Bible Translation Seminar Held in Tuguegarao City
“I will have this certificate laminated, then display it in my living room”
These are the words of Nelsa Clemente after she received her certificate of attendance at the PBS Bible Translation Seminar held at the Soul Winners for Christ Fellowship in Tuguegarao City on February 3, 2007. I watched Nelsa as she waited patiently for her name to be called and be given her certificate.
Indeed, in some homes, people like to display diplomas certifying that a member of that household has graduated with a college degree perhaps, and in some offices, certificates of license to practice some profession such as medicine. But to display a certificate that someone such as Nelsa Clemente attended the PBS Bible Translation Seminar is something I have not heard before.
We, the PBS team that goes around in Bible caravans conducting Bible Translation Seminars, are honored to hear this comment from participants of the BTS. It gives recognition of our efforts to equip the Church in its study and propagation of God’s Word. It warms our hearts to know that some participants regard the certificate with much importance, so much so that it is preserved and displayed in someone’s living room.
In one BTS, one pastor asked how he could know for sure that a Bible translation is published and therefore is a product of the Philippine Bible Society. He elaborated to say that he trusts only Bible translations published by PBS. I appreciated first the trust the pastor has in PBS, and I went on to say that the copyright page of the Bible will categorically say if the Bible translation was done by PBS or not. The copyright page, for example, of the Biblia para sa Makabagong Filipina says on its copyright page: Copyright 2005 by Philippine Bible Society 890 United Nations Avenue, Manila, Philippines.
We, at PBS, value this trust so much that it inspires us to continue doing our best in everything that we do in our ministry. We uphold the United Bible Societies standards in Bible translation so that PBS Bibles are faithful to the original texts, the translation is natural and easy to understand, and the translation does not have any doctrinal bias.
Maintaining this standard of excellence is what we want to impart in Bible Translation Seminars. It is not surprising that lectures or presentations in the BTS, followed by a time to exchange views in the Open Forum can be truly involving. But ironically, Bible Seminars also have that built-in feature that allows everybody to relax, get to know other people, eat together, and just have fun. The Bible Seminar is one place where learning can be fun. (Dr. Annie Del Corro)
