Friday, November 17, 2017

The Museum of the Bible opens today

SOME MEDIA ATTENTION FOR TODAY'S OPENING OF THE MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE:

Museum of the Bible: A First Look. On the high-tech, new museum and the agenda of the family behind it (Christine Rosen, Weekly Standard)
Thus the Museum of the Bible, opening on November 17 not far from the National Mall in Washington, D.C., appears at a critical time. How do you engage the citizens of an increasingly secular country, whose founding was nevertheless indelibly marked by principles found in this book, with its history? How do you create a space that acknowledges the cultural primacy of the Bible while also respecting the heterodox religious past and present of the United States? How can an institution talk about one of the world’s most controversial texts without itself becoming a flashpoint for controversy?

The short answer: It can’t.
Washington’s Bible museum won’t touch political hot potatoes. Funded by evangelical Christian Steve Green, the controversial Hobby Lobby head, institution claims 'non-sectarian' mission (MAGGY DONALDSON, AFP/Times of Israel).

Read the actual Dead Sea scrolls, see the Nile turn to blood and visit Jesus World: Billionaire's $500m Bible Museum opens in DC after he was caught buying stolen artefacts from Iraq (Rory Tingle, Daily Mail).

There are other articles, but I think these give a reasonably rounded picture. And they have some good photos and videos.

For much past PaleoJudaica coverage of the Museum of the Bible, and also of Hobby Lobby and the Green Collection, start here and follow the many links.

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