Book Giveaway
Sponsored by Langham
Enter to win a free copy of Ama Namin by retweeting our Twitter post about the giveaway. Find us on Twitter at @everyvoicekd.
About Ama Namin
An interview with contributor Federico Villanueva
EV: What led you to put this book together? What problem or issue(s) are you seeking to address?
FV: The “Our Father” (AMA NAMIN in Tagalog) is part of the very first published book in Philippines, called Doctrina Cristiana, published in 1593. It became part of the life of the people, especially among Catholics where it is sung every mass. We felt, however, that there was a need to provide a biblical and contextual exposition of the prayer. So we wrote a chapter for each line or main part of the prayer.
EV: Who’s your target audience, and what are you most hoping they hear from it?
FV: The target audience are pastors/church leaders. We hope that it will be used as part of preaching resources, especially when they discuss the topic in church. We also hope that the book will bring more depth to the understanding of the prayer. One of the problems with Christianity in the Philippines, as a result of colonialism, is that it was accepted but it did not have depth. Jaime Bulatao, a Jesuit calls this “split-level Christianity.”
EV: Did you have any “aha” moments while contributing to the book?
FV: In writing my chapter, one of my “aha” moments was when I realized how powerful it is when we consider our own language. In Tagalog, the line which says “Let your kingdom come” in Filipino is “mauwi sa amin ang paghahari mo,” which literally means “let your kingdom come home to us.”
EV: What was the most challenging part of the book project?
FV: I think it’s the combination of the biblical scholarship and contextual interpretation. Like many biblical scholars, we were trained/educated in the west that sometimes we know more of the background of Israel than our own background or history.
About the Editors
Timoteo D. Gener (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is President of the Asian Theological Seminary, Manila, Philippines.
Jason Richard Tan (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is President of Great Commission Missionary Training Center in Antipolo City, Philippines.