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Hagar and Sarah – A Liberative Reading of Galatians 4:21-31

In our given passage, dwelling on one of the infamous traditional tools “portrayals of women” found in many books of the Old Testament by the prophets and the wisdom writers to talk about the paradoxical life of the Israelite society, faith and tradition, the Apostle Paul was trying to explain the dignity and status of a Christian in the kingdom of God by following the New Law laid down by Jesus Christ. He did this in and through the allegorical presentation of Hagar-Ishmael and Sarah-Isaac with Abraham. Though Paul himself was struggling to disown the legacy of the Jewish Law, being a Jew himself, yet, his new faith in Christ helped him to propagate the legacy of the New Law in Christ. Paul did this while writing to the non-Jewish, Greek-speaking community of the Galatians, the gentiles in the language of the New Testament. Paul, by referring to the Old Testament story of the patriarch Abraham, and his struggle for progeny in the midst of God’s promise to be the father of many nations, along with Covenant, Election, Law, Blessings, and Curses, etc. was trying to make these theologies relevant and meaningful for his Galatian audience in Christ alone as the beginning of the New Law –  the new Adam.

VIRTUAL MEMORIAL SERVICE – JULY 29, 2021

Death of our dear colleagues and their immediate family members was emotionally and psychologically stressful.  The General Secretary Rev. Dr. M. Mani Chacko initiated the thought of organizing a Memorial Service to help the bereaving family to cope with the loss of their dear ones.

A Service of Thanksgiving for the lives of BSI Staff and the immediate family members who have gone to be with the Lord recently was organized on July 29, 2021 virtually. Staff across the nation and the family members of the deceased attended the service virtually

The Church Relations and Resource Mobilization Department prepared the order of service for the occasion with a heavy heart. Truly it was an emotional time to pay tributes to 9 of our colleagues and 16 immediate family members of the staff.

Literacy transforming lives at all levels in one of the most challenging parts of the world

“This year my whole family had enough to eat during the dry season. Thanks to the Bible Society’s literacy course, I didn’t only learn to read and write but also found out how to use organic manure in agriculture. 

As a result of this, my crop yields increased. When you apply literacy skills well, it’s possible to make progress and to achieve food security. Matthieu Lompoc, a second-year student, is proud of his new knowledge.

There are many other people who are saying the same things about the literacy project run by the Bible Society in Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries. Reports tell of changes in all aspects of life. The project is meeting a desperate need in this West African country where the overall rate of illiteracy is

I have discovered through the literacy program that animals need to be cared for, just like humans,” he says. “Now that we’re taking good care of our animals, our output has risen, which has improved our financial situation.”

The villagers have also become able to help each other more, explains Elisabeth Oumbo, a teacher on one of the literacy courses.

“The weekly market is held a very long way from our village,” she says. “This means that only a few people can go there, and they have to shop for people who don’t go. The better somebody is able to write, the better they can note down requests. This means that they can really help other villagers.” 

RELEASE OF THE INDIAN EDITION OF THE HEBREW OT AND GREEK NT BY THE BIBLE SOCIETY OF INDIA 

By Mr. Paul Stephen, Director, Publishing and Marketing Department, BSI

A student of a reputed theological college repeatedly called us for copies of the Hebrew and Greek Bibles, anxious to get his personal copy as he was unable to get a copy from his institution. He asked why the Bible Society of India could not print and provide enough copies. Many such requests like this have been made in the past several years.

Bible translation, inspired by God attempts to translate many languages from the languages it was originally written – Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.