Bible museum
The Bibles for the presidential inauguration are carried out the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan 20, 2017. Image via RNS/Win McNamee/AP.
The Bible also has the Trump name etched on the front cover. Upon his graduation from Sunday school — in 1955 at age 9 — it was signed by his pastor and Sunday school teachers. At his inauguration, the president also took the oath of office on the Lincoln Bible, which was also used by President Obama at his 2009 inauguration.
7. How an American Ex-Jihadi Struggled to Rebuild His Life in the Country He’d Once Vowed to Destroy
In The New Republic, Tiffany Stanley does a deep dive into the life of Jesse Orton, who has been lifted up as the poster boy for the work of countering violent extremism: “Morton’s path to salvation seemed almost too good to be true. Could the transition from jihadi to patriot really be so seamless, so rapid, so complete? The answer to that question would, within months of Morton’s sudden burst of fame, become painfully clear. The answer was no.”
Photo via Jeff Chu
What if the hardest thing in my spiritual life is to accept the abundant life that Jesus promises? What if the biggest challenge, for some of us who struggle with the sins of self-loathing and shame, is to receive love and to feel joy? Could—should— penitence look different? Might it mean wallowing less and embracing more?
Lit candles at Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Image via Jeff Chu
Since I was born Baptist, I think I was taught in utero to be skeptical of all this Roman Catholic stuff. Of Mary. Of popes and princes. Of these incense-tainted, saintward prayers. Of the overreliance on the heritage that traces back to St. Peter (though of course we would never have called him St. Peter). At one point, our guide said, “Upon this rock, I build my church blah blah blah.” She meant no disrespect. Yet it was one of the funniest, most unwittingly perfect things she has said, pithily capturing our sometimes-cavalier attitude toward this church and, for some of us, institutional religion more broadly.
Likely the oldest Jewish prayer book ever found. Photo courtesy RNS/Green Scholars Initiative
Evangelical businessman Steve Green on Thursday unveiled what he called “the oldest Jewish prayer book ever found” and will add it to the collection of religious artifacts that will form the core of the Bible museum he is building in Washington, D.C.
The artifact, dating from 840 A.D., is written in Hebrew on parchment and shows Babylonian vowel marks. Green said it was purchased less than a year ago from a private collection and is of Middle Eastern origin. But he declined to name the seller or how much he paid for it.
Illumination from a medieval Bible at The Cloisters museum in New York City. Photo by Cathleen Falsani/Sojourners.
Planners of a Bible museum in Washington, D.C., closed a $50 million deal late last week on a building two blocks from the National Mall.
The Museum of the Bible, a nonprofit group planning the, as yet, unnamed museum, announced it will be housed at 300 D Street, SW, in what is now the Washington Design Center, a series of showrooms of luxury home furnishings.
“Our intent is for this museum to showcase both the Old and New Testaments, arguably the world’s most significant pieces of literature, through a non-sectarian, scholarly approach that makes the history, scholarship and impact of the Bible on virtually every facet of society accessible to everyone,” said Mark DeMoss, a member of the Bible museum's board.