In July 2004 nearly eight hundred scholars, pastors and some laymen of the South American Division gathered for the Sixth South American Symposium for biblical scholars and theologians at the Peruvian Union University. The symposium which was co-sponsored by the South American Division and the Peruvian Union Mission, brought together teachers and pastors from most South American countries as well as noted scholars from Andrews University, the Biblical Research Institute, and other North American institutions.

The program was planned to include plenary sessions as well as semi-plenary and parallel sessions where relatively small groups met concurrently. As a result the symposium was able to facilitate nearly 105 scholarly presentations on various biblical and theological issues of interest in the Pentateuch, the theme of the symposium. Besides exegetical studies on particular passages of the Pentateuch which took place in the semi-plenary and parallel sessions, the presentations in the plenary sessions tended to focus on the literary integrity of the Pentateuch and its theological centrality and value to biblical scholarship. The symposium organizers are planning to publish a number of papers in book form.

A particularly significant moment of the symposium came towards its conclusion when a consensus statement on the Pentateuch was presented to the participants for consideration and affirmation. After a brief discussion, the participants adopted the statement which in its particulars reflected not only the scholarly positions presented at the symposium, but also the world church’s position on such matters as the composition and historicity of the Pentateuch.

The symposium was significant for reasons beyond the scholarly papers that were presented and discussed. It seemed to be a unique opportunity for scholars of the South American Division to get acquainted, fellowship, and share scholarly interests. One left the symposium feeling that a good thing is happening among the biblical scholars and theologians in the South American Division.