Student Scholar Presentation:
How to Interpret a Sacred Document

Presented by Student Fellow Suan Sonna, HDS ‘25

co-sponsored by the Harvard Catholic Forum

How should we interpret a sacred document? Whether it’s a religious text or a legal code, passions run high on the proper interpretation and application of a revered document. Suan Sonna will propose a framework that honors the historical meaning of sacred texts while also balancing the needs of communities today who hallow these documents.

Open to Harvard and Boston-area university students and young professionals.

Suan Sonna

Suan Sonna is a Master of Theological Studies student in the New Testament and Early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School. He received his B.A. in philosophy and political science at Kansas State University. His current research focuses on the intersection of ancient Jewish law, ethics, and authority structures with early Christianity, including within the life of the historical Jesus. His other interests include the historical and scriptural Peter, Jerome and the episcopacy in the early church, the theological value of the historical critical method, Aristotelian metaphysics, and Thomistic moral theory.