28.09.2015
BACI Annual Lecture and AGM Take Place in Greystones
The Biblical Association of the Church of Ireland (BACI) held its annual lecture and AGM in St Patrick’s Church, Greystones, on Friday evening (September 25). The annual lecture entitled,“ Reading Old Testament Stories: Theological Challenges and Possibilities”, was given by Dr Brad Anderson, chair of the Irish Biblical Association. The theme of the AGM was “BACI – the way forward” and was chaired by the Bishop of Limerick, the Rt Revd Kenneth Kearon who spoke briefly on part of his work as Anglican Communion Secretary General.
Opening his lecture, Dr Anderson said that the stories of the Old Testament had captured the religious and secular imagination throughout the centuries, from the early church fathers to the Reformers, artists of the Renaissance and filmmakers in the 21st century. However, he said, on closer reading the stories resulted in difficult questions, particularly for people of faith. “Why would God destroy the earth with a flood? What kind of God asks Abraham to kill his son? What do we make of the violence in the conquest narratives, much of it seemingly divinely sanctioned? And what about the rampant patriarchy in these texts, the effects of which lead to the marginalisation of women? These are very real and very serious issues that arise when we read the stories of the Old Testament carefully,” he stated.
Dr Anderson proposed to explore one challenge to be found in the Hebrew Scriptures and the surprising possibilities that could emerge through careful reading of the Old Testament stories. To do this he drew on the stories of twins, Jacob and Esau, and their stories in Genesis to highlight the concept of election, or chosenness. He suggested that while these stories were a reminder of the difficulties that Old Testament narratives could hold, they also illustrated the surprising and constructive nature of these accounts when read critically and carefully.
“There are those in Old Testament that are the chosen people, and those who are not, and this raises serious and complex issues. At a time when issues of identity and otherness are as fraught as they have ever been—as we think about Irish identity in an increasingly pluralistic Ireland, about school ethos, about migrants and refugees—some honest reflection is needed in that the Bible can and does raise challenges in this and other areas,” Dr Anderson stated.
He continued: “What I am suggesting, however, is that when we face head on some the complexities of the Bible and then seriously engage with these issues, the Scriptures have a propensity to surprise us. It is precisely in engaging with the complexities of election and chosenness that I’ve begun to notice the surprising roles of the Esaus, and Ruths, and Rahabs, and Jethros that permeate the biblical story. Indeed, these stories suggest that the Church has resources within itself to continue engaging with these complex issues in new, constructive, and imaginative ways. The challenge lies in allowing ourselves to be surprised by the Scriptures, and perhaps, if we’re lucky, like Jacob, to glimpse the unexpected face of God”.
Taking the chair for BACI’s AGM, Bishop Kenneth Kearon said that as Secretary General, working closely with Archbishop Rowan Williams, he had undertaken a fourfold programme to enable the Anglican Churches around the world to be “a Communion of Churches in Relationship”, given the differing views and issues determined by their contexts, he said. Among these was the Bible in the Life of the Church project which noted a series of dichotomies in church life in relation to the Bible: pulpit and pew; process and outcome (the former determining the latter); popular and unpopular (i.e. read and neglected passages in the Bible). The project has been ongoing, issuing a number of Bible studies linked to the Anglican Communion’s Marks of Mission and working to explore how local churches and congregations actually use the Bible, and to distil and develop the exploration of Anglican hermeneutics.
The Bishop noted that BACI had established and maintained close ties with BiLC personnel and that BACI’s 2012 Lenten series on Economic Justice had been taken up by BiLC and circulated to the wider communion. The Lenten series for 2016 on “Reconciliation” is to be prepared in consultation with BiLC, using some of their material.
The committee of BACI for the coming year is: William Olhausen (chair), Ginnie Kennerley, (vice–chair and communications), David Hutchinson Edgar, Annette MacFarlane (hon sec), Barbara Bergin (hon treasurer), Paul Houston and David Compton (webmaster). Up to three more members may be co–opted.
Photo captions:
Top: The Revd David Mungavin, Rector of St Patrick’s, Greystones; Annette McFarlane, Honorary Secretary of BACI; Dr Brad Anderson of the Irish Biblical Association, Canon Dr Ginnie Kennerley, Vice Chair of BACI) and the Bishop of Limerick, the Rt Revd Kenneth Kearon.
Bottom – A section of the audience at the BACI annual lecture and AGM in St Patrick’s Church, Greystones.