What is the Bible

Dr. Emmanuel Assante

Let us continue our Old Testament studies by raising the question, "What is the Bible?" The answer which readily comes to mind is that the Bible is the "Word of God." But such an answer raises a further question, namely, "In what sense is the Bible the Word of God?" Where Scriptures are regarded as literally inerrant (i.e., without error) and the writers are seen as passive instruments in God's hands, there is a clear and definite sense in which Scriptures are understood as the Word of God in a literal sense, it is held that God, in His sovereignty, so supervised and the human writers that, although they used their own writing, it was, nevertheless, the very words of God down minutest details of individual words and idioms. The Scriptures therefore, are God's very writings and are, thus, without error in their minutest detail.

The case is a little different where Scriptures are not regarded as written by passive instruments in God's hands, but are seen as documents written by people who were not only inspired by the Spirit, but were also shaped by institutional structures and symbolic codes operative in the primary sectors of communal life, such as, culture, informed by the economy, family, government, law, war, ritual
and religious beliefs. In such a situation, the expression, “Word of God," as a definition of the Bible, takes on a different meaning. Here, the Bible comes to be understood as the "Word of God” in the sense of a divinely-inspired work of the human. In the words of Edward Young, "The Old Testament is the very Word of the God of truth. It is also the work of men."(1)

Our position is that, the Bible is both the "Word of God" and the “work of the human." In respect of this, Young observes as follows: "In His inscrutable wisdom, God chose and prepared for the task of writing, those human agents through whom He desired to speak His will. Then in a mysterious fashion His Spirit wrought upon them, so that what they wrote, although in a very true sense their own, was, nevertheless, precisely what the Spirit of God desired. The Bible, therefore, in one sense, may be regarded as a human book.

Essentially, however, it is divine and God Himself is its Author." In that sense, the Bible, as Howard Marshall has observed is infallible in the sense of a document that is entirely trustworthy for the purpose for which it is given.(2) The language of infallibility rather than that of "inerrancy" allows for possible historical inaccuracies, grammatical errors, and infelicities of expressions in the literary transmission of the Word of God.

Yet, even though it allows for these human weaknesses in the literary transmission of the Word of God, infallibility does not compromise the trustworthiness of the Word of God. On the contrary, infallibility assumes the unqualified and total trustworthiness of the Bible, in the sense of the "comprehensiveness of Scripture's truth claims," for the purpose for which it is given.

The Word of God
To refer to the Bible as the "Word of God" is to make a faith assertion. Here, one recognizes the divine origin or the inspiration of Scripture (inspiration is understood as a supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit upon divinely-chosen people in consequence of which their writings became trustworthy and authoritative). As the "Word of God," the Bible is understood and regarded as being in some sense, the special revelation of God, as "God-breathed" (theopneustos) and, therefore, as being the final standard or norm of Christian truth. As the "Word of God," the Bible confronts humanity with the reality of God. Its study then must mediate an encounter neither with words nor forms, but with a Jiving reality, God, whose encounter allows one to confront one's own ‘creatureliness’ and, hence, one's limitations and possibilities. In that sense, an encounter with God through His Word brings about a transformation of life. As the Word of God, the Bible constitutes the inspired role of faith and practice. The Bible then is divine.

The Work of the Human
Nevertheless, the Bible is also the "Work of the Human." It is precisely because it involves the human, whose reality can be defined with a social, cultural, historical, linguistic, geographical and religious space.

All this means that in studying the Bible, there is the need to into account, the geographical, sociological, political, religious, historical, cultural and linguistic settings of the books and their authors as well as the religio-cultural experiences lying behind the Bible, understood as the record of people's encounter with God. It is important to note that words are dynamic. Words receive different meanings in the passage of time. The historical contexts within which words are used are, therefore, important with respect to the meaning of the words.


As the ‘Work of the Human," the Bible is a piece of literature. Literature involves words and syntactical constructions. These are put in literary unit. Each literary unit has a form, a genre, the consideration of which is important to the interpretation of the text. It is important to understand that the overshadowing paradigm of God as the sole. Author of the Bible can hinder the important recognition and appreciation of Scripture's literary pluralism. Yet, as has been correctly observed, "A thorough-going acknowledgement of Scripture's diverse forms (genres) better helps us to understand the humanity of Scripture, without surrendering the notion of divine authorship."(3) The point is genre is constitutive of meaning. Be that as it may, genre "conditions our expectations as readers and permits understanding to take place."(4) It "enables the reader to interpret meaning and to recognize what kinds of truth claims are being made in and by a text."(5) The writers, who were inspired by God, used diverse linguistic and literary conventions in their writings. Some conventions yielded a world closely approximating our everyday life. Others did not. We neither check the historical authenticity of a talking frog in a fairy tale, of heroes with magical powers in romance, nor of gods talking with humans in epics, by consulting our everyday experience on these matters. One of the conventions of Ananse stories or fairy tales is that animals can speak human language. The point is that, a given literature must be read according to its genre and interpreted according to the conventions of that genre. This means that to understand a piece of literature, there is the need to take into consideration its genre. It has been observed that, "our stance about the literary genre of the book determines our entire interpretation of the book."(6) We know that the Bible is a rich composite of many oral and written traditions. The authors brought together and used diverse literary genres deriving from many sociological and linguistic settings. Critical scholarship has shown that the Bible involves different literary forms (genres).

Among these literary forms are the following:

Etiology: A narrative that provides an explanation for a certain name or situation. The etiology can be word play (Exodus 15:23 - Mara), or it can be a narrative that explains an event, such as the explanation given in Genesis 47:13-26 for the land tax established by Joseph.
Ritual: A description of the way in which a community carries out "significant" ceremonies, such as the offering of the first fruits in Deuteronomy 26:1-11, or the prescriptions for sacrifice (Leviticus 1-7).
Toledoth: Genealogy - A list that traces ancestral descent and/or a relationship intended to define the identity of specific individuals.
Hieros Logos: "Sacred Words" or sacral tradition, which refers to the origins of holy places (Genesis 28:22; 33:18-20).
Blessing: A form of speech that imparts an efficacious power (a performative word upon someone).
Myth: A symbolic expression of an event or a reality which lies at the heart of a community's existence and, therefore, defines or gives meaning to that existence.
Saga: A story transmitted orally from generation to generation in an exaggerative manner, preserving traditions of wanderings, exploits and adventures of clans.
Legend: The exploits of tribal heroes, like the stories of Samson, Komfo Anokye, Asebu Ainanfi, etc.
Sermon: Proclamation of an inspired word.
Commandments: Prescriptive discourses which provide the basis for a covenant relationship with God and with one another.
History: Although the literary genre of history, as it is conceived in modern historiography, cannot be properly applied to the biblical records, the Bible does supply history in various forms. It records events of the past, not in the sense of modern historiography. Its chronological sequence, cause and effect relationship, and selectivity are, however, characteristic of historiography. Historical narrative dealing with humans' encounter with God or vice-versa, serves God's revelatory design by "allowing us vicariously to live through events and experiences rather than simply learning about the issues involved in those events and experiences."(7)

As the 'Work of the Human,' the Bible is a social product, that is to say, it is a community reality. For example, the canonicity of Scripture was defined by the people of God to serve as the norm and rule of their faith and conduct. The Bible is what the religious community has accepted as sacred and authoritative. Behind the reality of the Bible, then, are a community and its religious traditions and expectations. The Bible, by no means, reflects a single theology. On the contrary, it reflects an eclectic theology. It is a book representing the harmony of many voices. For the people of God, the Bible is living, in the sense that it speaks to their differing concrete situations through a diversity of literary forms. This diversity of literary forms does not imply that Scripture contains competing kinds of truth: It shows rather that, Scripture is about various kinds of facts.8 With great indebtedness to Aristotle, we agree that, "Being may be said in diverse ways." The Akan in Ghana, West Africa, say: "Wisdom cannot be monopolised by one person" (Nyansa nni obaakofoo tirim). The Akan also say:

"Consultation calls for more than one person" (Tikoro nnko agyina).

What remains as a real theological issue today revolves around the authority of Scripture. As we have seen, the process of shaping the Canon of Scripture involved the religious community, which determined the books to be included or excluded. The question is does the determination of the Canon of Scripture reflect imposition of the authority of the religious community, that is, the Church, upon the Bible, or the recognition by the Church of the intrinsic authority of the Bible?

Put in another way, could the authority of the Scriptures so easily be divorced from the authority of the Christian community?

The Roman Catholic Church, on the one hand, holds the view that the Canon of Scripture reflects the imposition of external authority of the Church upon the Bible. According to Roman Catholic apologists, the authority of the Bible cannot be divorced from the Church's authority. To them, it is the Church's infallibility which ensures the authority of Scripture. The Protestant churches, on the other hand, generally maintain that the shaping of the Canon of Scripture is simply
informed by the Church's recognition of the intrinsic authority of the Bible.

Reacting to Augustine's assertion in contention against the Manicheans that, "I should not believe the Gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church," Luther said:
We must not understand St. Augustine to say that he would not believe the Gospel unless he was moved thereto by the authority of the whole Church. Every man must believe only because it is God's Word, and because he is convinced in his heart that it is true, although one angel from heaven and the entire world preached to the contrary. His meaning is rather, as himself says, that he finds the Gospel nowhere except in the Church, and that this external proof can be given heretics that their doctrine is not right, but that is right which all the world has with one accord accepted.(9)

Calvin agreed with Luther on this.(10) What is clear in both Christian traditions is that, there is coexistence between the community of faith and Scripture, the believing community and the Bible. "The Canon of Scripture then may be regarded as emerging organically from a community of faith already committed to using and respecting it."(11) The implication of the debate is that for Roman Catholic theologians, "not only the correct interpretation of Scripture, but the shape and content of the Canon itself were guaranteed by the infallibility of the Church."(12) The Reformers could not accept this Roman Catholic position which threatened the central principle of the Reformation, Sola Scriptura.. Consequently, they opposed the view that the Church had the power to determine the canonicity of the Bible. To the Reformers, it was the Spirit who determined the Canon. The Church's role was to bear witness to what God had established. The Church is infallible in its role as witness. For the Reformers, "the authority of the Scriptures was self-authenticating (autopistos) and sealed to the works of God's people by the witness of the Holy Spirit alone ....”(13) In our view, the belief that the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Bible must include the belief that the Spirit also led to the reception of the books which constituted the Canon. It must be admitted that the Spirit could not have ceased working once the last book of the Bible was written. He also led in the determination of the Canon.


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1. Edward Young, Introduction of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1958), p. 29
2. Ian Howard Marshall, Biblical Inspiration (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1982) See Chapter 3.
3. Kevin J. Vanhoozer, “The Semantics of Biblical Literature: Truth and Scripture’s Diverse Literary Form,” in D.A Carson
and John D. Woodbridge (eds.), Hermeneutics, p.79
4. Ibid., p. 80
5. Ibid
6. Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation: A Textbook of Hemeneutics, 3rd rev ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1973), p. 144
7. Vanhoozer, “The Semantics,” pp.80-81
8. Ibid., p.85
9. Works of Martin Luther , Vol 21 (Philadelphia: Muhlberg, 1943). Pp. 452-3
10.Calvin, Institutes. 1.7.3 (Battles, ed.). p. 77.
11. Alistair E. McGrath. Christian Theology: An Introduction, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001). p. 160.
12. David G. Dunbar, "The Biblical Canon." in D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge (eds.), Hermeneutics, p. 343.
13. Ibid.

Il documento è stato creato per il discorso durante il Seminario Teologico tra 17 e 19 settembre 2010.

Religion And Politics In America From A Protestant Perspective

Presentation by Jim Winkler, general secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society, at the Ecumene Center in Velletri, Italy, December 7, 2008



American Protestantism has from the beginning been influenced by and lived under the theological and political mantle of Calvinism. The Puritan influence in American life is still so pervasive that it is in the very air we breathe, the way we are taught to think and act. And the irony is that most Americans have little knowledge of Puritanism and what it means. It’s just there.

The most famous Methodist preacher to come to America was George Whitfield. A tiny, little man with a booming voice and eyes so crossed that when he looked at you, you did not know if he was really seeing you, Whitfield traveled up and down the eastern seaboard, preaching, preaching, preaching. He organized the first orphanage in America, in Georgia when he was working there with another Methodist who became his theological enemy, a man named John Wesley. Of course, at that point in history neither man was yet a “Methodist.” They were still Anglican priest-missionaries.

Whitfield made three long preaching tours of America, preaching from a Calvinist perspective. Preaching that God’s freedom is paramount, that God chooses whom God chooses, that God’s will is done even when we are trying to thwart it, that human choice is in reality quite limited. John Wesley, of course, took a quite opposite view: he believed that God gives each person the gift of choice, the freedom to make decisions and that the Holy Spirit influences and guides us but does not determine what we do.

Whitfield was a great self-promoter, and when he went into the colonies on his second trip, he hired a Philadelphia printer named Benjamin Franklin to be his publicist. Franklin was so moved by Whitfield’s preaching that he gave generously when the offering plate was passed. He recorded one preaching day in which an estimated 10,000 people heard Whitfield—and without any amplification tools on which preachers rely these days.

That Calvinist, Puritan influence compels what is known in America as the Religious Right, those who believe that America has a special destiny as a “Christian nation.” And while they suffered massive defeats in the most recent two elections (the 2006 congressional races and the presidential campaign), their influence will continue unabated. They dominate the Republican Party, and Sarah Palin is their new heroine.

While the United Methodist Church is no longer the largest Protestant denomination in America, we continue to make our voice known in the halls of power. We are not Calvinist. We are Wesleyan. I grew up the son of a United Methodist minister who preached that God’s grace is freely available to all and that prevenient grace allows us to choose the salvation offered by God in Jesus Christ.

There are 35,000 UM congregations in the U.S. and 8 million members. 63 members of Congress are United Methodist. My agency’s headquarters building is located directly across the street from the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court.

Our staff meets regularly with Members of Congress and their staff and we now look forward to working with officials in the Obama Administration. We have established legislative priorities for 2009. Our major priorities are:

Increase levels of U.S. spending for international family planning – The Christian mandates to bring relief to all who suffer and to restore wholeness to all compel us to ensure access to the full range of health services for all. It is critical for women and men to have access to information and supplies that will prevent the spread of AIDS, allow the spacing of children and reduce child and maternal mortality. Currently, millions of women and men lack such access; therefore, advocacy to increase spending on family planning education and services is critical. This advocacy will include support for restoration of funding for the United Nations Population Fund.

Passage the International Violence Against Women’s Act (I-VAWA) and funding for the U.S. Violence Against Women’s Act

Passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act

Ensure Highest Levels of Funding for Global and Domestic AIDS

Overcome Global Poverty--GBCS supports legislation that helps to end global poverty. Foreign aid reform, fair trade, debt cancellation, and major reform of international financial institutions – the World Bank and International Monetary - are instrumental ways the United States can lead to end poverty in God’s world.

Middle East Peace--Support legislative initiatives to end the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, to promote a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, and diplomacy to avert war between U.S. and Iran.

Nuclear Weapons Free World--Support U.S. Senate passage of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and legislation to stop the spread and reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world.

Reform the U.S. Health Care System—45 million people have no health insurance in the U.S.

Humane Immigration Reform—Scripture calls us as people of faith to welcome the sojourner. We seek a path to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants, protection of the rights of workers, and reunification of families.

Abolition of torture

Climate Change legislation—reduce global warming emissions and re-engage in international framework.

The United Methodist Church in the United States stands for peace and justice. We believe the church has a responsibility to speak to the state but we do not believe the church should control the state. When we meet with Members of Congress we do not offer campaign contributions to them. We do not threaten to defeat them in the next election if they do not support United Methodist public policy positions. We do not pray for the death or illness of Supreme Court justices. We offer a firm, polite, moral and ethical witness on behalf of the last, the least, and the lost.

I believe our advocacy for justice is biblically based. Moses was the first social justice lobbyist of the church, sent by God to demand freedom for his people from Pharaoh. Queen Esther made use of her position to save the Jewish people from genocide. Jesus announced in Nazareth that he was the one sent by God to free the oppressed.

In the United States, our great challenge has been to overcome the myths of white supremacy, male superiority, and American exceptionalism. We have made progress, but we have a long way yet to go.

Barack Obama’s Philadelphia speech after the controversy caused by his mainline Protestant pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright is one of the most definitive statements about religion and politics ever articulated in our nation’s history. Mr. Obama stayed up most of the previous night writing and re-writing that magnificent speech. Of course, I will not recite the entire speech to you but I wish to share an excerpt:

“This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign – to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren. This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.”

Obama addressed the problems and history and legacy of racism in his speech but he also acknowledged the frustration felt by the white working class who have experienced stagnant wages and downward mobility in recent decades. He named the greed that has motivated the wealthy and the methods they have used to keep working people divided. He went on to say:

“…I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union."

“For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans – the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny….America can change. That is true genius of this nation.”

Thanks to the First Amendment to our Constitution, religion and politics have a strange mix in America. The separation of church and state has been debated for over 200 years. And Thomas Jefferson’s declaration of “a wall” between church and state is still an issue.

H. Richard Niebuhr’s classic book, Christ and Culture, is still the definitive understanding that guides American politics and religion. Niebuhr’s asserts there are three ways that Christ and culture work are:

1. Christ against culture, that is to say, Christ is judging culture and stands over against it. This is the classic Puritan stance, the way the religious right understands the present situation—that the church must be preaching its doctrine and making sure that the state adheres to it.
2. Christ in Culture, that is to say Christ and culture are one and work together. If I understand it correctly, this is commonly understood in Italy and it is the way that you have lived for centuries. Church and state are one.
3. Christ changing culture, that is to say the mission of the church is to move within the culture, to stay true to its calling without becoming subsumed by the state.

There was a day when major U.S. Protestant denominations such as the UMC, the Presbyterians, the Episcopal Church (Anglicans), the UCC, and several others were pillars of the white Protestant establishment in America. Gradually, we have seen that change. These churches began to fundamentally question the direction in which the United States was moving and that has made them somewhat unpopular.

The slaughter of World Wars I and II, the nuclear arms race, racial injustice, the gap between the rich and the poor, environmental degradation—all of these and other problems forced the churches to speak up for social justice on behalf of Jesus Christ.

It has been a difficult struggle. Allow me to illustrate my point: The most important architect of U.S. foreign policy since the end of WWII was George Kennan. On Feb. 24, 1948, in his capacity as director of the policy planning staff he sent a memo to the Secretary of State regarding the world situation. Among other things, Kennan said,

“We have about 50% of the world's wealth but only 6.3% of its population. This disparity is particularly great as between ourselves and the peoples of Asia. In this situation, we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity without positive detriment to our national security. To do so, we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day-dreaming; and our attention will have to be concentrated everywhere on our immediate national objectives. We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world-benefaction.”

The United States has been remarkably successful at maintaining world dominance. That dominance has been based on control of natural resources, including oil, and has contributed hugely to climate change.

Nearly 20 years ago, the bishops of the UMC noted the earth is in the grip of three demonic systems of vast power and scope. They identified those as desert-making, war-making, and hunger-making systems. Unless we change our ways, the future will be bleak.

There have been many important influences on the thinking of Protestant churches in the United States in the 20th century. Mahatma Gandhi and his ‘soul-force’ teaching, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his opposition to Hitler, and especially, Martin Luther King, Jr. In the last years of his brief life, he began to address the capitalism and materialism. Let me conclude with this quote from Dr. King:

Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. And one of the great problems of history is that the concepts of love and power have usually been contrasted as opposites—polar opposites—so that love is identified with a resignation of power, and power with a denial of love. We’ve got to get this thing right. What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love. It is precisely this collision of immoral power with powerless morality which constitute the major crisis of our time.

Jim Winkler and President of the Methodist Church in Italy talking during a break between sessions.

Another Report from the Conference of European Churches in Velletri

Yet we are proud to present another piece of Moira Sleight’s report she made for the Methodist Recorder. This time she writes about the situation in Italy, which is very important to us. She was interviewing our President, Rev Massimo Aquilante.

Italy

Italy is going through a deep cultural, moral and spiritual crisis, according to the President of the Methodist Church in Italy, the Rev Massimo Aquilante.
The Italian people were forgetting that they were a people of emigrants and were becoming harsh towards immigrants. They had never previously been racist but now episodes of racism were occurring, especially in the North, he said.
The President said that in such a situation Italian Protestantism perceived its vocation as a call to have a prophetic role,

“that is not to give our fellow citizens any social doctrine or predetermined ethical instructions, but to proclaim to them the Kingdom of God and its appeal to ‘metanoia’, to accept in their lives the liberating grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”.

“Out of this specific understanding of what our vocation is about today comes the task for reform of the Church that builds up an ‘integrated Church’ or a ‘being Church together’ with the immigrants’, he said. The Methodist congregations were very ready to be open to immigrants. “If it is possible to live together within the Church, the same thing must be possible within society”, he said.

Filipino and Korean Methodists wanted bilateral congregations but, while accepted, these were different from the general Church policy of integration. Nearly every northern congregation has been touched by the presence of immigrants in its community. Recently new congregations had been established through the mission That Africans are doing among their own people. In these cases integration has had to be done at circuit not congregational level.

Projects
As well as the local efforts of congregations, there are a number of ongoing projects, including Project Mezzano working with the help of the Church in Ghana among African immigrants in the north of the country and a school in Bologna for Italian as a second language where more then 400 enrolled last year.
In Rome the Federation of Italian Protestant Churches assists migrants in obtaining documents, finding housing and teaching the Italian language.
A minister from the Methodist, Ghana, is due to come to Rome at the beginning of next year with the mandate to gather the immigrants from Africa into local churches. At the moment there are Africans within the English-speaking congregation at Ponte Sant’Angelo and within French –speaking congregation, which is made up entirely of migrants but none Italian-speaking congregations.
In Palermo there is a programme for prostitutes and one for women and children. The church council there has decided to start a new project to help those Africans who do not speak Italian, English or French to take part fully in the Sunday service and in the life of the congregation.
The Methodist Synod has decided it needs to train Italian Methodists in intercultural mediation.

“We have not started this yet but we know it is very important for us,” said the President.

The Conference of European Churches

In September Ecumene had a group of special guests – the Conference of European Churches. Thanks to the Methodist Recorder we can present a piece of the report written by Moira Sleight.


Spotlight on migration
Migration was a key topic for discussion when members of the European Methodist Council (EMC) met together in Velletri, Italy. As part of their agenda, Church representatives from across the continent shared in small groups their experiences in seeking to be Churches ministering to immigrants and in welcoming immigrants into their worshipping life. These discussions were fed back into the council as a whole in plenary session.
The annual meeting of the council was held this year in the Italian Methodist Church’s Ecumene Centre in the hills outside Rome, chaired by Bishop Hans Växby of the United Methodist Church in Eurasia and Colin Ride of the British Methodist Church’s World Church Relationships.
For the first time guests from the Europe District of the Korean Methodist Church were present and it was agreed that an application should be made for them to have observer status at the future council meetings A report was given of last year’s European Methodist Festival held in Bratislava in the Slovak Republic. There had been good feedback from the event and stories were shared of the positive effect it had on many participants.

Attendance
Because prices had been set low for Eastern European participants in order to encourage their attendance, many more had come compared to the previous festival. This meant that the Bratislava event had made a loss as two-thirds of the participants had come from Eastern Europe and were paying the lower fees, as opposed to one-third at the previous Potsdam festival.
Various donations had been received from European Churches to help mitigate the deficit. Concern was expressed at the loss but the council agreed that it was a result of the conscious decision to try to make the festival a truly European event and therefore acceptable. The loss had not been the result of carelessness but generosity.
It was agreed to affirm the decisions that had been made in organising the festival, express gratitude to the planning group and programme committee and in future see what budgeting lessons could be learnt from the Bratislava's experience.
It was decided that proposals regarding a suitable date and location for future European Methodist Festival would be brought to next year’s council. Some offers had already been made to host such an event.
The council approved a draft document for best practise in establishing congregational partnerships across Europe drawn up by the Fund for Mission in Europe and encouraged feedback from all council members so that the document would be fully European and not with an emphasis from a western Europe context.
It was hoped that, when finalised, the document would be used by all Methodist Churches in Europe.
Superintendent Lothar Pöll from Austria reported on the work of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) – the former Leuenberg Church Fellowship. Colin Ride briefed the council on the restructuring process being carried out by the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the suggestion that the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe should become a third CEC commission and plans for the CEC assembly next year in Lyon.

Developments
Council members shared news of developments in their countries regarding Charta Oecumenica. A new paper on “Confessing Christ in a World of Many Faiths: Key Theological Issues” by the council’s Theological Commission was introduced by the Rev Dr Johnston McMaster from Ireland, who drew attention to the section on encountering secular humanism and the new atheism. The council split into small groups to discuss the paper and on returning to plenary session shared their views on it.
The Rev Ole Birch from Denmark reported on behalf of the Church and Society Commission and highlighted in particular three issues – Islam and the letter issued by Muslim scholars; climate change; and religious rights.
Greetje van der Veer from Italy gave a report from the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women (WFMUCW). There are two WFMUCW areas in Europe – the Britain and Ireland area and the Europe Continental area. Next May there is to be a joint seminar to be held in Scotland and it is felt that the event will be a good opportunity to strenghten the bond between the two areas and encourage each other serving Christ.

Constitution
News from EMYC was shared by Marija Kiveryte from Lithuania. She explained that last year members had been working on their constitution. One result of this was that the name EMYC now stood for European Methodist Youth and Children rather than, as formerly, European Methodist Youth Council, as this better matched what they encompassed. Numbers had been reduced and instead of five commissions there were now project groups.
It was agreed that a representative of EMC would attend the meeting of EMYC later in the month in Interlaken.
Executive secretary for Europe and North Africa for the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Global Ministries the Rev Üllas Tankler drew attention to some of the developments in that organisation and explained that their ministry was now being prioritised around four programme foci – Leadership Development; Congregational Development; Ministries with the Poor and Global Health.
Tove Odland from Norway gave a report from the European Commission on Mission (ECOM), whose new chair will be Mike King from World Church Relationships of the British Methodist Church. Papers were circulated regarding World Methodist Council Matters.
Alterations to the council’s constitution were considered and a revised constitution adopted, subject to minor amendments being approved at the later date.
One outcome of the revisions is that there is now only one standing committee – the Fund for Mission in Europe. The previous Theological Commission and Church and Society Commission will now be ad hoc committees of the council and the European Commission on Mission (ECOM) will be a related organisation.

Approved
The council’s budget for 2009, with amendments, was approved, as were the accounts for 2007. Bishop Wäxby was elected to continue to serve as a co-chair of the council until 2010, while Chris Elliott from the British Methodist Church was elected as co-chair from 2009.
The Rev Guenter Winkmann war reappointed as council treasurer and the Rev Armin Besserer as secretary. The other members of the executive committee were also appointed – Eva Csernak from Hungary, Bishop Sifredo Teixeira from Portugal and Cherry Sleeman from Ireland. The next European Methodist Council will be held in England from September 12-16, 2009.

Ecumene: the beginning

The first idea to create an ecumenical centre for young people raised in 1951 at the First Congress of 1951 the Methodists, Baptists and Waldensians Youth Organizations in Milan. The responsibility of the project was assigned to the Methodist Evangelical Youth Organization. Since 1949, in fact, the young Methodists strongly desired to erect a “Methodist House”.

One year later in Monteluco (in Umbria, close to Spoleto) 69 young people from different countries and different churches started working together on building up their own centre – Ecumene.

The chronicle says about 47 Italians (Italians 33 were Methodists, 9 Waldensians, 1 Baptist, 1 Salvation Army, 3 Catholics) and 22 foreigners (9 Germans, 5 Americans, 2 New Zealanders, 1 English, 1 Scottish 1 from Switzerland, 1 Dutch, 1 from Austria and 1 from Australia).

Their enthusiasm was stopped within few months, when the Mayor of Spoleto was sent to Ecumene by the Prefect of Perugia to the director of the camp to order to stop immediately the construction of the Ecumene. The problem was pressure put on local officials by people from Franciscan movement. And although the whole Protestant world immediately started to protest, the provincial administration of Perugia refused to authorize the estate to be sold to the Methodists.

But there was some kind of disagreement on that subject between the Mayor and the Prefect that allow the young people to hope they would remain in Monteluco. They kept working up to the 2nd October, when the director of the Ecumene announced with sorrow they had to leave Monteluco.

Fortunately, the idea of creating Ecumene did not collapse. Two years later, in 1953, another place was found for the centre. Velletri is only 40 km from Rome in area called Castelli Romani. The construction of the Ecumene started again on June, 15th 1954. And again a large group of young people from different countries and churches started to work with their great enthusiasm. This time they were:

54 Italians,
1 Belgian,
1 French,
10 Germans,
3 British,
1 Lebanese,
3 Netherlanders,
5 Americans,
2 Swedish,
3 Swiss,
1 Turk,
1 person from Yugoslavia.

Their work gave the Ecumene a great start. But the Ecumene gave them also something special they recalled in their letters:

Ecumene is a open reality… something which is always looking new ways, new designs to express what it wants to be more and better. Ecumene is a embody preaching in the word of God… Ecumene is also and first of all an ecumenical reality… Ecumene is a concrete reply to concrete problems of our present time.
(Italy)

I will soon forget the little things like my wounded hands, the American soup, and the killing cheese, but I will never forget the spirit of Ecumene.
(USA)

In the world there are not only national borders and spiritual frontiers; there is also Christ in whom the all world can find its full sense. This is the most important thing I learnt in our camp in Ecumene.
(Holland)

I will be happy to come back again to Ecumene and to send other Orthodox young people from my Country in this Centre of freedom and love in Jesus Christ, Sun of Justice.
(Yugoslavia)

The following summer the Camp was working full time already. And it still does today.

For all year Ecumene works as a Methodist Evangelic centre. Young people come here to study, to experience a community life and find peace in prayer. The Ecumene remains an ecumenical place, open for other denominations' initiatives. It is a perfect place for church meetings, conferences, studies, children, youth and family camps.

The beauty of life in Ecumene

The Centre of Ecumene works all year long and its beauty is visible whenever you come. It is placed over a mountain in Velletri with a great view at the old part of the city. Since it’s calm and quiet Ecumene has become a perfect place for people looking for rest and moment for a prayer.

In summer the Centre fills up with children, youth and families. In other months there are prayer, theology, political meetings. People are getting married in Ecumene. There are big feasts for Thanksgiving and other holidays. Since you find Ecumene you will want to come back any time.

And since Velletri is only one hour train trip from Rome, it’s a great place to go around and visit important historic places of Italy. You are always welcome to the Centre of Ecumene.

Junior Camp 2008

CAMPO JUNIORES

9/20 luglio 2008
(14-16 anni)

Il campo combina insieme momenti di riflessione e lavoro manuale nei vari "servizi" di Ecumene. Le conversazioni saranno sul tema delle regole, nella ricorrenza dei 60 anni della Costituzione italiana e della Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani.

"Senza rispetto delle regole, infatti, non potremmo vivere in società. Ma senza
una discussione pubblica sulle ragioni delle regole, la vita in società non
saprebbe proiettarsi verso il futuro, né riuscirebbe a immaginare forme migliori
di convivenza",

scrive il magistrato Gherardo Colombo in un suo recente libro, intitolato appunto Sulle regole.

Il campo è anche l’opportunità per riflettere sulle regole che reggono le attività e la vita comunitaria di Ecumene, nel suo sforzo di testimonianza.

Coordinatore: Enrico Bertollini

JUNIOR CAMP

July 9th to 20th, 2008
(Youth since 14 to 16)

The camp gives young people an opportunity to meditate while working for Ecumene. This year discussions concentrate on rules, on the 60 years of the Italian Constitution and Declaration of the Human Rights. Gherardo Colombo wrote in his last book that

“Without respecting the rules, in fact, we could not live in a society. But
without a public discussion on the rules living in a society would not have any
future, and the quality of living will not improve”.

The camp is a great field where you can improve living according to the rules.

Coordinator: Enrico Bertollini

Libertà, responsabilità e relazione

Pinocchio was the symbol of this camp. Through its story children have learnt how their freedom can influence their lives, how to be responsible for own acts and how to relate with others. The final task that kids have to take was creating a book of their group with Pinocchio. At the end three different books were created. Children wrote and draw there their understanding of these three words:

freedom, responsibility, relation.

Campo Cadetti 2008

CAMPO CADETTI
29 giugno/13 luglio
(7-13 anni)

Burattino, ma senza fili
Partiremo per la seconda tappa del nostro “viaggio”. Lo scorso anno, a bordo del Beagle di Charles Darwin, abbiamo conosciuto la bellezza del creato. Alla fine dell’avventura in molti si chiesero: “E l’essere umano? Che fine ha fatto?” Non ce ne siamo dimenticati! Quest’anno infatti studieremo e giocheremo proprio insieme a lui. Lo incontreremo così com’è raccontato nella Bibbia, nelle storie di altri popoli e nell’affascinante mondo della scienza: tutto da scoprire!

Conosceremo meglio questo “burattino, ma senza fili”, come dice una nota canzone: un essere umano che resta sempre “aperto”, che si lascia interrogare dalle diverse situazioni della vita dove prende le sue decisioni liberamente e responsabilmente.

Coordinatore: Giuseppe La Pietra


JUNIOR CAMP
Since June 29 to July 13
(for kids, 7-13 years)

Puppets
It’s the second part of our journey. Last year we were travelling with Charles Darwin and discovering the beauty of the creation. And when we stopped, everybody was asking: “And the man? And his story?” We did not forget! This year the man is right in the centre of our attention. We’ll see what the Bible says about him, as also other cultures and the science, there are so many things to discover!

We will also take a closer look at our puppet, just like in one song says: a man i always remains “open”, his decisions depends on various situations, on his freedom and his sense of responsibility.

Instructor: Giuseppe La Pietra

The Centre of Ecumene

Ecumene is an Evangelic Methodist Centre designed for studies, community life and worship.
Since the beginning in 1954, Ecumene was being built by volunteers - young Christians from the entire world and various confessions. The initiative of creating the centre came from the Methodist Evangelic Youth under permission of The Methodist Evangelic Church of Italy. Because of them Velletri (a town in Rome district) has become a symbol of the Church uniting in work for Jesus Christ.
Ecumene has become a centre of studies and various aspects of a Christian Community life but it also aspires to be e reference for all who want to make peace and offer justice to nations and individuals, what is the message the churches are suppose to carry on.
Since June to September Ecumene becomes a place full of life. In their turns, here there come children, families, youth and old pensioners. The conducted studies touch usually any actual cultural, political, biblical and theological topics.
Between Christmas and the New Year’s Eve there is an international camp in Ecumene called Assembly of Friends of the Ecumene. Within it there is a reunion of the General Committee.

Young people are great support for the Ecumene’s activities. They offer their time and help working voluntary for the centre.

The centre has been designed to be open entire year, it remains available for churches and democratic associations for their meetings or convents, whenever they ask.