The Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum is opening a new exhibition on Jan. 15. The exhibit, called “From Script to Scripture: The History of the Bible,” will display a collection of Bibles from different time periods, along with the stories of those who sacrificed their lives to make the book available for everyone.
Among the display, there will be replicas of the Breeches Bible that was brought over on the Mayflower, as well as copies of the Olivitán, the Vulgate, and pages from the Gutenberg Bible. Towards the end of the displays in the exhibit, there will be statistics showing the number of those who don’t have the availability of the Bible in their own languages.
The idea of the exhibition came two years ago when the School of Religion celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and museum staff thought of having an exhibition focusing on the Bible and the influence its had on the world.
The display will explore how the invention of the alphabet, the printing press and modern technology helped in the circulation of the Bible. The exhibition will also focus on works, such as art, music, literature and the establishing of the Ivy League institutions in America, surrounding the Bible and the Reformation.
“This is the first time in the history of the Adventist church that such an exhibit has been produced,” said Michael Hasel, School of Religion professor and Archeological Museum curator. “We believe that with the competing messages that we are bombarded with in our society today, nothing can be more important to point people back to than the Bible.”
Due to the many variations of Bibles and their origins, Hasel said the most challenging aspect of the exhibitions has been deciding which items to showcase and how to connect those works together. The Institute of Archeology has been working on putting together this exhibition since October of last year.
Those who have been working on the museum believe that this exhibit will help students, faculty and staff, as well as any other visitors, appreciate the Bible more.
“I think [the exhibition] is important because we need to remember where we came from,” said Archeological Museum Coordinator Angela Edwards. “…In Christianity, in general, Protestants have forgotten what we are protesting. And so, it’s good for us to remember our roots and to remember thousands of people that have died to preserve God’s Word.”
“Knowing where our doctrines came from is important to understanding why we believe and worship the way we do,” said Rebecca Borne, art museum studies junior and Archeology Museum student worker.