Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Still more from Mosaic on the Museum of the Bible

MOSAIC MAGAZINE wraps up its January series on the Museum of the Bible with a final response to Diana Muir Appelbaum's original essay and a last word from Ms. Appelbaum.

A Museum for the Bible in a Religiously Diverse Land. There is no neutral or “universal” way to read—or exhibit—the Bible. What, then, can an American museum of the Bible strive to accomplish? (Jon D. Levenson).
It should, in sum, be possible for a museum to promote to a high degree an understanding of the Bible as a central item in American culture, as a source of truth and authority for Christians and Jews in their different ways, and as the object of enormously productive (and, for some, challenging) academic study in the modern mode. How well the MOTB does this now, I cannot say. But Diana Muir Appelbaum’s splendid essay makes me eager to find out for myself.
The Impact of the Bible. What better explains the sudden rise of republican government in the 16th and 17th centuries than the new and widespread availability of the Bible? And that’s not all. (Diana Muir Appelbaum)

I noted the earlier Mosaic essays here and here. And for other past PaleoJudaica posts on the Museum of the Bible and related matters, start here and follow the many links.

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