The School of Theology of the University of Navarra celebrates from October 16 to 18 the XXXVI International Symposium of Theology, centered on 'The Bible, language mother of the present world'. The meeting will bring together a hundred experts from different countries.

Based on the fact that the Bible is the book par excellence of Western culture and that its influence reaches the entire planet, "the meeting will allow us to discuss the impact of this document in the configuration of the cultural and social identity of the world in which we live. It will invite reflection at the crossroads of literary, linguistic, anthropological, sociological, political, ideological, historical and theological analyses of the founding text of our culture," says Professor Francisco Varo, president of the Symposium.

Eight presentations and two round tables

The Symposium will begin on Wednesday, October 16, with a welcome address by Alfonso Sánchez Tabernero, President of the University of Navarra; Gregorio Guitián, Dean of School of Theology; and Francisco Varo, president of the Symposium. The first session, "The Bible and models of the understanding of the world", will be given by Luis Galván, professor at the University of Navarra. " Presence of the Bible in the prose of the Golden Age" is the topic of the second session discussion paper, which will be given by Professor Ruth Fine, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. And Diego Pérez Gondar, professor at the University of Navarra, will address the third discussion paper, focused on "Identity and citizenship. The Jerusalem of Psalm 81".  

In the afternoon, the first roundtable "The Bible in popular culture" will be held. The speakers will be: Alfonso Méndiz, Dean of the School of Communication Sciences at the International University of Catalonia; Guadalupe Seijas, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid; and Miguel Ángel Berlanga, professor at the University of Granada.

The first discussion paper on Thursday, October 17, and fourth of the Symposium, will deal with "The Bible in the sources of law" by Professor Nicolás Álvarez de las Asturias, from the University San Dámaso of Madrid. Agustín González Enciso, professor at the University of Navarra, will be in charge of the fifth session on "The Bible in the configuration of economic systems". The session "Human Rights and the Bible", to be given by Armand Puig i Tàrrech, professor at the Ateneu Universitari Sant Pacià de Barcelona, will bring Thursday's sessions to an end. In the afternoon, roundtable "The Bible in the configuration of society" will be held, with the participation of Professor Sergio Tapia Velasco, from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Professor Fernando Simón from the University of Navarra and Professor Ricardo Calleja from IESE Business School in Barcelona. IESE Business School in Barcelona.

On Friday, October 18, workshop will open with a session by Ricardo Piñero, professor at the University of Navarra, on "From Revelation to Genesis: Aesthetics and Theology" and will conclude with a session by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the committee Pontifical Council for Culture and of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, who will speak on "The Bible in the Atrium of Culture".