The phrase “it’s all Greek to me” does not apply to Rev Nicholas King SJ, an acclaimed international biblical scholar and Fellow in New Testament at Oxford, who will be presenting on St Paul at this year’s Broken Bay Bible Conference on 27-28 July, 2018.
Fr King has translated the whole Bible from the Greek Septuagint (a 2nd century BCE translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) and from the New Testament into his own English translation, which is a tremendous achievement. As a Jesuit, he has spent his life teaching, at secondary and tertiary level, and is a gifted educator.
Also bringing much expertise to the conference is Dr Catherine Playoust, Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the Catholic Theological College University of Divinity in Melbourne, who holds a licentiate from Weston Jesuit School of Theology and a doctorate from Harvard Divinity School; and Most Rev David Walker, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Broken Bay, who represents the Australian Catholic Bishops at the Catholic Biblical Federation.
The topic of the Conference is equally engaging – St Paul; Persecutor to Preacher. There is great complexity in the life of St Paul. From Chapter 8 of Acts of the Apostles where we find “Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3), to the very next Chapter where he “went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord” (Acts 9:27) we are drawn into seeing a man powerfully committed in persecution, and then equally powerfully committed in preaching Christ after a remarkable transformation.
The Conference, proudly sponsored by The Bible Society, will allow us to look more closely at the man who had such a profound impact on the early Church. Paul was ideally equipped to cross the boundaries of language, culture and religion, as he was Greek-speaking from the Jewish diaspora, a Pharisee, and a Roman citizen, giving him the perfect platform from which to announce the Gospel to everyone. He did this with great zeal, building up faith communities along the way; and his letters to the early Church communities are among the earliest written documents in the New Testament.
Come and meet the man who wrote the wonderfully familiar, “Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude” (1 Cor 13:4); and who was able to rejoice in Christ despite his continual suffering and eventual imprisonment, for the sake of the Gospel.
Our engaging presenters will bring the Scriptures and the story of St Paul to life for the audience. Given that many of the Second Reading texts from our Liturgy come from St Paul’s writings, whatever we can do to lay a solid foundation for an understanding of these texts will be enriching.
The Conference includes the celebration of Mass presided by Most Rev Peter A Comensoli, Bishop of Broken Bay; a Panel presentation; and a Conference Dinner on the Friday evening.
Details:
Broken Bay Bible Conference: St Paul – Persecutor to Preacher
Date: Friday 27 – Saturday 28 July 2018
Time: Friday 8.30am – 5.00pm. Dinner at 5.30pm
Saturday: 9.00am – 4.30pm
Venue: The Heritage Function Centre, Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club,
117 Ryedale Rd, West Ryde
Cost: $110 - Full conference registration (includes morning and afternoon tea and lunch each day)
$55 - one day registration (includes morning and afternoon tea and lunch).
$32 – conference dinner onsite at the Golden Hawk Chinese Restaurant.
Fr Nicholas King Dr Catherine Playoust Bishop David Walker