Bibles confiscated

Malaysia's online newspaper, Malaysiakini, runs a very disturbing news today. I am reposting the news here. Is this another clear and unmistakable indication that freedom of religion as enshirned in our Federal Constitution is now slowing but surely eroding away?

Bibles confiscated by Customs Dept
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz Feb 4, 08 7:19pm

A seizure of English bibles by Customs Department officials has left a bitter taste in the mouth of a Malaysian Christian and led the Council of Churches Malaysia to decry the increasing incidence of such acts by the authorities.

It comes on the heels of a spate of legal suits following similar seizures of Christian materials by the authorities earlier this year and late last year.

On Jan 28, missionary Juliana Nicholas returned from a trip to the Philippines carrying with her two boxes containing 32 bibles meant for her church group.

Upon arrival at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur, she was told to declare and open the contents of the boxes.

Having done so - and despite showing them a letter from her parish priest stating the texts were for use by the church - Nicholas was shocked to be hear subsequently that the bibles would be “referred" to the Internal Security Ministry’s Publications and Al-Quran Texts Control Division.

Protestations that they could check the bibles there and then without the inconvenience of referring them to the ministry fell on deaf ears, said Nicholas.

“When I objected as these were English bibles, the ministry official I spoke to said, ‘Oh, we do this even with the Qurans that come through this way’. But these are not Qurans, these are English bibles!” Nicolas said when contacted.

As to when the bibles can be returned to her “would depend on those people at the division”, Nicholas said she was told further.

After a follow-up call today to the ministry, Nicholas said she was informed she could now pick up the bibles from the division office located near the airport.

Official apology needed

She insisted, however, that the ministry issue to her an official apology for the inconvenience caused and a letter of assurance that the incidence would not recur.

“They cannot allow such things to happen again. How can they do this to you?” asked an indignant Nicholas.

Echoing her demand today, Council of Churches Malaysia general secretary Dr Hermen Shastri said it should be known categorically that “the bible is Holy Scripture for Christians.”

“No authority on earth should deny Christians the right to possess, read and travel with their bibles,” he said in a statement.

“We call upon the prime minister, who is also the internal security minister, to make a clear and unequivocal statement to assure Christians in the country that they will not be subject to such harassment and that their holy books will not be subject to the scrutiny of the Control Division of Publications and Al-Quran Texts of the Internal Security Ministry.

“For a country that has celebrated, cultivated and sustained 50 years of religious freedom and harmonious living between all faith communities, this latest episode is another example of how the unilateral actions of certain government agencies are undermining the government’s stated claims of protecting religious freedom in the country,” said Shastri.

Legal suit

Earlier this year, the Internal Security Ministry confiscated English language Christian children’s books said to contain offensive caricatures of prophets from several bookshops in three states.

Last year, a Sabah church filed a suit against the government and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his capacity as internal security minister for not allowing the import of Christian literature from Indonesia containing the word ‘Allah’.

Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Church president Pastor Jerry Dusing filed the suit on behalf of the church at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Dec 10 after six titles for their Sunday school education for children were banned from being imported.

In 2006, about 1,000 copies of bibles in Bahasa Indonesia were seized in Port Klang and had remained in Customs’ possession.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz had earlier told Parliament that the government prohibited the distribution of bibles in Bahasa Malaysia.

The prime minister however stated that Bahasa Malaysia bibles are not banned but must be labeled with the words 'Not for Muslims’.

Special TEE Course by Dr Peter O’Brien

In colaboration with Church Based Theological Education (CBTE), STM is pleased to announce a special Theological Education by Extension ( TEE) Course by Dr Peter O’Brien on "Justification in the Paul's Epistles."

This course will explore the development and presentation of the theme of justification in the letters written by the Apostle Paul. In view of recent scholastic studies that offer a “fresh interpretation” of the doctrine of justification, this course will be a timely reminder of the biblical view of how God justifies us while we were still enemies with him.

Dates: March 1 (Sat), 4 (Tue), 6 (Thu), 7 (Fri), 8 (Sat), 11 (Tue), 13 (Thu), and 14 (Fri)

Time: Tue, Thu and Fri: 8.00-10.30pm; Sat: 9.00am-5.00pm

Venue: First Baptist Church; Lot 8, Jalan Pantai 9/7, 46000 Petaling Jaya

About the Instructor

Dr Peter T. O'Brien is Senior Research Fellow at Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia where he was formerly Vice-Principal. He has also been the Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean of Union Biblical Seminary in Yatvatmal, India.

Dr O’Brien is a noted NT scholar with special interests in Pauline theology and missions. Among his noted works include commentaries on Ephesians (Pillar New Testament Commentary), Philippians (New International Greek New Testament Commentary) and Colossians/Philemon (Word Biblical Commentary). He is currently writing a commentary on Hebrews for the Pillar series. Other works include ‘Consumed by Passion: Paul and the Dynamic of the Gospel’, ‘Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission’ (written with Andreas Kostenberger) and ‘Justification And Variegated Nomism’ (two volumes edited with D. A. Carson and Mark A. Seifrid).

Course Registration
For STM and TEE students only, please contact Ruth Tee
Seminari Theoloji Malaysia
Lot 3011, Taman South East, Jalan Tampin Lama Batu 3, 70100 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan
Tel: 06 - 6322815

Fax: 06 - 6329766

email address: ruthtee@stm.edu.my

For those who are not STM students, please contact the CBTE Registrar, Doreen Chan, via doreen28@tm.net.my or 016-238-0918

Review of Biblical Literature: Feb 2, 2008

The following new reviews have been added to the Review of Biblical Literature:

Stanisław Bazyliński
A Guide to Biblical Research: Introductory Notes
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5286
Reviewed by Jeremy Punt

Douglas A. Campbell
The Quest for Paul's Gospel: A Suggested Strategy
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=4794
Reviewed by Matt Jackson-McCabe

Gordon D. Fee
Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Study
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5820
Reviewed by Don Garlington
Reviewed by Matthew Montonini

Anthony Grafton and Megan Williams
Christianity and the Transformation of the Book: Origen, Eusebius, and the Library of Caesarea
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5556
Reviewed by Claudio Zamagni

Pieter W. van der Horst
Jews and Christians in Their Graeco-Roman Context: Selected Essays on
Early Judaism, Samaritanism, Hellenism, and Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6056
Reviewed by Christoph Stenschke

Hans Hübner
Wer ist der biblische Gott? Fluch und Segen der monotheistischen Religionen
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5498
Reviewed by Sven Petry

Garrett C. Kenney
Translating H/holy S/spirit: Four Models: Unitarian, Binitarian, Trinitarian, and Non-sectarian
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5770
Reviewed by Tony Costa

Jaclyn L. Maxwell
Christianization and Communication in Late Antiquity: John Chrysostom and His Congregation in Antioch
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5778
Reviewed by David Brian Warner

Patrick D. Miller
The Way of the Lord: Essays in Old Testament Theology
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5862
Reviewed by Walter Brueggemann

Pekka Särkiö
Kuningasajalta: Kirjoituksia Salomosta ja rautakauden piirtokirjoituksista
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5719
Reviewed by Pekka Pitkänen

W. Dennis Tucker
Jonah: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5703
Reviewed by Karl Möller

Biblical Women and their Afterlives: New Testament Characters

The Centre for Reception History of the Bible is organising a conference on "Biblical Women and their Afterlives: New Testament Characters"

Venue: Trinity College, Oxford

Date: 16-18th March 2008

This interdisciplinary conference is part of an AHRC-funded project, in collaboration with Boston University, exploring the reception history of biblical women.

Following on from the successful conference in Boston in 2007, which examined the afterlives of women from the Hebrew Bible, our 2008 conference will focus on the afterlives of New Testament characters in art, music, literature and theology.

Speakers include:
Prof Heidi Hornik (art history)

Prof Diane Apostolos-Cappadona (art history)

Prof Ruth Steiner (music)

Prof Peter Loewen (music)

Fiona Maddocks (music)

Prof Christopher Rowland (theology)

Dr Sarah Jane Boss (theology)

The programme also includes the specially commissioned poem ‘To cast a stone’ by the acclaimed Irish poet John F. Deane.

For the complete conference programme click here. For the booking form click here.

ATLAS Is Now Finally Available

ATLAS Online is now finally made available to STM community.

ATLAS is "an online collection of major religion and theology journals selected by leading religion scholars and theologians. Users can read articles or research the history of a topic from as early as 1924 to the present. Currently, researchers are able to use ATLAS as a search tool to retrieve images of the pages in more than seventy different journals."

With more than 153,700 articles available, ATLAS is an indispensable tool and resource for any theological student and researcher.

While ATLAS has been a standard online resource for seminaries in the West for some time, it is not the case for us in Malaysia. Operating on a very tight budget, we often find it not feasible subscribing to ATLAS. Thanks to a generous donor, we are now able to offer this very important resource for our students, both full-time and part-time. We hope that this would enhance their learning experience. Of course, with this newly added resource, the expectation of the lecturers on the students would increase proportionately.

All STM students (including TEE students) should have received an email informing them of this facility. If you have not, please contact the library directly.

Enjoy ATLAS!

Online Books From the Society of Biblical Literature

Society of Biblical Literature's International Cooperation Initiative (ICI) has put in place a system to provide free electronic access (in PDF files) to selected SBL publications to scholars and students in under-resourced countries who would not otherwise have access to this scholarship. Persons who are identified through SBL's technology as being from a country with a GDP per capita substantially lower than the average GDP per capita of the USA and the European Union will be able to have access to these resources.

The good news is that Malaysia is classified as one of those countries that benefits from SBL's online resources. The IP address will be tracked, so if you access the internet outside of Malaysia, you will not be able to have access to these files, unless you access it from a country that is classified to benefit from the ICI initiative.

Occasionally, it's "nice" to know we are still a "poor" nation!

So check out and enjoy the following books that are available for free to readers in Malaysia. All you need to do is to click here and follow the links of the books listed to download the PDF files.

Horsley, Richard A., ed. Oral Performance, Popular Tradition, and Hidden Transcript in Q. Semeia Studies 60. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006. (240 pages, 1.1 MB)

De Troyer, Kristin and Armin Lange, eds., Reading the Present in the Qumran Library: The Perception of the Contemporary by Means of Spiritual Interpretation. Symposium 30. Society of Biblical Literature, 2005. (244 pages, 1.5 MB)

Van Voorst, Robert E., Building Your New Testament Greek Vocabulary, Third Edition. Resources for Biblical Study 43. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001. (131 pages, 1.7 MB)

Draper, Jonathan A., Orality, Literacy, and Colonialism in Antiquity. Semeia Studies 47. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004. (248 pages, 1.4 MB)

Kennedy, George A., Invention and Method: Two Rhetorical Treatises from the Hermogenic Corpus. Writings from the Greco-Roman World 15. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2005. (291 pages, 1.5 MB)

Nissinen, Martti, Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East. Writings from the Ancient World 12. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2003. (296 pages, 12.5 MB)

Albertz, Rainer, Israel in Exile: The History and Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E. Studies in Biblical Literature 3. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003. (484 pages, 4.3 MB)

Landes, George M., Building Your Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary: Learning Words by Frequency and Cognate. Resources for Biblical Study 41. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2001. (232 pages, 679 KB)

Barr, David L., ed., Reading the Book of Revelation: A Resource for Students. Resources for Biblical Study 44. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003. (212 pages, 1.2 MB)

Draper, Jonathan A., ed., Orality and Colonialism in Southern Africa. Semeia Studies 46. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004. (278 pages, 1.8 MB)

Georgi, Dieter, The City in the Valley: Biblical Interpretation and Urban Theology. Studies in Biblical Literature 7. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005. (398 pages, 2.4 MB)

Lindenberger,, James M., Ancient Aramaic and Hebrew Letters, Second Edition. Writings from the Ancient World 14. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003. (208 pages, 1.7 MB)

Moreland, Milton C., Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching. Archaeology and Biblical Studies 8. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003. (254 pages, 1.8 MB)

Mykytiuk, Lawrence J., Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic. Academia Biblica 12. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004. (347 pages, 9.6 MB)

Cook, Stephen L. and Corrine L. Patton, eds., Ezekiel’s Hierarchical World: Wrestling with a Tiered Reality. Symposium 31. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004. (304 pages, 1.5 MB)

Reeves, John C., Trajectories in Near Eastern Apocalyptic: A Postrabbinic Jewish Apocalypse Reader. Resources for Biblical Study 45. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2005. (278 pages, 1.4 MB)

Singer, Itamar, Hittite Prayers. Writings from the Ancient World. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2002. (160 pages, 562 KB)

Jones, F. Stanley, ed., Which Mary?: The Marys of Early Christian Tradition. Symposium 19. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2002.

Review of Biblical Literature Jan 25, 2008

The following new reviews have been added to the Review of Biblical Literature. There are some very interesting NT books included in this issue.

John M. G. Barclay, trans.
Flavius Josephus: Against Apion
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5844
Reviewed by René Bloch

Jeannine K. Brown
Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5915
Reviewed by Tony Costa

Philip F. Esler and Ronald A. Piper
Lazarus, Mary and Martha: A Social-Scientific and Theological Reading of John
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5948
Reviewed by Peter Phillips

Ulrich Fistill
Israel und das Ostjordanland: Untersuchungen zur Komposition von Num 21,21-36,13 im Hinblick auf die Entstehung des Buches Numeri
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5834
Reviewed by Ulrike Sals

Thomas R. Hatina, ed.
Biblical Interpretation in Early Christian Gospels: Vol. 1: The Gospel of Mark
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5480
Reviewed by David du Toit

Christine Helmer, ed.
The Multivalence of Biblical Texts and Theological Meanings
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5580
Reviewed by Christoph Stenschke

Dan Jaffé
Le Talmud et les origines juives du christianisme: Jésus, Paul et les judéo-chrétiens dans la littérature talmudique
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6057
Reviewed by Bogdan G. Bucur

Christopher R. SeitzProphecy and Hermeneutics: Toward a New Introduction to the Prophets
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6055
Reviewed by Michael B. Shepherd

A. T. Sulavik, ed.
Guillelmus de Luxi: Postilla super Baruch, Postilla super Ionam
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5784
Reviewed by Mark W. Elliott

Robert Tannehill
The Shape of Luke's Story: Essays on Luke-Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5723
Reviewed by Robert F. O'Toole

Stephen Voorwinde
Jesus' Emotions in the Fourth Gospel: Human or Divine?http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5120
Reviewed by William R. G. Loader

STM Ipoh Roadshow and a Slightly Twisted Version of Gen 3

This will be another busy weekend. Together with the 1st year seminarians and my colleagues, we will be heading north to Ipoh for the annual STM roadshow (for further info, see my colleague's post).

I have been assigned to preach from Genesis 3 in St Peter's Church in Ipoh. I am still struggling to prepare the sermon. I must confess that I am a little bit apprehensive when it comes to preaching from the OT (as a result of over specialisation?).

Anyway, my colleague in church, Ewe Jin (who incidentally maintains a blog called Slightly Twisted Mind), has some weird sense of humour about my sermon. He paraphrased Gen 3 for me (with some minor corrections and additions made by me). Read the NSWMV (the New Slightly Twisted Mind Version).

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did the lecturer really say, 'You must not commit plagiarism in the seminary'?"

The woman said to the serpent, "We may footnote all the reference books in the library but the lecturer did say, 'You must not commit plagiarism or you will die.'"

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For the lecturer knows that when you plagiarise your eyes will be opened, and you will be like the lecturer, knowing good and evil."

So the woman committed plagiarism. To cut the story short, the eyes of both of the woman and man were opened, and they realized their mistake; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for the results they received in their transcript.

Then the lecturer said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I plagiarised."

And the lecturer said, "The man and woman have now become like one of us, knowing good and evil."

So the lecturer banished the man and the woman from his class. They are now forced to do labour work, dorm duty, cleaning the toilets, and, of course, of course, gardening, come rain or shine.



I think my colleague certainly has more than a "slightly twisted mind"!

Swiss Vacation Highlight #5 - Sandwich Technique Rediscovered!

One of key literary features in Mark's gospel is the use of sandwich technique. While in Milan, I suddenly discovered a new meaning of the use of sandwich technique, much to the amusement of my two friends!

What (or rather who) should be the focus of the sandwich technique in this case?

My Thesis Accepted for Publication

I have just received news from the publisher, T & T Clark (part of the Continuum Books), that my thesis has been accepted for publication subject to some editing and changes. Looks like I will now have to do the neccesary revisions for publication and I foresee several very busy months ahead!

Nevertheless, a very nice belated birthday gift indeed.