Tacoma Washington April 30, 2009 - August 30, 2009 Exhibit: How should one read The
Bible? Is it a series of stories
to be enjoyed? Is it a history text to be
studied? Is it a guide telling us
how to live? One
can read The Bible in any of these ways, as indeed all of these are true. The stories can be
interpreted by one's self or by a religious leader. However, in the case of
the text being historical, it may be advantageous to consult opinions of
professionals who may be experts in analyzing historical writings. In fact, The
Bible is so complex that it may even take a detective or a mathematician to
come up with some of its secrets. The first half of our
exhibit is entitled "The Literal Bible". In this exhibit, an attempt is made to
analyze some of the more interesting questions about God. Some of the
conclusions may be disturbing but dissenting opinions to the interpretation
given will certainly be considered. See if you agree with the logic used to
interpret each. Some of the topics considered are: What does God Look Like? Is there only one God? Did God originally
intend to create a Man? Did God
originally intend to create a Woman? Does God have his own
Children? Why does God allow
Innocent Children to suffer? Did God or Moses write
the Ten Commandments? Since Methuselah was
Noah's grandfather - and lived 969 years - what happened to him when the great flood came? This first half of our exhibit is
illustrated by original pages of the King James Bible. The
King James Version of the Bible has been one of the most influential books ever
published, not only as a religious work, but also as a work of English
literature. No book has had greater influence on the English language or on the
English character. It was indeed fortunate that this majestic translation was
achieved during one of the most creative periods in English literature. It has been described as `the only
literary masterpiece ever to have been produced by a committee,' and was the
work of nearly fifty translators. The King James
Version may be a bit hard to read so a modern equivalent will be used in our
description. The second half of our exhibit is a collection of pages
from the very first printed book, The Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible is
considered the most precious piece of printing in the world. A few individual pages from an unique
broken copy are also known. Among
these are the "Ten Commandments", "The Passover Commandments", "The Sabbath
Laws", "The Kosher Laws", and The Jewish Confirmation of Faith, "The Shema",
all shown in this exhibit. Printing by use of a single
block of wood (the entire page carved into it) was invented in China over 1000
years ago and used in Europe in the 1300's. However, the use of one block per
letter, called movable type, is credited to Johann Gutenberg in about
1438. Unfortunately, no specimen
of his work survives until the years 1450-1455, when his financial backer foreclosed, taking possession of
the modified wine press devices,
the miniature tin and lead letter blocks (type), and Gutenberg's bibles, then being printed. Gutenberg's many inventions,
which resulted in the creation of movable type printing, are well documented in
a series of law- suits relating to the financial backing of his work. His failure to repay his loans
restricted his use of his own inventions; thus, it is difficult to assign
surviving printed matter to him. In addition, pages of the 4th edition of The Bible are also included in
the exhibit. Printed by Fust and Schoffer with Gutenberg's Equipment, it is the
first Bible which has a date printed on its information page (1462) Johann Fust
had foreclosed on Gutenberg for unpaid debts and took over Gutenberg's
equipment. All of the
first four Bible editions printed are near priceless. An entire Bible would likely sell for $50 million, if one
were ever to come available. A pair of leaves of the First Edition is valued in
the 6-figure range. The topics considered from the
4th edition are "working on the Sabbath"; the "use of graven images
and the Arc of the Covenant"; and "welfare".
[Yes, there is an answer - and it may be upsetting!]