I returned to the Museum of the Bible for a second visit in two weeks. With my family I had spent about four hours moving through all of the exhibits except for the floor devoted to the "History of the Bible." Today I finished with several hours looking at the museum's collection of manuscripts and large number of early printed Bibles. As with each of the other presentations, the museum's curators have done an exceptional job of mixing artifacts with audio explanations and engaging video first-personal enactments and discussions.
Even before it opened some critics were ready to pronounce anathema on the Museum. It's heresy? One of the greatest bugaboos of identity-driven politics of: proselytization. After all, what else would one expect from something funded in large part by the family that owns Hobby Lobby? More thoughtful observers demurred. And so do I.
The Museum of the Bible is just that. Its exhibits show rather than tell how the text of the Bible came to be, how it has been preserved, and the extraordinary effects it has had. The museum espouses no theory of biblical inspiration or even biblical authority. Instead, it presents the way of living in which the events described in the Bible took place and how it has been used for good and not-so-good in the ensuing millennia.
I was surprised at the scope of perspectives featured in the Museum of the Bible. Several exhibits were prepared or at least strongly influenced by Jewish scholars. Although the Green family are part of the American Evangelical tradition, the Vatican Library has space for an exhibit and some Protestant canards about the Medieval Church's opposition to vernacular translations are laid to rest.
In sum, the Museum of the Bible is not didactic. Instead, it demonstrates how thoroughly the Bible was (and to a significant extent still is) one of the primary threads of the Western tradition. Whatever may be your position with respect to the message of the Bible, this museum will enrich your understanding of Western art, society, and culture.
(For a more in-depth consideration of the Museum of the Bible and its early critics go here to read a good piece by Glenn Moots.)
Even before it opened some critics were ready to pronounce anathema on the Museum. It's heresy? One of the greatest bugaboos of identity-driven politics of: proselytization. After all, what else would one expect from something funded in large part by the family that owns Hobby Lobby? More thoughtful observers demurred. And so do I.
The Museum of the Bible is just that. Its exhibits show rather than tell how the text of the Bible came to be, how it has been preserved, and the extraordinary effects it has had. The museum espouses no theory of biblical inspiration or even biblical authority. Instead, it presents the way of living in which the events described in the Bible took place and how it has been used for good and not-so-good in the ensuing millennia.
I was surprised at the scope of perspectives featured in the Museum of the Bible. Several exhibits were prepared or at least strongly influenced by Jewish scholars. Although the Green family are part of the American Evangelical tradition, the Vatican Library has space for an exhibit and some Protestant canards about the Medieval Church's opposition to vernacular translations are laid to rest.
In sum, the Museum of the Bible is not didactic. Instead, it demonstrates how thoroughly the Bible was (and to a significant extent still is) one of the primary threads of the Western tradition. Whatever may be your position with respect to the message of the Bible, this museum will enrich your understanding of Western art, society, and culture.
(For a more in-depth consideration of the Museum of the Bible and its early critics go here to read a good piece by Glenn Moots.)
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