Holman QuickSource Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls Now Available

MILW - Just published this month, The Holman QuickSource Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls provides one of the best overviews of the Dead sea Scrolls and their relative importance for Christianity from Craig A. Evans, Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament and director of the graduate program at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. A widely recognized expert on the Bible and Archaeology, and Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Evans also authored Jesus, the Final Days (with N. T. Wright) and Fabricating Jesus and is regular guest on Dateline NBC.

Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible Lecture Series at Milwaukee Public Museum

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Public Museum has announced a series of educational lectures on the Dead Sea Scrolls which will run from now through June 3, 2010.

 Feb 18 5:30 & 7:30 PM Shalom Paul, PhD

Chair of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation and Professor Emeritus/Bible Dept at Hebrew University – Birth of Christianity

Mar 4 7:30 PM Lawrence H Schiffman, PhD

Edelman Professor of Hebrew 7 Judaic Studies at New York University – Israel at the Time of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Mar 18 7:30 PM Jodi Magness, PhD

Kenan Distinguished Professor in the Dept of Religious Studies at University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill – Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Mar 25 7:30 PM Martin G Abegg, PhD

Co director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute and Ben Zion Professor of Dead Sea Scrolls Studies at Trinity Western University – The Stories of the Milwaukee Public Museum Dead Sea Scrolls

Apr 15 7:30 PM Wesley Williams, PhD of the Michigan State University – God among the gods: Divine Plurality in the Quran and in the Light of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Mythic Tradition

Apr 29 7:30 PM Brent Sandy, PhD

Chair & Professor of Biblical Studies at Grace College – In Search of the Holy Grail: How much difference would it make if we found the original handwritten copies of the New Testament?

May 6 7:30 PM Andrew Teeter, PhD

Asst Professor of Hebrew/Old Testament at Harvard Divinity School – The Scriptures and their interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls

May 27 5:30 & 7:30 PM Emanual Tov, PhD

Mahnes Professor of Bible at Hebrew University – The Scribes of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Jun 3 7:30 PM Deirdre A Dempsey, PhD

Assoc Professor in the Theology Dept at Marquette University

For tickets or more information contact the Milwaukee Public Museum at 414.278.2728.

DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND THE BIBLE EXHIBITION TEACHER GUIDE

Teachers of archeology, history, language, religion, art, anthropology and other various subjects will find Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible an excellent supplement to their curriculum. The link is http://www.mpm.edu

POETRY COMPETITION

The Museum is hosting the American Institute for Archaeology(AIA)-Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) Archaeology Fair on March 5 and 6, 2010 MPM and is sponsoring a poetry competition for Wisconsin elementary and high school students from grades 3 through 12. This program will encourage creative expression and the development of written language skills while providing teachers with a context within which to meet the WMAS for English Language Arts. (B4.1, 4.2, B8.1, 8.2; B12.1, 12.2.)

Theme: Archaeology: the study of past human life and culture through the things—pottery, tools, mummies, buildings and tombs, among others—that people leave behind.

 Deadline: February 16, 2010 (see http://www.mpm.edu/education/special/poetry-competition for more submission details)

 Who is eligible: The competition is open to all Wisconsin students in the following three grade categories: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12.

 Criteria: Entries will be judged on creativity, originality, imagery, artistic quality, and sense of poetic expression.

 Poetry reading at the Museum: The winners will be invited to read their poems at the Museum during the AIA fair on Saturday, March 6, 2010.

Biblical Archaeology: First century house discovered in Nazareth

TEL AVIV – The remains of a small house that can be dated back to the time of Jesus have been found in the past days during excavation works in progress in Nazareth, guided by a team of Israeli archaeologists.

According to the scientists, this is the first house from that era ever uncovered.

The find was announced by professor Yardenna Alexandre, who leads the project on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Alexandre said that the remains have been dated back, with a small margin of error, to around 2000 years ago.

”The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth. It sheds light on common life (in Palestine) in that era”, underlines Alexandre in a press meeting. ”The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period,” the archaeologist added, suggesting that ”Jesus and his childhood friends may have known this house”.

Alexandre pointed out that according to the little written evidence available, including the Gospel, Nazareth at the time was a small Jewish village, which seems to be confirmed by the recent find.

”Until now” she specified, ”a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth, however no settlement remains had been discovered that were attributed to this period”.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority has started some excavation projects in Nazareth close to the Church of the Annunciation, built in 1969 on the remains of three older churches, including one in Byzantine style that dates back to the fourth century AD.

(Source: ANSAmed)

Ten Most Important and Exciting Excavations in Biblical Archaeology Today – presentation by Gordon Govier

The Milwaukee Area Biblical Archaeological Society is pleased to present “The Ten Most Important and Exciting Excavations in Biblical Archaeology Today,” a presentation by Gordon Govier who serves as the biblical archaeology correspondent for Christianity Today, editor of ARTIFAX magazine, and host/producer of the weekly radio program, The Book & the Spade.

 This free lecture will be held at the Wisconsin Lutheran College Science Hall, Room S034 on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 7:30PM.

UW Dept of Hebrew & Semitic Studies announces 2 upcoming lectures

Two lectures will be offered on the campus of UW-Madison by the Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies through the generosity of family and friends of Sanford J. Ettinger to honor his memory.  One lecture is on rehbitating endangered species in the Holy Land; the second on mantic wisdom.  Contact Chris Dargis, Department of Hebrew & Semitic Studies, phone #608-262-3204,  email:  cadargis@wisc.edu
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The first lecture will be Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., Madison Sanford J. Ettinger Lecture, part of the Jewish Heritage Lecture Series “Reintroduction of Endangered and Extinct Animal and Bird Species to Israel”

The speaker will be Avinoam Lourie, “Israel CSI”, Director of Wild Animal Protection for the Israel Nature Reserve Authority (retired) and Director of Haifa Zoological Garden and Center for Biology Education (retired).   Lourie translated his love of animals into degrees in Marine Biology and Zoology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, followed by research on fish in the Mediterranean that had migrated from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal; heading up Haifa Zoo (also a regional center for continuing education for teachers to widen their horizons for biolgoy) for ten years; then he worked with the Israel Nature Authority for nearly 25 years to save and bring back near-extinct and endangered animals that once thrived in the Holy Land, before retiring in 2005.

The second lecture will be Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in 2080 Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave., Madison Free Public Lecture “The Mantic Sage in the Bible and the Ancient Near East: Did the Sages Tell the Future?”

The speaker will be Leo Perdue, Professor of Hebrew Bible, Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University.  An historian and theologian, Leo G. Perdue is Professor of Hebrew Bible, Brite Divinity School, where he taught for twenty years. Receiving his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt, he also has participated in seminars at the University of Chicago, Claremont School of Theology, and Yale. He has served as a visiting professor in several other universities and divinity schools. These include Gottingen, Heidelberg, Stellenbosch, Cambridge, and Chinese University Hong Kong. In addition to composing some 150 essays and reviews, Professor Perdue has written and/or edited over thirty books.

Lecture Topic #1:  Animal reintroduction is a very complicated process, including many considerations, such as which animals to reintroduce, do viable food and water sources exist; are the places protected from predators; is there a possibility for the animals to expand to other parts of the country; is there enough genetic variability; and what happens when wild animals come into contact civilized and agricultural areas? Finding and acquiring the animals and getting them to reproduce is a major part of the story. Some of the animals reintroduced to Israel, like the Mesopotamian Fallow Deear, were nearly extinct in the world; some animals, like the Arabian Oryx, only found in Arab countries were not easily available; starting and maintaining breeding nuclei is a highly critical phase of reintroduction; some animals can be released directly; others have to be gradually adjusted to their surroundings.

Lecture Topic #2:  Gerhard von Rad developed the thesis that apocalyptic developed out of Wisdom as a result of its failure to sustain its world view gounded in retribution. While endorsing his teacher’s thesis,  Hans-Peter Müller (cf. James VanderKam) added that apocalyptic emerged from a particular form of Wisdom, i.e. mantic wisdom, as well as prophecy and was influenced by ancient Near Eastern texts. This lecture seeks to modify those interpretations. It contends that Wisdom does not cease to express its vibrancy and variety as it is transformed into apocalyptic, sectarian, rabbinic, and early Christian texts. It continued as a creative and instructive tradition well into Tannaitic and Amoraic Judaism. Certainly this type of wisdom contributed to the rise of later apocalyptic communities and their texts, but so did other rich resources of different types of wisdom: tradional instruction and proverbs providing guidance for everyday life, Torah and halakhah, liturgy.

Cancellation of Darwin film creates uproar

CALF — Coined “The Darwin Debates: A Forum for Dialogue,” the nonprofit American Freedom Alliance had planned to premier a new Illustra Media documentary, “Darwin’s Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Explosion,” at the California Science Center on Oct. 25.  The  center has since canceled the event.

The Los Angeles-based alliance describes itself as a “nonpolitical, nonpartisan, movement of concerned Americans which identifies threats to western civilization.” Those threats, according to the group include “the Islamic penetration of Europe” and “the growth of radical environmentalism.”

California Science Center president Jeff Rudolph said last Thursday (Oct 8, 2009)  the premiere was canceled “because of issues related to the contract.” Rudolph declined to elaborate on those issues.

“We don’t discuss contract issues in public,” Rudolph said.

Alliance president Avi Davis said the cancellation had nothing to do with contract issues, but rather a press release touting the film issued a few days ago by the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based “intelligent design” think tank.

The institute’s release announced that some of its fellows were featured in the film to be screened at a location they described as the “Smithsonian Institution’s west coast affiliate.”

John West, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, said he understands officials at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History pressured the CSC to cancel the film.

“I think this is an outrageous example of censorship and ideological discrimination,” West said. “The thing about a contractual dispute is just a pretext and it’s bogus. This really should be disturbing to anyone who believes in free speech.”

But Smithsonian spokesman Randal Kremer denied that his organization pressured the CSC to cancel the film.

“It’s nothing we would get involved in,” Kremer said.

However, Kremer said he saw the press release a few days ago and was concerned by its reference to the Smithsonian. He pointed out the CSC is just one of more than 160 Smithsonian affiliates nationwide, adding the CSC is not a branch of the Smithsonian, but “they work with us occasionally on their programs.”

“The only reason I spoke with anyone at the California Science Center is I was concerned by the inference (in the press release that) there was a showing of the film at a Smithsonian branch, which is how the California Science Center was portrayed in the news release,” Kremer said. “Of course, that is not the case. They are independent and any decisions they make on this are on their own.”

As a result of the dust-up, Davis said he’s considering showing the film at another venue. But he said the rest of the events are scheduled to go forward as planned.

Those include a debate on Nov. 30 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills between Discovery Institute official Stephen Meyer and Biologic Institute investigator Richard Sternberg and The Skeptics Society President Michael Shermer and paleontologist Don Prothero.

Darwin’s book “On the Origin of Species,” a foundation of the scientific theory of evolution, was first published in November 1859.

“Intelligent design” is a more modern, controversial theory that proposes to add a role for religion in evolution by attributing diversity in nature to divine causes.

Milwaukee Public Museum details 2010 Dead Sea Scrolls/Bible exhibit

MILWAUKEE — On January 22, 2010, the Milwaukee Public Museum will open Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures. The exhibition—created and produced by the Museum—includes authentic Dead Sea Scrolls, illustrated manuscripts, artifacts, landscape and aerial photography, and interactive displays about science, discovery and exploration.

Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures brings together archaeological objects and manuscripts to tell a story 2,000 years in the making. Visitors will witness actual Dead Sea Scrolls and other early biblical artifacts.

Featuring more than 160 artifacts in total, and spanning more than 16,000 square feet of exhibition space, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible is the largest temporary exhibit ever produced by the Milwaukee Public Museum. 

Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible explores the archaeological history of the Holy Land during the period the Scrolls were written, from the third century BCE through the first century CE. The exhibit also tracks the discovery of the first Scrolls in the 1940s, the realization of their extraordinary significance and subsequent excavation.

Actual Dead Sea Scrolls, including a fragment of the unique Copper Scroll, will be exhibited alongside the only known scroll-type manuscript on stone, the recently discovered Jeselsohn Stone – “Gabriel’s Revelation,” and a full-size reproduction of the 23-foot long Great Isaiah Scroll, one of the earliest and most complete scrolls found.

 In addition to examples of Dead Sea Scrolls, several of which contain the oldest known texts of the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament), the exhibit features papyri, found in Egypt, containing early Greek translations of the New Testament. Also featured are pages from rare handcopied medieval Bibles, including the oldest existing version of the Hebrew Masoretic Text, as well as early printed and modern Bibles.

 Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible also includes photographs, videos and children’s interactive stations, as well as architectural reconstructions evoking the Holy Land, and ends with a local connection to the area through one-time Milwaukee resident and former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir.

Materials in Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible are on loan from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, the Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church for the Eastern USA, Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn of Zurich, the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France,  Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, MN and the University of Michigan Library at Ann Arbor, as well as local institutions. Dr. Weston Fields, director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, assisted in development of Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible, along with the San Diego Museum of Natural History and other partner institutions.

Dead Sea Scroll and the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures was made possible by the generous support of  The Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation, Daniel M. Soref Trust, Melitta S. Pick Charitable Trust,  Helen Bader Foundation, Inc., Mae E. Demmer Charitable Trust, Yellowbook,  Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation, Evan and Marion, Helfaer Foundation, Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, Wisconsin Department of Tourism.

Tickets may be purchased by phone (414-223-4676) or on-line at www.mpm.edu/dss

Milwaukee Public Museum hosts Dead Sea Scrolls in 2010

 MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) will open Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures in early 2010. The exhibition—created and produced by the Museum—includes authentic Dead Sea Scrolls, illustrated manuscripts, papyri, early biblical artifacts, landscape and aerial photography, and interactive displays about science, discovery and exploration.

Since its restructuring in 2006, the 125 year-old Museum has focused on blockbuster exhibits to generate interest locally and internationally. This exhibit is being developed in conjunction with the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation with which the Museum began negotiations in 2004.

The scrolls were discovered in caves near the Dead Sea in the mid-1900’s, and they have been dated and authenticated to the first century. Recognized as objects of intense scholarship and sources of primary information for archaeologists, historians, Jews and Christians, the Dead Sea Scrolls draw large crowds of people from all backgrounds.

For more information, related articles, links and exhibit updates, stay tuned to the Christian Courier e-Paper at Christian-Courier.com

Paul L. Maier to address Milwaukee Biblical Archaeology Society

Milwaukee –  Renowned historian, author, and Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan, Dr. Paul L. Maier, will be giving a lecture at the Wisconsin Lutheran College in the Fine Arts building, Room FM15 on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at 8:00pm.

Dr.  Maier will be speaking on the topic “History, Judeo-Christianity, and Archaeology”.  He will examine the extra-biblibal evidence of Judaism and Christianity.

Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Center for Arts and Performance is located at 8815 W. Wisconsin Ave in Wauwatosa.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

Angel’s face uncovered at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia

TURKEY — A Turkish official says restoration workers have uncovered the never-before-seen mosaic face of an angel at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, a former Byzantine cathedral.

The cathedral’s Christian mosaics were covered up ito comply with Muslim custom shortly after Constantinople, the former name for Istanbul, fell to the Ottomans in 1453 and the cathedral was turned into a mosque.

Some of the mosaics were revealed after it was turned into a museum in 1935, but the angel image remained covered.

Ahmet Emre Bilgili, the head of culture and tourism affairs for Istanbul, told the Associated Press this week (July 23, 2009) that restoration workers will now work to uncover a second mosaic angel image.
(Source: Associated Press)