging people to read and engage with God’s word, advocating the Bible cause to uphold human dignity, and partnering with all Churches and Christian institutions.
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