Museum of the Bible: Worth It
As you will see from some of my other posts, I went to Maryland on Dec.26-29. My son and I flew to BWI, a nice airport, and spent three nights with family. We did not want to sit around or impose, so we determined to do some sightseeing.
Not sure I would get there but hoping to, I secured a ticket online for the new Museum of The Bible. Since we took the Metro from New Carrollton Station to the Smithsonian station, we were on the National Mall. If one wants to walk, one can see a great deal of D.C. attractions in one day, and we have in the past.
The Museum of the Bible is about three blocks off the mall, so it is not hard to get to. I suggest visitors take the Metro and not mess with parking, and if it's a nice day, visitors can see lots of other things. Unfortunately, this Thursday was not a nice day. It was below 20 degrees, and windy, so I'm still trying to get warm (it's cold here in North Georgia, too, below freezing, and with that unique damp feeling we get here).
First we stood outside the Air and Space Museum for 20 minutes to get in, because my son loves it. It was worth the wait. My ticket for Museum of the Bible was for 3:15, so at 3:00 we walked down there. My son dropped me off and went to explore the National Gallery of Art.
I have to admit that I was somewhat disposed to be disappointed. I was not, at least not after a while. A couple of my first impressions were negative, but those slipped away. I also did not spend as much time there as I should have. A serious scholar could spend a few days.
There is nothing cheesy, low-class, cut-rate, or below standard at the Museum of the Bible. It is extremely well put together. It is also free, at least to get in. There are exhibits that require tickets ($8.00 or so), but I was not going to pay this time. Also, the lines for those exhibits were very long. I walked upstairs to the "free parts."
One of them is the role of the Bible in American history. A secular person would probably call the designers for propaganda, but that shows a denial of the religious roots of American history. The exhibit seemed fair to me, though--it showed Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant strains and interpretations of the Bible. It also did not skip over the negatives, such as slavery. In fact, one of the artifacts is a "slave's Bible," which I did not know of. Just like Thomas Jefferson had edited a Bible of the things he didn't like, this slave's Bible took out parts about freedom from oppression and kept the parts that encourage submission. For example, the story of the Jewish slaves leaving captivity in Egypt was taken out.
However, the key is a hall--a maze really--of exhibits on the original creation of the Bible texts (materials, places, languages) and the various versions, translations, copies, etc. through the medieval periods (including Jewish copies), Renaissance, Reformation, and so on. This is where one sees actual original copies of the King James Version (not readable by us today, and with translation errors, and destined to go through many editions until it was really what we have today).
This particular area of the museum is the one that a serious scholar would be most interested in. Admittedly, some of what is there are "facsimiles," but more than not the items are real and originals; some on loan (even from the Vatican), some purchased. (None of the items based on the Qumram scrolls are real, but those would be impossible to get.) Also admittedly, I heard that the President of Hobby Lobby, who financed most of this, got into some trouble about provenance, and I think they tried to address that. When Isis took over Iraq too much "stuff" got in the wrong hands; but even if the wrong hands are protecting it rather than destroying it, there is some good in that.
Two other things: The Museum is interactive and high tech, with guides, docents, and living history types (such as a "printer" describing Gutenberg's work). The Museum also is missions oriented, and has many exhibits about the state of translations today into new languages. Yes, even though it pays deference to the Catholic and Judaistic traditions, it is a Protestant view of history, and it is significant to me that it opened right after the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's rebellious act, based on the Bible (the Bible sometimes leads to rebellion).
When I first walked in, I felt I was in White People land. That soon went away. There were other nationalities and races, many of them, not just a handful. Many foreign languages are heard.
When it was announced over 20 years ago that Chattanooga was going to have an aquarium, some of us locals were skeptical; I think we thought it would be like Rock City. It was, and is, not; the Chattanooga Aquarium is extremely impressive. I feel the same way about the Museum of the Bible. I give it an A, and I think it will become a must-see place for visitors to D.C.
Not sure I would get there but hoping to, I secured a ticket online for the new Museum of The Bible. Since we took the Metro from New Carrollton Station to the Smithsonian station, we were on the National Mall. If one wants to walk, one can see a great deal of D.C. attractions in one day, and we have in the past.
The Museum of the Bible is about three blocks off the mall, so it is not hard to get to. I suggest visitors take the Metro and not mess with parking, and if it's a nice day, visitors can see lots of other things. Unfortunately, this Thursday was not a nice day. It was below 20 degrees, and windy, so I'm still trying to get warm (it's cold here in North Georgia, too, below freezing, and with that unique damp feeling we get here).
First we stood outside the Air and Space Museum for 20 minutes to get in, because my son loves it. It was worth the wait. My ticket for Museum of the Bible was for 3:15, so at 3:00 we walked down there. My son dropped me off and went to explore the National Gallery of Art.
I have to admit that I was somewhat disposed to be disappointed. I was not, at least not after a while. A couple of my first impressions were negative, but those slipped away. I also did not spend as much time there as I should have. A serious scholar could spend a few days.
There is nothing cheesy, low-class, cut-rate, or below standard at the Museum of the Bible. It is extremely well put together. It is also free, at least to get in. There are exhibits that require tickets ($8.00 or so), but I was not going to pay this time. Also, the lines for those exhibits were very long. I walked upstairs to the "free parts."
One of them is the role of the Bible in American history. A secular person would probably call the designers for propaganda, but that shows a denial of the religious roots of American history. The exhibit seemed fair to me, though--it showed Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant strains and interpretations of the Bible. It also did not skip over the negatives, such as slavery. In fact, one of the artifacts is a "slave's Bible," which I did not know of. Just like Thomas Jefferson had edited a Bible of the things he didn't like, this slave's Bible took out parts about freedom from oppression and kept the parts that encourage submission. For example, the story of the Jewish slaves leaving captivity in Egypt was taken out.
However, the key is a hall--a maze really--of exhibits on the original creation of the Bible texts (materials, places, languages) and the various versions, translations, copies, etc. through the medieval periods (including Jewish copies), Renaissance, Reformation, and so on. This is where one sees actual original copies of the King James Version (not readable by us today, and with translation errors, and destined to go through many editions until it was really what we have today).
This particular area of the museum is the one that a serious scholar would be most interested in. Admittedly, some of what is there are "facsimiles," but more than not the items are real and originals; some on loan (even from the Vatican), some purchased. (None of the items based on the Qumram scrolls are real, but those would be impossible to get.) Also admittedly, I heard that the President of Hobby Lobby, who financed most of this, got into some trouble about provenance, and I think they tried to address that. When Isis took over Iraq too much "stuff" got in the wrong hands; but even if the wrong hands are protecting it rather than destroying it, there is some good in that.
Two other things: The Museum is interactive and high tech, with guides, docents, and living history types (such as a "printer" describing Gutenberg's work). The Museum also is missions oriented, and has many exhibits about the state of translations today into new languages. Yes, even though it pays deference to the Catholic and Judaistic traditions, it is a Protestant view of history, and it is significant to me that it opened right after the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's rebellious act, based on the Bible (the Bible sometimes leads to rebellion).
When I first walked in, I felt I was in White People land. That soon went away. There were other nationalities and races, many of them, not just a handful. Many foreign languages are heard.
When it was announced over 20 years ago that Chattanooga was going to have an aquarium, some of us locals were skeptical; I think we thought it would be like Rock City. It was, and is, not; the Chattanooga Aquarium is extremely impressive. I feel the same way about the Museum of the Bible. I give it an A, and I think it will become a must-see place for visitors to D.C.
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