Taking a moment after the convocation are, from left, the Rev. Dr. H.S. Wilson, Dr. R. S. Sugirtharajah and the Rev. Dr. J. Paul Rajashekar.

Philadelphia, PA (November 18, 2005) - Should the Bible be presented as a document that translates to all cultures and backgrounds or should it be reinterpreted in order to remain applicable in ever-changing times? Dr. R. S. Sugirtharajah, professor of biblical hermeneutics at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, posed this question in his convocation lecture titled, "Scripture, Scholarship, Empire: Putting the Discipline in its Place" on Tuesday, November 15, 2005.

Dr. Sugirtharajah also suggested that colonial interests were a guiding force for the King James translation of the Bible. He explored the relationships between corporate, imperial and Christian interests in the spreading of the Word. His brief venture into the comparative analysis between Christianity and other religions pondered why scholars in the area take so little interest.

Dr. Sugirtharajah concluded with a call to spread the Word within the context of various cultural backgrounds. Likening the collection of various viewpoints and interpretations as a mosaic of stories that come together to represent God's word without boundaries of language or culture, he examined the fine line that must be walked in keeping the Bible relevant without watering down the message. While the context and wording is variable, the central ideas and the spirit in which they are expressed must remain the same, he suggested.