Chin Society for Biblical Literature
Advancing Biblical Scholarship among Chin Communities and Beyond
Welcome!
“The Scriptures were read publicly, carefully translated, and explained with precision — so that the people could receive what God had spoken.” — Nehemiah 8:8 (paraphrase)
The Chin Society for Biblical Literature (CSBL) is a scholarly society dedicated to the rigorous academic study of the Christian Scriptures within and on behalf of Chin communities worldwide. Rooted in the intellectual and spiritual heritage of the Chin people, the Society brings together biblical scholars, theologians, pastors, educators, and students committed to the highest standards of biblical scholarship — in faithful service to the church and the academy.
The mandate of Nehemiah 8:8 has never ceased to be urgent: the sacred text must be read, translated, and interpreted with care, so that the people of God may understand. It is this ancient imperative — pursued with contemporary academic rigor — that animates the work of CSBL.
As a diaspora-aware institution, CSBL recognizes that Chin communities are dispersed across continents, yet united by a shared language, faith, and calling. The Society serves as a common ground where that shared identity meets serious scholarly engagement — producing research, fostering dialogue, and equipping a new generation of Chin biblical scholars to contribute to global conversations in the field.
Scripture. Scholarship. Service.
Reading Scripture.
Explaining the meaning.
Serving understanding.
Inspired by Nehemiah 8:8, the Chin Society for Biblical Literature exists to advance biblical scholarship with Chin voices worldwide.
Our Values
01
Core Value 1
Scripture deserves our best intellectual labor. The Bible has shaped the Chin people for generations. Therefore, we must study it not casually but carefully, prayerfully, historically, linguistically, theologically, and contextually. Reverence for Scripture and rigorous scholarship are not in tension – they belong together.
02
Core Value 2
Chin voices matter in global biblical scholarship. They bring distinctive experiences to the reading of Scripture: displacement, suffering, minority existence, communal memory, oral tradition, multilingual life, and resilient faith. These experiences can deepen and enrich biblical interpretation for the global church.
03
Core Value 3
Scholarship and ministry must be united through mentoring the next generation. By mentoring the next generation, CSBL helps ensure that biblical scholarship remains rooted in the life of the church and that future leaders are equipped to serve both academy and ministry.
Doctrinal Basis
Doctrinal Basis of the Society
The Chin Society for Biblical Literature is grounded in the following affirmations, held in common by its members as the confessional foundation of this Society’s life and work.
I. Holy Scripture. The Bible, comprising the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired and authoritative Word of God — the supreme and sufficient rule of faith, scholarship, and practice.
II. The Triune God. There is one God, eternally existing in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — equal in nature, distinct in person, and united in purpose and glory.
III. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for sin, rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the Father, and will return in glory.
IV. Salvation. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. All who repent and trust in Jesus Christ are forgiven, justified before God, and renewed by the Holy Spirit.
V. The Church. The universal church is the body of Christ, comprising all who confess faith in him across every tribe, tongue, and nation — called to worship, witness, discipleship, and service.
Affirmation of the Doctrinal Basis is required for Founding, Regular, Student, and Institutional Members. Associate Members are encouraged, but not required, to affirm the Doctrinal Basis.
Founding membership shall be reserved for those who join the Society during its inaugural year, prior to or at the time of the first formal meeting. Founding members shall be recognized as charter members of the Society, and their names shall be recorded permanently in its history and shall remain a permanent designation of honor.
Invitation to Become a Founding Member
An Invitation to Become a Founding Member
The Chin Society for Biblical Literature is at its beginning. It does not yet have members. It has one founder — and a conviction that it must not remain that way.
This Society was established in the belief that Chin scholars, pastors, and students have a distinctive and necessary contribution to make to the global study of Scripture. That contribution requires an institution — a scholarly home — where Chin voices are not guests, but principals; where the intellectual heritage of the Chin people is not a footnote, but a foundation.
We write to you because we believe you may be one of those voices.
Why Join CSBL?
Join the Chin Society for Biblical Literature to become part of a global fellowship committed to the careful study, faithful interpretation, and responsible teaching of Scripture.
CSBL exists to gather Chin scholars, pastors, teachers, students, translators, and friends of biblical scholarship for the advancement of biblical studies, the strengthening of the church, and the mentoring of the next generation.
Join us to advance Chin biblical scholarship for the church, the academy, and the world.
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What Founding Membership means:
Founding Members are more than early affiliates. They are co-founders in the truest sense — individuals whose decision to join at this inaugural stage shapes the Society’s character, governance, and future.
To become a Founding Member is to say: this matters, and I am willing to stand with it from the beginning.
Founding Members will be permanently recognized in the Society’s records. They will hold full voting rights and be eligible for leadership roles on the Executive Committee and Advisory Council. Most importantly, they will be part of a community that takes seriously the task of reading, translating, and explaining the Word of God with precision, faithfulness, and care.
We invite you to join us.
CSBL welcomes pastors, scholars, students, writers, church leaders, and all serious readers of Scripture who desire to grow in biblical understanding and contribute to the life of the church. Together, we seek to read faithfully, understand deeply, teach clearly, and serve wisely.
If you are a biblical scholar, theologian, pastor, educator, or student — and if you share the conviction that Chin communities deserve a scholarly society of their own — we ask you to consider becoming a Founding Member of the Chin Society for Biblical Literature.
Applications for Founding Membership are now open. Please contact us or complete the membership form to begin the process.
Chin Society for Biblical Literature
Scripture • Scholarship • Service
csbl@chinsociety.org
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