Cuban Religious Scholars To Visit Reinhardt University

Staff Report

Reinhardt will host two religious scholars from Cuba next week.

The Rev. Luis Carlos Marrero Chasbar and the Rev. Daylins Rufin Pardo will each present a lecture, which are free and open to the public, on the University’s campus in Waleska. The visit will take place Aug. 11-12.

“These lectures will dismantle some misunderstandings or partial ideas people have about the social reality Cuba,” said Dr. Aquiles Martinez, Reinhardt professor of religion. “Those who attend will obtain first-hand input from leaders actively involved in the life of the Cuban people and churches, and it will open a window leading to a space for a cross-cultural dialogue.”

The Rev. Marrero Chasbar will present “‘The New’ Pearl of the Caribbean: Seeing Cuba through Different Eyes” on Monday, Aug. 11 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the university’s Lawson Academic Building.

On Tuesday, Aug. 12, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., The Rev. Rufin Pardo will discuss “Reaching God through a Fallen Wall: Contextualizing Religious Education in Cuba at the same facility.

The Rev. Marrero Chasbar is the Director of Grupo de Reflexion y Solidaridad Oscar Arnulfo Romero (OAR, Cuba) in the Area of Programs and Theology. He also serves as professor in the fields of gender, and Interreligious dialogue at the Instituto Superior de Ciencias de la Religion (ISECRE).

The Rev. Rufin Pardo is Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Hebrew Grammar at Seminario Evangélico de Teologia of Matanzas (SET) as well as professor of sacred and religious Texts at ISECRE.

They both are part of the Standing Committee of Red Biblica Cubana, a network the Rev. Rufin Pardo heads, and serve as pastors of Comunidad Bautista La Sagrada Familia in Alamar, a church in a suburb of Havana and a member of the Fraternidad de Iglesias de Cuba.

“I hope that those who attend these lectures will walk away with the tools to strengthen commonalities in the articulation of our religious faith and mission in society,” Martinez added. “And to strengthen our faith and challenge each other to live it in relevant manner.”

The lectures are sponsored by Reinhardt’s Religion Program through Martinez’ initiative and by the financial support of the Marlen-Easterling Fund.

(Photo: The Rev. Marrero Chasbar is the Director of Grupo de Reflexion y Solidaridad Oscar Arnulfo Romero (OAR, Cuba) in the Area of Programs and Theology)