Can We Talk 2

Museum of The Bible

         I didn't know that such a museum existed. Some friends wanted to go, so I agreed to join them. I found out it's been open less than a year on 4th Street, next to Virginia Avenue in Washington, DC, From the sixth floor you get a great view of the capitol dome. The building is an old business building 12 stories high. In the early 1900's, it was a frefrigerated building with railroad tracks beside it and space inside for rail cars to roll inside the main hall for lading and unloading. The building has been recycled, but was purchased for the museum in 2012. At that point engineers oversaw knocking out six stories, every other floor, to allow fro greater exhibits and special media installation.
The first items for exhibit were purchased two years earlier in 2010.

         The goal is to engage more people with the Bible, to understand its influence in the world, its history, its story and how it has impacted mankind. It does not attempt to preach or proselytize, but welcomes people from all backgrounds to enjoy the exhibits, be entertained, and maybe learn something new.

         There was a special exhibit just for kids, and it looked wonderful. They can climb, shake, and handle all the colorful displays inside the giant playroom with themes. There are bathrooms on every floor, large walkways, beautiful walls and stairs, and plenty of elevators. Gift shop, restaurant, "Biblical garden" (outdoor eating area with water falls on the 6th floor), and a café, of course. All the paid tours have ear phones that are cleaned after use. The virtual reality tours include goggles cleaned after every use.

         You don't have to take any guided tours, but I suggest the Orientation tour for $8. It gives you an overall view in an hour and helps you plan what you want to visit more leisurely on your own. There is a major theme to each floor with mini themes for each exhibit or show. One floor is the story floor. There you can visit The Hebrew Bible or Old Testament World. The multi-media is fantastic and keeps you moving from one room to another as the general outline of the Old Testament unfolds all around you. The burning bush you will swear is real. There's thunder and lightning and fog. It's so creative and astounding and exciting to be in the middle of it.

         Then there's the world of Jesus, a Nazarene village, filled with people going about the daily lives of a poor town in the early first century of Israel. You can talk to the mother working in her kitchen, or the rabbi in the synagogue, visit the winemaker, the carpenter's shop and see his tools, or see the sheep shearer shed. One stone carved room has short films of Jesus telling the parables. I found this actor to be very interesting and sincere. One was titled The Parable of The Lost Son and His Brother (so much better than The Prodigal Son-it ignores the brother, a key player),

         Also on that floor is The New Testament Exhibit. This one has only one auditorium, so you stay in one place, more people at once. It starts out with the nativity star. You don't even think about the curtain being open only about 8 feet in front of you. But after Jesus ascends, the news starts to spread, and the curtains open the full semi-circle. The screen grows with the curtain opening and the story gets larger. It's also loud and provocative and features key players like Stephen and Paul and John. As John recalls that he was the youngest one in the group around Jesus, and now he's the only one left, he wonders if it will all end with him. Then his face looks like he had an idea and he starts to write, "In the beginning...". Now he wasn't the first one to write, but the point is made, because those witnesses wrote, the story does live on.

         One floor has special exhibits. One long term temporary exhibit is The Billy Graham exhibit. I could have spent hours there. It was wonderful! Full of more contemporary history. Another floor is devoted to the book itself and its history. This includes many translations, a Gutenberg press with demonstrations (it took 3 years to make 180 copies of the Bible). The Bible is now in over 600 languages, many never written down until someone tried to translate the Bible into that spoken word. The Bible was in Latin only, and most people didn't speak Latin, or read anything. The first man to translate it into English was deemed guilty of heresy after his death. His bones were dug up and incinerated 30 years after his death. King James approved an English translation 100 years later. That was the first universal Bible of any language. There are pieces of Dead Sea Scrolls, jars where scrolls were installed, and copies of manuscripts. No original manuscripts still exist, but enough evidence exists from sacred and secular sources to suggest the copies were very accurate. Elvis' Bible is there, and so is a rare copy of "The Wicked Bible", one of the few Bibles to have an error.

         Another floor is dedicated to the impact of the Bible. It points to its influence on medicine, science, civil rights, slavery, politics, immigration, liberty and democracy. It fairly shows how the Bible was used to prove or disprove both sides of issues. The guide told us they had a guest speaker in January, a professor from Harvard, who claimed that history cannot be understood if the Bible is not known.

         It's a beautiful building. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. They make the exhibits fun and creative. I haven't mentioned all the ones I saw. Someone suggested a thorough visit would require about 7 8-hour days or more. There is a parking garage nearby. If you're in DC, spend an extra day and take it in.