Identity and Community in Biblical World: Collected Essays on Identity and Community from Biblical Perspectives

The Society for Biblical Studies in India (SBSI) has been addressing vital issues in its conferences and seminars. This book is the outcome of SBSI Biennium 2018, where scholars from various regions in India presented papers on identity and community formation from Biblical perspectives. Collection of articles in this book exposes how identity and community formation are interrelated in Biblical literature.

Dr. B. Lalnunzira is an ordained minister of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church, presently teaching at Aizawl Theological College, Aizawl. He is the incumbent secretary of the SBSI. He recently published Re-reading the Old Testament Prophets: The Spirit of God in the Exilic Seers (2019), and Mizo Identity Bihchianna (Edited, 2019).
Dr. Varaprasad Gosala is an ordained minister of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church. He teaches at Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad. At present, he is the treasurer of the SBSI. He has published several articles in leading theological journals.

It gives immense joy to see that scholarly papers presented at the Society for Biblical Studies in India (SBSI) Biennial Conference 2018 held at Aizawl Theological College are published with the help of Christian World Imprints. Since the establishment of SBSI in 1962 it was the first time that a biennial was held in North East region of India, a region were the number of scholars pursuing Biblical studies is increasing. Moreover, it was a good opportunity to counsel the North East Chapter to continue to be in full association with the National forum. The members of SBSI were extremely grateful that the Theological College had come forward to host this significant event.
During the Conference the delegates deliberated and discussed the theme: "Quest for Identity in Community Formation: Biblical Perspectives." The quest for identity exhibits a basic human need. Quest for identity structures one's personal identity in relation to others. Quest for identity helps to identify oneself with what lies outside the self. Quest for identity enables one to find roots and establish connections to the past as well as to the future. Glancing through the Holy Bible we perceive that the quest for identity forms a community's personal conviction of what gives meaning to life, belief system, spiritual essence and its own unique life experiences.
As Christians our quest for identity has formed us to a life of unity and order, not to a life fragmented by a mixture of identities. It means we abandon any image of ourselves that is not from God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. We stop accepting what others say about us or how others label or define us but commit and engage ourselves to Jesus Christ who is the authentic way to find meaning in life.
The present publication affirms the above mentioned idea. This volume, titled Identity and Community in Biblical World, contains the Presidential Address delivered at the Conference, Keynote address, nine scholarly papers and three doctoral dissertation synopses. These presentations put in a nutshell the theme of Biennial Conference 2018.

Society for Biblical Studies in India (SBSI) is a society initiated by scholars of Biblical Studies in India who had great visions to promote Biblical scholarship in India. It is an ecumenical body in which scholars and students of Biblical studies from Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox Church join together in its endeavour. Though a simple beginning, the society is growing stronger and stronger that regional seminars and national seminars (Biennium) have been regular features of the society.
The SBSI Biennium, 2018 was hosted by Aizawl Theological College during 23-25 October. It was the Biennium hosted in the Northeast Indian soil for the first time. The College hosted the Biennium with great enthusiasm and excellence. Participants who came from all parts of India cherished the hospitality of the Aizawl Theological College. Over 80 participants attended the meeting. The theme for 2018 Biennium was, "Quest for Identity in Community Formation: Biblical Perspectives." Scholars from different parts of India read their papers that focus on the theme from different Biblical and contextual perspectives. In addition to ten scholarly papers, a brief Introduction to Society for Biblical Studies in India (SBSI), Presidential Address, Keynote Address of the Biennium, and three more excerpts and abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations were presented and discussed with great appreciation.
This book is an outcome of Biennium 2018 in which articles presented by scholars and doctoral excerpts are put together for public reading. Authors of the articles have to be found in the last part of the book. As stated above, the theme for the seminar and of this book is Identity and Community Formation. As its introduction, a brief description of the history of Society for Biblical Studies (SBSI) is appended. Presidential address by the then president Dr. V. J. John follows this. Dr. John discusses about identity, community and Biblical narratives in which concept of identity and Biblical images of identity markers are delineated. In a keynote address, Dr. Vanlalnghaka Ralte, principal of Aizawl Theological College highlights issues of identity and the people of God in Biblical tradition.