Hebrew Bible discussion

Discussions on the Old Testament’s relevancy for today’s Christians Nov. 7 at Elizabethtown College

Dr. Robert Neff, Dr. Jeff Bach lead continuing education program

Although the church affirms that its Scriptures include both the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the New Testament, Christians often downplay or ignore the witness of its “first testament.” Elizabethtown College hosts the continuing education program “The Witness of the Hebrew Bible for the New Testament Church” at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 7, in the Susquehanna Room, to explore that dichotomy.

During the morning session, Dr. Robert Neff, an Old Testament scholar, president emeritus of Juniata College and former general secretary of the Church of the Brethren, and Dr. Jeff Bach, director of Elizabethtown’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies and associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies, address topics and questions raised in the 2010 Brethren Press book “The Witness of the Hebrew Bible for the New Testament Church,” in which 13 Brethren scholars address the question “Of what relevance is the Old Testament for Christians today?”

In the afternoon are two panel discussions focusing on the themes of peacemaking, education, holiness and conceptions of God. Panel members are Robert Neff and Elizabethtown’s Dr. John David Bowman, adjunct faculty in the Department of Religious Studies, who were contributors to the book, and the book’s coeditors Christina Bucher; Elizabethtown’s Carl Ziegler Professor of Biblical Studies; David Leiter, pastor of Green Tree Church of the Brethren in Oaks, Pa.; and Frank Ramirez, pastor at Everett (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. Also on the panel are Mike Long, associate professor of Religious Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies at Elizabethtown, and the Young Center’s Bach.

This event is sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies and Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center.

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