D. N. Premnath

The Reverend
D. N. Premnath
Born Devadasan Nithya Premnath[1]
(1950-10-21)October 21, 1950[2]
India
Nationality Indian
Citizenship United States
Education B.A. (1970), M.A. (1972), B.D. (1977), Th.D. (1984)[1]
Alma mater Arts and Science College, Chittoor,
Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati,
United Theological College, Bangalore,
Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley[1]
Occupation Pastor and Teacher
Years active 1984-present
Religion Christianity
Parent(s) Saraswathy Kamala (Mother) and Easter Rakshnya Das (Father)[2]
Church Church of South India
Ordained 1977 (Bishop Sundar Clarke, CSI)
Congregations served
 Diocese of Vellore, (1977-1978),
St. John's Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, California (1979-1983)
Offices held
 Teacher - in - Old Testament, United Theological College, Bangalore (1984-1987)[1]
Title The Reverend Doctor

Devadasan Nithya Premnath (born October 21, 1950), known as D. N. Premnath, is an Indian pastor and Old Testament scholar, who has been teaching since 1988 at the St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry, a Roman Catholic seminary, in Rochester, New York.[1] In 1981, Premnath participated in a archaeological dig at Tell el-Hesi in southern Israel.[1]

Premnath had earlier taught at United Theological College, Bangalore the Protestant Regional Theologiate, between 1984-1987.[3] and has been a member of the Society for Biblical Studies in India[4] as well as the Society of Biblical Literature since 1988 and has chaired the Asian and Asian-American Biblical Hermeneutics Group during 1996-2001.[1]

Incidentally, Premnath shares his birthday (October 21) with The Reverend Professor Gerhard von Rad the Lutheran Pastor and Master-Specialist of Old Testament who revived the Old Testament at a time when the Germans began losing interest in it after having had to face two successive World Wars[5] after which von Rad began a series of writings focused on Old Testament through his teaching ministry from 1950 through 1971 at the Universities of Erlangen, Leipzig, Jena, Göttingen and finally at Heidelberg, Germany. Premnath, like von Rad shares the same concern and has brought out the message of the Prophets in the Old Testament through his many writings and his continued ministry of teaching at seminaries.

Studies

General

Premnath hails from Chittoor district in southern Andhra Pradesh where he pursued scholastic and collegiate studies at the local Arts and Science College, Chittoor leading to a B.A. degree in 1970 and then enrolled for a M.A. programme at the University College in Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati which awarded him a postgraduate degree in the year 1972.[1]

Spiritual

India

In 1972, Premnath discerned his avocation towards priesthood and shared his concerns to then Bishop Lesslie Newbigin who accepted Premnath as a ministerial candidate[1] of the Diocese of Madras of the Protestant Church of South India comprising dual linguistic groups, the Telugu language and Tamil language hailing from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. After a year of ministry assisting Pastors in the Diocese of Madras, Premnath was then sent to the Protestant Regional Theologiate in Bangalore in 1973, then under the Principalship of Joshua Russell Chandran, where he enrolled for graduate studies in spirituality leading to Bachelor of Divinity with notable faculty comprising the Religious scholar, The Rev. G. D. Melanchton,[3] AELC, the Practical Ministry Scholar, Bobbili Prabhudass, the New Testament scholars The Rev. K. James Carl,[3] SALC and D. S. Satyaranjan as well as the Old Testament trio, E. C. John, G. M. Butterworth and Gerhard Wehmeier.[3]

During the study period of Premnath between 1973-1977[3] his companions included P. Surya Prakash, S. W. Meshack, Mani Chacko, and others who were also pursuing graduate courses at varying intervals while S. J. Theodore, N. K. Achumi, J. W. Gladstone, D. Dhanaraj and others were pursing postgraduate courses.[3] In the ensuing convocation of the Senate of Serampore College (University), Premnath was awarded a B.D. degree in 1978 during the Registrarship of J. T. Krogh.

United States

The Holbrook Building at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California where Premnath undertook research studies in the Old Testament.

In 1979, then Bishop Sundar Clarke sent Premnath to the United States on a World Council of Churches doctoral fellowship[3] to pursue advanced studies at the Pacific School of Religion under the consortium of the Graduate Theological Union affiliated to the University of California. Premnath researched in Old Testament with the title, The Process of the growth of large estates as mirrored in the eighth century oracles of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Micah[6] and awarded a doctoral degree in 1984 by the Graduate Theological Union.

Ecclesiastical ministry

India

After Premnath completed his studies in spirituality, he was assigned a pastoral role in the Diocese of Madras and was ordained as a Pastor by then Bishop Sundar Clarke and subsequently Premnath was involved in youth work from 1977 through 1978.

In 1984, the Diocese of Madras assigned a teaching role for Premnath at the United Theological College, Bangalore, which by then was led by E. C. John, the Principal. During 1984-1987, the graduate students studying at varying stages at the seminary were Evangeline Anderson Rajkumar, K. Reuben Mark and others.[3] Premnath taught Old Testament along with E. C. John and Theodore N. Swanson. Among the postgraduate students who specialized in Old Testament under Premnath and taught at seminaries elsewhere were,

United States

In 1979, Premnath was sent to the United States by then Bishop Sundar Clarke to pursue advanced spiritual studies[1] where in addition to his studies, Premnath also became an Ecumenical Minister in Residence at the St. John's Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, California serving upto 1983. During the time in Berkeley, California, Premnath also taught Old Testament at the Pacific School of Religion from 1981-1983 [1]after which he returned to India and taught at the United Theological College, Bangalore from 1984 through 1987.

In 1988, St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry took Premnath as its faculty member where he began teaching the Old Testament and Biblical Hebrew language and continues in the school.[1]

Selected works

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry, Rochester, New York.
  2. 1 2 Prabook profiles.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), Directory of the United Theological College 1910-1997, Bangalore, 1997.
  4. ↑ Fr. Max Gonsalves, SFX (Compiled), Directory of Society for Biblical Studies in India, 1998.
  5. ↑ Richard N. Soulen, R. Kendall Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism, Westminster John Knox Press, Lousville, 2001, p.156.
  6. 1 2 D. N. Premnath, Eighth Century Prophets. A Social Analysis, Chalice Press, St. Louis, 2003.
  7. ↑ G. Solomon, The concept of Suffering in the Bible and in Hinduism, Eastern University, King of Prussia, 1957.
  8. ↑ G. Babu Rao, Content Analysis of Theological Syllabi – Old Testament in Religion and Society, Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore, 1985.
  9. ↑ Faith Lutheran Church, Volume 2, Issue 9, September 2015, p.3
  10. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Thoughts on Advent, Masihi Sevak, Special Centenary Volume, 2011, pp.155-158.
  11. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Amos and Hosea: Socio-historical Background and Prophetic Critique, in Word and World, Volume 28, Number 2, Spring 2008, pp.125–132.
  12. ↑ D. N. Premnath (Edited), Border Crossings: Cross-Cultural Hermeneutics: Essays in honour of R. S. Sugirtharajah, Orbis, Maryknoll, 2007.
  13. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Loan Practices in the Hebrew Bible, in Robert Coote, Norman Gottwald (Edited), In to break every Yoke: Essays in honour of Marvin Chaney, Sheffield Phoenix Press, Sheffield, 2007, pp.173-187.
  14. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Biblical Interpretation in India: History and Issues in Mary Foskett, Jeffrey Kuan (Edited), In Ways of Being and Ways of Reading: Constructing Asian-American Biblical Interpretation, Chalice Press, St. Louis, 2006, pp.1-16.
  15. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Amos in New Interepreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2006. Cited by Sharon Moughtin-Mumby, A man and his father go to Naarah in order to defile my holy name!: Rereading Amos 2:6-8 in Anselm C. Hagedorn, Andrew Mein (Edited), Aspects of Amos: Exegesis and Interpretation, T&T Clark, New York, 2011, p.73.
  16. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Hindu-Christian Relations in India in The Evangelist, Volume LXXIX, Number 42, September 2005, p.10.
  17. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Challenges and Prospects in a Multi-Scriptural Context in Jones Muthunayagam (Edited), The Bible Speaks Today: Essays in Honor of Gnana Robinson, United Theological College, Bangalore, 2000, pp.210-223.
  18. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Latifundialization and Isaiah 5: 8-10 in David J. Chalcraft (Edited) Social Scientific Old Testament Criticism. A Sheffield Reader, Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield, 1997, pp.301-312.
  19. ↑ D. N. Premnath, The Concepts of Rta and Maat: A Study in Comparison in Biblical Interpretation, Volume 2, Issue 3, 1994, pp.325–339.
  20. ↑ D. N. Premnath, The Old Testament against its Cultural Background and its implications for Theological Education in Asian Journal of Theology, Volume 2, Issue 1, 1988, pp.98-105.
  21. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Human Development and Shalom in Human Development and World Peace, NCCI, Nagpur, 1985, pp.1-8.
  22. ↑ D. N. Premnath, Comparative and Historical Sociology in Old Testament Research: A Study of Isaiah 3: 12-15 in Bangalore Theological Forum, Volume XVII, Issue 4, 1985, pp.19-38. Cited in Burrow, James H. Cone and Black Liberation Theology, McFarland and Company, London, p.242.
Academic offices
Preceded by
Theodore N. Swanson		 Teacher - in - Old Testament
United Theological College, Bangalore
1984-1987 		Succeeded by
James Vijayakumar

Further reading

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