The BIBLE'S Influence spread from its Middle Eastern origins to surrounding cultures and eventually to Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. Today the Bible's far-reaching impact can be discovered worldwide. Its presence can be discerned in art, literature, film, music, and much more. Its ideas of compassion and justice influence social and political systems. The exhibits here illuminate the Bible's role in the world and explore how knowledge of the Bible can provide a deeper appreciation of human nature and cultural experiences.
~from exhibit signage
This section of the museum had quite a bit going on, but I'm afraid that I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. It wasn't quite as much my cup of tea as other areas, being less artifact focused, and I was preoccupied for part of our time as I kept our two-month old occupied.
Here you can see the backside of the front wall of the entryway.
These three figures represent science and the Bible working together. In the foreground here is Isaac Newton.
"Newton (1642-1727) is considered the greatest scientist of his age, perhaps of all time. He is renowned for his theories of motion and gravitation, which he believed were fully consistent with biblical teachings. For Newton, to understand nature was to understand God. The structure of the physical universe, he maintained, revealed an omnipotent God who created the world and intervenes to keep it on track."
~exhibit signage
To the right is Galileo Galilei.
"Galileo (1564-1642), a Renaissance scientist, is famous for his defense of the heliocentric (or sun-centered) system. At the time, most people believed the sun revolved around the earth, and they used the Bible to support their claim. When church officials challenged Galileo's theory, he countered that the Bible was not meant to teach astronomy. He quoted a cardinal who said that the Bible tells us 'how to go to Heaven, not how the heavens go.' "
~exhibit signage
Of course I'd make the argument that the Bible teaches a correct view of astronomy wherever it touches on the topic. Just because others picked verses that supported their incorrect views of science doesn't mean that the Bible actually teaches those views--it was inspired by the Creator of the universe and displays a correct understanding of the cosmos and everything in it.
On the other side of Newton and Galileo is George Washington Carver.
"George Washington Carver (ca. 1865-1950), born into slavery, rose to prominence as a scientist, botanist, and inventor. After graduating from Iowa State College, he became head of the agricultural department at Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute, in Alabama. For Carver, the Bible was a guide to the natural world. He often referred to his lab as "God's little workshop."
~exhibit signage
More on the perspective that science and the Bible are not mutually exclusive but rather are complementary.
Verses frequently quoted and in languages from around the world.
This model shows how many religious orders have been involved in medicine over the centuries.
"Hospitals based on biblical ministries have evolved into modern health institutions. The Nazareth Hospital, formerly part of the Edinburgh Medical Mission Society, traces its roots to 1866. The hospital's mission is to "heal in the name of Jesus." Today, the hospital and its School of Nursing welcome both Israelis and Palestinians. As an institution dedicated to science, Nazareth provides a beacon of peaceful co-existence in a ruptured social landscape."
~exhibit signage
This exhibit contains examples of many different calendars, many of which were based upon the Bible, and also explains the current year system, Anno Domini.
"Anno Domini (AD) means 'in the year of our Lord.' The Christian calendar uses the term to number the years since the conception of Jesus. Dionysius Exiguus, a Christian monk, invented this method of calculation around AD 525. To create his calendar, he counted past years to a time when he thought Jesus had been conceived and then counted years forward from that point. Previously, Roman historians had used the founding of Rome as the start of their calendar."
~exhibit signage
"Many universities today were established on the teachings of the Bible. Some were originally created by religious orders but evolved into secular universities. They can be found in every part of the world."
~exhibit signage
This quiz was a great example of the integration of technology into the exhibit as visitors were challenged to a quiz about the Bible.
Here you can see some models and artwork from beautiful church buildings around the world.
This video from Museum of the Bible covers the area described above, including some areas in more detail since I didn't photograph them.
All of the pictures that I took in this exhibit and the preceding one can be found in my MOTB - The Impact of the Bible album.
Tomorrow's post will conclude this coverage of our Museum of the Bible visit.
After lunch we headed down to the second floor to go through The Impact of the Bible exhibit.
This floor was a bit different from the rest of the museum. It still contained a large number of artifacts and technological connections to engage the guests. However, the nature of the artifacts and exhibits were different. Instead of being hundreds or thousands of years old many of the artifacts were contemporaneous with many of the people who could visit the Museum (once you get past the early American history portion that is.
The area began with America and then moved to the world. As I walked up to the doors I took the photo above.
Then I noticed that the letters of the word BIBLE were visible on the glass, so I took a second picture that captured the entire word.
Below is a short video from Museum of the Bible exploring the American section.
Here was the start of the gallery.
The first exhibits talked about the Mayflower Compact and the arrival of early European settlers.
I especially enjoy old maps. This one points out that Rhode Island was quite different, thanks to the impact of Roger Williams. Arguing from a biblical perspective he made a case for tolerance of other belief systems in the general populace, quite a difference from the established traditions of the day. Even the Puritans who are often described as "fleeing oppression" were very quick to oppress those that believed differently. Yet in contrast to many Roger Williams didn't believe all belief systems were equal--he was clearly a Christian--he simply believed that all had a right to exist.
What a title, The Bloody Tenent Yet More Bloody. I also find it amusing how titles used to cover at least half of the title page of a book.
The Middle Colonies were somewhat diverse as Maryland was originally Catholic, Pennsylvania was controlled by Quakers, and New Amsterdam (Dutch until conquered by the Duke of York) had Jewish settlements.
As noted here the Southern colonies were fairly homogeneous on the religious front, all supporting Anglican congregations and not being too tolerant of others.
A video explained the history and significance of George Whitfield and the Great Awakening. I think I managed to photograph the only moment of the film where nothing was going on. The video consisted mainly of quotes and descriptions of events. The images where outlines projected upon this background. It made for a simple but powerful presentation.
Here is another video that Museum of the Bible recently posted about Whitfield.
The three video monitors visible here contained segments of actors reading historical dialogue from personages who were influential in early America. It was a neat way to bring the words to life and to be interactive also (the videos didn't start playing until you'd stepped into the black circle in front of the screen).
Also on display was a copy of Thomas Jefferson's edit of the Gospel (done to remove all miracles and other supernatural events).
At this point you rounded the corner and the exhibit transitioned to the Bible's impact on world culture. We'll pick up at that point tomorrow.
Stories of the Bible was one of my favorite areas of Museum of the Bible.
The area doesn't appear to be all that large from the outside, but it takes up the entirety of the third floor.
When you approach the exhibit area you have three choices to explore the stories. You can chose the Old Testament, Galilee Village, or the New Testament.
Not knowing what we were getting into we asked the staff members present which show would be next and thankfully they steered us towards the Hebrew Bible presentation, covering the Old Testament. This thirty-minute experience was definitely the best place to begin.
Though it doesn't appear so from the outside, the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible period is the largest area on the floor.
I don't have any pictures of the actual presentation, so I have to start with this screenshot from the website to partially illustrate the amazing experience.
You start by waiting for your chance to enter through this doorway. Once you do you are in a small waiting area.
Graphic panels around the edge of the room represent the Patriarchs of the Old Testament.
This piece of artwork illustrates the connectivity of the stories of many people that you'll find within the Old Testament, what many Jews call Tanakh. These were the people whose story was told. According to a snippet from Google search (sadly the page no longer exists on the MOTB website) this area is "an immersive walk-through experience based on the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. This series of walk-through scenes are theatrical environments inspired by art installations and constructed with high-tech finishes."
The above text is really is a good explanation of the experience. You start out in a small theater that covers the beginning of history from the Creation to the Fall to the Flood. Then you notice that the far wall of the theater has moved to expose an opening. Everybody moves through this opening and in to the experience. Over the course of your journey you'll sit down in several more theaters and experience several more presentations as well as time walking through artistic representations of Noah's Ark, the crossing of the Red Sea, the crossing of the Jordan River, and more. It wasn't a theater show, it wasn't a mere exhibit, it truly was an amazing, artistic experience that immerses you in the world of the Old Testament and helps you to see what it was all about. Interestingly this area does not talk about Jesus or point to passages that prefigure him in the Old Testament. I think that most (or all) observant Jews that go through this experience would agree with everything they saw. I had no idea what to expect when we started-only that it was to last about thirty minutes. I'd love to back and see it again now knowing what will be coming.
After exiting the Old Testament area we headed into the Galilee Village while waiting for the New Testament experience to begin.
The area began with an explanation of the historical background to the time period in which Jesus lived and ministered. I especially enjoyed seeing this replica of a mosaic from Pompeii.
Jews who returned from exile found themselves caught between shifting kingdoms that battled for control. Throughout this period, Jews struggled to preserve their distinct identify among external pressures and internal differences. Could they stay loyal to their God and Torah in this crucible? Exile and economic opportunity prompted Jewish migration to the east. These communities extended as far as China and India. They also journeyed west along the shores of the Mediterranean and south to Africa. Far away from home, Jews had to navigate between new cultures and their commitment to maintain their own identity, practices, and beliefs. Stories like Ezra, Tobit, and Esther served as an inspiration to Jews who sought to preserve their heritage even in the face of hostility.
~from exhibit signage
This was the period of the second temple.
It was a world that had been heavily influenced by Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia and the split of his empire upon his death. The Hellenistic age spread Greek language and culture around the area making other spreads (such as the Gospel) easier.
Everything was impacted by the spread of the Roman Empire across the Mediterranean world.
As you enter the area you're immediately immersed in the surroundings of a first century village.
Flocks were very important to the area.
This 360 degree view gives you a look at the entire area, also you can see how the lights changed in a day/night cycle.
We headed back briefly to catch the show in the Galilee theater. It was a short period piece covering John the Baptist's ministry and his conflict with Herod Antipas (portrayed by John Rhys Davies).
This loom reminded me of several at the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter, I think they're very popular historical props.
The signs were very well made.
This was an olive oil press.
Pseudo-oil lamps were throughout the area in the "inside" areas.
The well reflects the importance of water to life in the region.
Harvesting grapes followed months of hard labor: training vines, pulling weeds, pruning new growth, and maintaining stone walls. Finally, villagers met at the vineyard, gathered the grapes, and hauled them to the winepress. They sang and danced while stomping grapes into juice. Pulling from this long-standing annual celebration, the biblical prophet Amos envisioned a coming day of restoration that would be like a great harvest when the "mountains would 'drip sweet wine'" (Amos 9:13-15).
~from exhibit signage
Here is a video that Museum of the Bible just posted about this area.
Just outside the Nazareth Village area is the New Testament theater experience. Starting with John the Baptist the video tells the stories of early followers of Jesus and how they turned into the church--including Paul's persecution of the church and his conversion.
The posters illustrating different biblical characters were especially interesting.
Tomorrow's post will be a short one covering lunch.
The History of the Bible is one of the largest exhibit areas inside Museum of the Bible. "The Bible's path spans thousands of years, crosses distant lands, and passes through many hands on a journey from the ancient Near East to the ends of the earth."
As you explore this area you'll learn more about the Bible during different periods of history. The exhibits also talk about several different Bibles--both different translations and the different canons that have been adopted by different groups.
While much of the history was something I'd heard before, there was still plenty to learn and I especially enjoyed the environment that skillfully mixed artifacts, signs, and technology in a way that never ceased informing you, always provided something new to see, and kept the visitor fully engaged. This area is located on the fourth floor of the museum as you can see in the Explore section of the Museum of the Bible website.
As you can see by this diagram the History of the Bible section is quite large, taking up most of the fourth floor of the Museum.
We started out by entering this room, which turned out to be backwards. This is illumiNations: Global Bible, which according to the website celebrates "the ever-increasing accessibility of the Bible in this showcase of Bibles in over 1,000 languages developed alongside Every Tribe, Every Nation." All of the different sections of the shelves are color coded to show which languages have Bibles and which still need them.
As you can see there are still quite a few orange and yellow sections where substantial translation is still needed.
Videos were constantly playing of people around the world reading portions of scripture in their own language.
After seeing this room and just a bit more at the end we headed back to the start of the experience and went through it in chronological order.
This exhibit features wide paths and many different artifacts, some of which are copies, and some original.
Egypt figures quite prominently in much of Old Testament history.
This part looked the most like traditional museum exhibits that I'm familiar with, but later on you'll see touches that take the experience above that of most other museums.
This is a replica of the Merneptah stele, which contains one of the oldest extra-Biblical references to Israel.
This is a replica of the Mesha Stele. The translation reads as follows:
"I am Mesha...king of Moab...I built this high place for Chemosh...because he made me more victorious than all the kings, and because he caused me to dominate all my enemies. Omri was king of Israel, and for many days he subjugated Moab because Chemosh was angry with his land.... Omri had conquered all the land of Madaba... but Chemosh returned it in my day.... I took [the ves]sels of YHWH [the LORD] and I dragged them before Chemosh...."
This is the Nebuchadnezzar cylinder. It displays cuneiform text in Akkadian. There are sixty lines "in which he boasts of building a wall around Babylon."
"These small silver amulets bear Hebrews inscriptions worn for protection. Each includes a blessing very similar to the "Priestly Blessing" in the book of Numbers. They date to the early 6th century BC. This makes them 350 years older than the first surviving biblical manuscripts! These pieces show that this blessing was copied down even before the Babylonian exile.
A selection of ancient artifacts.
Right before the portion of the exhibit devoted to the Dead Sea Scrolls was this explanation of the portions of Hebrew scripture, the Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim.
What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? A treasure trove of ancient Jewish writings. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of ancient Jewish writings about 2,000 years old. They were discovered in caves along the shore of the Dead Sea. Most are written in Hebrew, but there are also many in Aramaic, and some in Greek. The biblical scrolls include fragments from all the books of the Hebrew Bible except Esther and Nehemiah. Others contain religious commentary, apocalyptic writings, and much more. Some scrolls present teachings specific to the Essenes, the Jewish religious group that collected this ancient library.
~from exhibit signage
Some of the fragments on display weren't illuminated unless you triggered a light while looking at them.
This map shows the network of roads throughout the Roman province of Palestine about 70 AD.
Here you can see the start of the transformation of Jewish culture from being centered around one temple to being focused on a local synagogue.
This was one of the first videos we encountered in the exhibit that were produced in association with Drive Thru History. Dave Stotts and Museum of the Bible cooperated to produce a series of videos covering biblical history that were presented throughout the exhibit area.
This model of Jerusalem circa AD 70 shows several prominent features including, 1. The Temple Mount, 2. the Palace of Herod the Great, and more.
As we transitioned into the Roman period (especially after the Diaspora) bound books became more popular and formed a large part of what was on display. Some terms were defined that are quite useful when considering biblical or literary history.
Scroll - A rolled document
Codex - A document on pages bound as a book
Manuscript - A document written by hand
Papyrus - "Paper" made from river reeds
Parchment - Writing material made from animal skins
Vellum - Fine parchment made from the skin of a calf
This display consisted of a "book" of very durable pages showing which fragments of the Psalms had been found. Different pages had different notes. For example this page explains the point at which another scribe took over--known because the handwriting changed.
On these pages you can see parts of Psalms 97 through 100.
This book covers the main versions (not translations) of the Bible used by different groups around the world.
The Hebrew bible is written from right to left. Some are still printed in scroll form.
This map shows the distribution of Jewish congregations across the world. Did you know that Jews from Central Europe are called Ashkenazi and those from the Mediterranean are called Sephardi?
The Samaritan Bible, used by only a few thousand people is the shortest version, consisting only of the books of the Torah.
The Catholic Bible contains a number of books not found in Protestant Bibles including the books of Maccabees.
The King James Bible is one of the most popular translations amongst Protestant groups.
Did you know that "[a]lthough more than 88% of the Greek people are Eastern Orthodox, it makes up only 4.8% of the world's Eastern Orthodox population." More than half of all Eastern Orthodox live in Russia.
The Oriental Orthodox churches include the Coptic and Ethiopic churches, the later of which has more books in its canon than in most other versions of the Bible.
The Assyrian Bible is written in Syriac.
In this 360 view the expanse of the exhibit is clearly visible.
A number of illuminated manuscripts were on display. A number of books besides just Bibles were bound together and could be illuminated.
A Psalter is a bound version of the biblical Book of Psalms.
The Gospels binds together the four books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
A Lectionary is a book containing passages meant to be read aloud during worship services over a period of time.
Missals and Breviaries contain passages and prayers to be read over the course of a year.
A Book of Hours is meant for personal reading. It contains prayers and biblical passages--especially Psalms--to read at certain times of day throughout the year. First used by monks, they became popular among the wealthy in the Middle Ages.
This illuminated Psalter comes from England circa AD 1450-1460.
This exhibit explains the process of using a printing press.
Here you can see and touch a case of type (albeit with all pieces glued in place).
Here durable pages allow guests to view how type interacts with paper to impress letters upon a page.
A digital display allows people to pick out type to fill in certain Biblical phrases.
These images are of the Nestorian Stele erected in AD 781 in China. "The inscription includes references to Genesis, the cross, and baptism, and is considered an early monument to Christianity in China."
At the end of the exhibit a display demonstrated the difficulties translators have when working with languages and people groups that do not have a relationship with the Middle East.
I found this amusing amongst all of the amazing technology.
All of the pictures that I took in this exhibit can be found in this album.
Here is a video that Museum of the Bible just posted about this floor.
After leaving this area nearby was a Drive Thru History of the Bible Theater.
I'd never seen any of these videos before, but my wife and sister-in-law both recognized them. It probably would make sense to watch the video in this theater first before exploring The History of the Bible as that area contained shorter videos that went into greater detail than what this video did.
Apparently the jeep the host drives is a famous part of the series, so one was put on display right outside the theater.
The theater was nice, but unfortunately the staff didn't know how to turn the lights down, so the entire presentation appeared somewhat washed out. As we were walking out I think I spied the correct control that would have turned the lights out. I so wanted to hit the button to see if I was correct--but I restrained myself.
The next section of the museum that we visited was the Stories of the Bible area--to be covered tomorrow.
