Museum of the Bible opening

[_Maksutov]

An article on the museum by a personal friend of mine:

https://thehumanist.com/commentary/take ... attraction

Running through these entertainments is an approach that struck me as pure Sunday school. All Bible stories are taken at face value, with no interjection of what the historical and archaeological evidence really shows. Trobisch countered that the purpose of the third-floor narratives is to treat the Bible as literature, as a collection of stories.


Artifacts from the Valley of David and Goliath
But the Bible as literature bumps into the Bible as history when we reach the exhibit “In the Valley of David and Goliath,” a collection of archaeological finds from the site of the ancient walled city of Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Elah Valley of Israel. Here, strained efforts are made to connect some of the artifacts to the folktale. For example, excavated sword blades are accompanied by a tenuously related Bible quote and dramatized by a large silhouette of Goliath. Another bit of signage asks metaphorically, “Have the footsteps of King David been discovered in the Elah Valley?” The exhibit’s saving grace is that this is an otherwise serious collection on loan from the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. And consistent with standard practice, items are dated BCE rather than BC as in the rest of the museum.

In addition to there being scant scholarly discussion of the veracity of various Bible stories, there is also little doubt offered, beyond a few bumps in the road, of the Bible’s positive influence on the nation and the world. The trajectory of the Bible’s rise to prominence is onward and upward—a tale of success. Trobisch sympathized with my critique but suggested that the success framework is culturally appropriate for American audiences and thereby makes possible an engaging narrative that will draw people in.

......

For my part, I found the Museum of the Bible disappointing. I was hoping for more ancient artifacts, more art, more critical treatment of the material, and less showmanship. Perhaps I’m just old fashioned or too serious. But I did enjoy the display of books by Renaissance humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam, the beautiful illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages, and the delightful European paintings depicting themes from the Book of Ecclesiastes. But Washington, DC, offers a trove of collections all over the city, not the least of which are the holdings of the Library of Congress (including a Gutenberg Bible, which is something the Museum of the Bible lacks), the National Gallery of Art, the National Archives, and the various Smithsonians.

So unless the Bible is really your thing, I would give preference to other choices when visiting our nation’s capital.

[_Maksutov]

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_ ... Bible.html

Critics portray the 430,000-square-foot building, just a few blocks from the Capitol, as a propaganda showcase. But what I found was a surprising degree of frankness, even agnosticism. If you want the cartoon Bible, eternal and infallible, you can find it in quotes from Scripture on purple banners along the walls. “Every word of God is pure,” says one. “The law of the Lord is perfect,” says another. “The Word of our God stands forever,” says a third. But start poking around in the exhibits, and things get interesting. Many Bible stories, you soon learn, aren’t original. The flood, for instance, echoes Babylonian tales. “In each version, a growing population upsets a god,” a plaque explains dryly. “A single hero listens to the supreme being, builds a boat before a catastrophic flood, and then sends out birds.”

Next you discover that the holy book is full of spin. One placard describes how texts of the ancient Assyrians celebrated their conquests of Judean cities. Jewish and Christian bibles, describing the same events, “emphasize how God miraculously preserved Jerusalem.” Cyrus, the Persian king, saw himself as an instrument of Babylon’s deity. But writers of the Hebrew Bible, concerned with a different question—Is it good for the Jews?—”portray Cyrus as an agent of Israel’s God.” After every battle, Arameans and Moabites told the same story the Israelites did: Either their god led them to victory, or he punished them with defeat.

When Trobisch says there’s no such thing as “the” Bible, he’s alluding in part to the seven versions displayed along a wall on the museum’s fourth floor: Hebrew, Samaritan, Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Assyrian. Each has its own selection of texts, a sign on the wall observes, “yet each one is a Bible.” In display cases, you can read about the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and other texts that haven’t made the cut. But don’t count them out. Such “Apocrypha,” another note explains, have been appended to various Bibles, on and off, for centuries.

[_Philo Sofee]

MAK
When Trobisch says there’s no such thing as “the” Bible, he’s alluding in part to the seven versions displayed along a wall on the museum’s fourth floor: Hebrew, Samaritan, Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Assyrian. Each has its own selection of texts, a sign on the wall observes, “yet each one is a Bible.” In display cases, you can read about the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and other texts that haven’t made the cut. But don’t count them out. Such “Apocrypha,” another note explains, have been appended to various Bibles, on and off, for centuries.

What? No JST???

[_Maksutov]

MAK
When Trobisch says there’s no such thing as “the” Bible, he’s alluding in part to the seven versions displayed along a wall on the museum’s fourth floor: Hebrew, Samaritan, Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Assyrian. Each has its own selection of texts, a sign on the wall observes, “yet each one is a Bible.” In display cases, you can read about the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and other texts that haven’t made the cut. But don’t count them out. Such “Apocrypha,” another note explains, have been appended to various Bibles, on and off, for centuries.

What? No JST???

I've never quite figured out the status of the JST. Why are the Saints packing around KJVs when the JST is around?

[_richardMdBorn]

My brother is an imaging expert who has worked on the Archimedes Palimpsest and the Dead Sea Scheolls. He did some work for the Museum of the Bible. Next time I see him, I’ll ask him for details about it.

Please do. Thanks.

He worked on imaging a palimpsest that’s in their collection.

[_kairos]

Having spent 3 hours in the museum and as a believer one cannot come away without realizing the impact through the centuries the Bible made on humankind-from the handwritten and decorated church and aristoracy bibles to anne Boleyn's pocket New Testament psalms, Christian believers say it is the most important text ever to come about-we believe it to be God's word to humans. Especially the New Testament which chronicles the life and works of Jesus makes sense to a believer and its word provides joy, comfort and peace inwardly that no other book or method seems to be able to. Now the likes of Bart Ehrman, once an evangelical now an atheist or agnostic i forget, pooh poohs the Bible because he believes he has evidence of text corruption in almost every paragaph like that nutcase john dominic crossin and his jesus seminar compadres- "nothing correct in the Bible ,move along."
clearly the Bible as we have it has influenced billions in their walk with God including our jewish brothers and sisters who find tremendous life living guidance , solace and joy in the Old Testament text.

Can 2 billion people be so wrong that they should toss the Bible away as just an old book worth nothing- not me it changed my life forever.

kinda preaching

k

[_Maksutov]

Having spent 3 hours in the museum and as a believer one cannot come away without realizing the impact through the centuries the Bible made on humankind-from the handwritten and decorated church and aristoracy bibles to anne Boleyn's pocket New Testament psalms, Christian believers say it is the most important text ever to come about-we believe it to be God's word to humans. Especially the New Testament which chronicles the life and works of Jesus makes sense to a believer and its word provides joy, comfort and peace inwardly that no other book or method seems to be able to. Now the likes of Bart Ehrman, once an evangelical now an atheist or agnostic i forget, pooh poohs the Bible because he believes he has evidence of text corruption in almost every paragaph like that nutcase john dominic crossin and his Jesus seminar compadres- "nothing correct in the Bible ,move along."
clearly the Bible as we have it has influenced billions in their walk with God including our jewish brothers and sisters who find tremendous life living guidance , solace and joy in the Old Testament text.

Can 2 billion people be so wrong that they should toss the Bible away as just an old book worth nothing- not me it changed my life forever.

kinda preaching

k

Does the museum show that the Bible is used differently by Jews, Christians and Muslims? Did it talk about differing views on the Bible from within Christianity? How the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox differ, how the Baptist and the Unitarian view the Bible differently? Perhaps something on the Philadelphia Bible wars in America?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelp ... vist_riots

From the article:

The Philadelphia Nativist Riots (also known as the Philadelphia Prayer Riots, the Bible Riots and the Native American Riots) were a series of riots that took place between May 6 and 8 and July 6 and 7, 1844, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and the adjacent districts of Kensington and Southwark. The riots were a result of rising anti-Catholic sentiment at the growing population of Irish Catholic immigrants.

In the five months prior to the riots, nativist groups had been spreading a rumor that Catholics were trying to remove the Bible from public schools. A nativist rally in Kensington erupted in violence on May 6 and started a deadly riot that would result in the destruction of two Catholic churches and numerous other buildings. Riots erupted again in July, after it was discovered that St. Philip Neri's Catholic Church in Southwark had armed itself for protection. Fierce fighting broke out between the nativists and the soldiers sent to protect the church, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries. Several Catholic churches were burned.

...........

During the 1840s, students in Philadelphia schools began the day with reading the Protestant version of the Bible. On November 10, 1842, Philadelphia's Roman Catholic Bishop, Francis Kenrick, wrote a letter to the Board of Controllers of public schools, asking that Catholic children be allowed to read the Douay version of the Bible, used by Roman Catholics. He also asked that they be excused from other religious teaching while at school.[4][5] As a result, the Board of Controllers ordered that no child should be forced to participate in religious activities and stated that children were allowed to read whichever version of the Bible their parents wished. Nativists further inflamed hostile feelings towards Catholics by reportedly twisting Kenrick's requests to the Board of Controllers as an attack against the Bible used in Protestant devotionals.[4][6]

...........

Or was a particular type of Bible, interpreted by a particular type of people, in a particular way, mostly presented?

[_subgenius]

What, in all honesty, is the good of a museum of an old book? Just curious. We are no longer in the old Medieval days of thinking, why keep a book going that keeps us there? It makes very little sense.

The Law of Gravity and believing the Earth is round is also a bit dated...

[_LittleNipper]

What, in all honesty, is the good of a museum of an old book? Just curious. We are no longer in the old Medieval days of thinking, why keep a book going that keeps us there? It makes very little sense.

Tell that to those that still promote Darwin --- and most of that is no longer even considered valid!

[_Maksutov]

What, in all honesty, is the good of a museum of an old book? Just curious. We are no longer in the old Medieval days of thinking, why keep a book going that keeps us there? It makes very little sense.

Tell that to those that still promote Darwin --- and most of that is no longer even considered valid!

Sure, Nipper. Show us how "most of that is no longer even considered valid!" And be aware that assertions from Jack Chick, Ken Ham, Kent Hovind or a similar scientifically illiterate dolt will be summarily mocked.

It's a new year but your pony doesn't know any new tricks, eh? Happy New Year to you anyhow.