The museum in general is more experiential and immersive than might be expected from a study of a religious book. When the NewsHour walked through, the music section was playing Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise,” whose lyrics open with a version of Psalm 23:4: “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”
Seth Pollinger, the museum’s director of content, said they planned to include more Muslim and Mormon perspectives in the museum’s digital material.Ĭultural references, however, abound in the museum, especially on the “impact of the Bible” floor, which traces the Bible’s influence on everything from fashion to the justice system to music. And there are just two references to Islam, in a plaque that says the Bible and Quran do not share any text but contain many references to the same events and people, and in a Hebrew Bible section that includes mention of both Isaac and Ishmael. There is just one reference to Mormonism, for example, via a Latter Day Saints translation of the King James Bible. The museum is not an exploration of different faith traditions the focus is kept on the book itself. Gordon Campbell, a scholar of the King James Bible who is part of the museum’s research arm, told the NewsHour that museum docents had been taught not to say phrases like “Holy Land” or use other language that could be misconstrued to show the museum as being sectarian.Ī plaque at the Museum of the Bible is one of two references to Islam in the museum. The museum’s exhibits do not try to interpret the Bible, as some had feared it would. In addition, there’s a restaurant called Manna, a biblical garden and a 500-seat theater, which will open with the musical “Amazing Grace.” The museum is split up into three sections: the impact of the Bible (on America, on the world), stories of the Bible (including a recreation of Jesus’ Nazareth), and the history of the Bible (from a text that only a few could read to the world’s most read book). It found a staff that acknowledged its problems with biblical artifacts may not be over, and exhibits that may be more controversial not for what it’s included but what’s left out. When the NewsHour toured the museum earlier this week, it found a state-of-the-art museum that stays away from hot topics like abortion or birth control, favors experiential and immersive exhibits, and does not evangelize but will likely ruffle the feathers of some from excluded religious traditions. Now that the museum is finally finished (or close to it), its detractors will finally see whether their concerns are justified, and the nearly 50 percent of Americans who regularly turn to the Bible will have an opportunity to learn more.
People preview the Museum of the Bible ahead of its opening on Nov.
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