An Invitation To Engage With The History, Impact, and Narrative Of The Bible

Donning as you walk in the one thing I think your jaw will drop and we hope this is family policy's focus on faith tradition. Thomas Grant passed each director for NC family join us once a month is pastor Graham shine some light on the intersection between our Christian faith and engaging our culture. Thank you for joining us for this week.

Special focus will exciting to talk about a national treasure. We have so close to us and what I'm speaking of course about the Museum of the Bible. Just this past November after nearly 10 years of work and prayer before hundred and 30,000 square-foot museum dedicated to inviting all people to engage with the Bible open just three blocks of the United States capital in Washington DC we have with us today. Mr. Jeremy Burton is the director of communication for the Museum of the Bible and he will be speaking with us in taking some questions and giving us an insiders view of what you can expect as a visitor when you visit the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, Jeremy Burton. Welcome to family policy matters. It's great to have you on the shows are great to be here right to tell you that great things happen and what wonderful Jeremy Tillis. First of all how the idea of a museum exclusively dedicated to the Bible came to be, who had the idea. What was the logistical process to make this a reality in how long has it been in the works is 10 years actually little less than that star founder and board chair is a gentleman named Steve Green is the president Hobby lobby in Oklahoma City and they had they had purchased the biblical artifact and and they had opportunities to buy some more things and eventually they idea of you. Not that they didn't want those to just sit in the closet.

They want the world to be able to see see these rare creditors. So the idea of Museum of the Bible came about was 2010. We actually incorporated as a nonprofit.

I'm sure you could say it's about five years, a five-year process for exhibit design in purchasing the proper property on doing the renovation and actually start building just two blocks south of the national mall about three blocks south of the US capital. I'm really an outstanding location and I'm just beginning idea on the ECM years is actually pretty quick. New national Museum of African-American history and culture that just opened and I believe is in 2016 and it took it with a 10 year process to get that Museum online so five years for Museum of this size is pretty is pretty amazing. So it's 430,000 ft.² dedicated to the history, narrative and impact of the Bible. The Museum itself cost about $500 billion for the construction getting it all up to speed, and ready to open for the public to give you an idea on size 430,000 ft.² is about the size of the air and space Museum is the reason behind choosing the location is close to the capital right in the heart of Washington DC was that delivered or was that just something that came along and and and made possible a wonderful opportunity. We studied where we would get the most visitors to the museum like this and they were there looking at a number of location and the data came back pretty strong that the best place would be in Washington DC and then we were just fortunate to get this location that was so close to the national mall really where we are is you if you know Washington DC that area. Washington DC is where all the museums are it really is just a fantastic location will really really blessed.

All Jeremy what kind of experience can visitors expect to have when they come it. It's just stunning as you walk, and I think that's the one thing I think your jaw will drop all but that's what we hope this visitors can you walk and to the front of the Museum and Art. 240 foot bronze panels on the left and right side, the Gutenberg dates and they look like Latin Gutenberg printing press plates and it's Genesis 1 to 32. When you're walking into a stained glass piece that's one of the oldest known fragments of Psalm 19 from the Greeks, you're literally walking into the Bible. And as you get into the lobby. The first thing you're going to see is our hundred and 40 foot digital canvas one big screen and there's all the biblical markets rolling on as you go through and it's just it's a great experience.

It's really a lot of stuff is hands-on. We use technology in such a way where you really get immersed in what's going on so I think you know visitors just love going through it. We have so much stuff that you can come multiple days in and not be bored. Yes I was going to ask about what would typically require a visitor if you wanted to get the full scope of everything that's available in the Museum with a date be adequate or would be better to break than to say one, two or three days. You definitely want multiple days there. You know it depends on your family.

A lot of people and you can see maybe they got half day to go do it and you know you can get a lot in 3 to 4 hours, but if you're in DC for multiple days I would try and headed headed a couple different times and again depending on your what you like the word is where you get our kids love love to be while they like right like amusement parks as a family and so we have a riot inside of the Museum so that was important to them and we could link if it gets really cool like your flight around Washington DC seeing where the Bible plain sight of God gives it outstanding yeah yeah that's it sounds amazing. Jeremy may not be a Christian or interested at all in the Bible, what might you have offered those individuals if they haven't been listening today to this program about coming to the museum, I guess maybe the question is simply why should someone who is not a Christian or not interested in the Bible. Why should they visit the museum we actually built this Museum with that idea in mind this is not a dog is not a Christian is not Catholic Museum at the Museum on the history and impact of vital and so that anyone of any faith can walk in and feel comfortable in the museum unit we just take you through what history is saying about about the Bible we don't ever say should believe this or that we don't we don't force that on anyone but we do talk about our other Bible been translated and transmitted over the years, and then what kind of impact it's had and we walk through, the main story so people can just understand so we loved love this approach and I'll tell you we've had people in the doors and someone just mentioned the other day they they were to grant you a person that they were and they I thought I saw a guy the other day that was obviously welcome all those people and it is not a threatening environment at the end of the day are visitors get to choose what they took away from their experience. You're listening to a resource to listen to our radio show online resources have a place of persuasion in your community website, alleging Jeremy outside of the permanent exhibits. What other programs or opportunities does the museum offer when you have a number of temporary exhibits that people can go through the wheat we have it. We had a few now and that will change out every X months to a year will have new ones that come in.

I we do have. This is a semipermanent space with the Israel antiquities Authority in neighboring things and out and it's really a neat. It's a neat place their bringing treasures from Israel that have not been seen by the public into our space. Next, that's really a neat neat experience.

We have are. We do have a number of lectures that people can go to and does better, those are always ongoing and check our website. Another one is we have a theater performing arts. I wheat this is not running now but it actually the first three months we had amazing Grace Broadway musicals. There is a lot of Bible ties with that. So we constantly have things in fear that people can connect with all great, great, well I should let you know little secret Jeremy, I actually visited the museum back in early December intact. We had a group of about 50 or so people leave the Raleigh area come from North Carolina and go to Washington DC and we took a small portion of the day to come and visit your wonderful museum there at night. I would've loved to have spent more time that goes partly debited to baby book a hotel room just so I could stay over. It was just great. But two things really leap out at me, which was all that I really had time to see that was the village of Nazareth with the olive trees. I was just taken back by how stunningly real it all felt to be in that part of that exhibit could you comment on that for just a moment of reality. Let the world of Jesus of Nazareth is a special place a lot of people that wipe character that are showcasing what it would been like to be in first century Nazareth.

Yes I'm that area was created by a guy named Jonathan Martin is actually out of Nashville and it all looks real but it is all handmade and it is.

It is amazing what that gentleman was able to do their 14,000 hand-painted rocks while to make it look like a working Nazareth village on those trees that you referred to the steps we had all these columns inside of the museum is like what you call what this artist did was that working to make amends all of the net. Actually those trees are modeled out after rubbing trees that are in the garden of Gethsemane Germany. That's amazing. Well, I was very touched when I walked to that village setting. I was just very moved by looking around and see thinking that this was a replica of the place that our Savior was born into this world and lived and ministered in shares and gave his life so well to so many. I was just very moved by that. The other thing that I was blessed by was the Gutenberg printing press.

I don't know what floor that was on, but I do remember walking you see that pretty press and just marveling at the technology and how all that was produced and created hundreds of years ago and of course the greatest book ever ever produced the Bible came off of that press and I was just so touched by all of that and that one's on the impact floor so that we have this area where we talk about the impact of the Bible in America and the impact of vital world and the Gutenberg press as it is a great example of how technology really was progressed because of the Bible. The Gutenberg press was really first invented to print the Bible and in mass numbers and so the Bible has been at the forefront of technology community used at scrolls and then they went from scrolls to pick academic word as they went to a Codex which we all know is a book to this codex format and they went to good bread press which is our growth arguably one of the greatest inventions in human history.

And now working technology that you can look at the Bible on your phone at any point in time. It actually is ironic that we started with scrolls now work to scrolling our yes that's well put. That's will put your insider logistical tips for listeners who may be planning a visit to the Museum of the Bible anytime soon. I'm just at plant.

Plan your trip well in advance. It's good to get hotel really early on Washington DC stay in the city. It's the way to go. I believe it cost a little more sexy if you plan five bank you can get well for the museum, you can actually book trying to entry online seeking a stricter website. You can say this of the dam accounts at the time I come in and see what our availability is like that when you can check out any shows that are going on so if you have people listening that would want to bring a group. A group is a great way to go because you can get in before the general public that ice also if you become a member of Museum of the Bible you get to get an early as well.

So some people look at it go for their family may be worth getting in membership so they can get in early and spend as much time as you mentioned the website. So in response to my last question here where can I listeners go to learn more about the Museum of the Bible. I bet you really give us a web address urgent Diane. I am Museum of the Bible.org is the central hub of information and information on all of our lectures, all shows of the theater information on membership time as you can all get there. I also encourage people if you're interested in the Bible and want to learn something every day on our Facebook, twitter and Instagram accounts have that information every day.

We got some some really great resources for families who just want to learn more about wonderful that's great news and listen. I can't thank you enough for being with us on family policy matters to them, afraid our time is running out. God bless you and God bless everybody that's associated with that fantastic gift that offering of the museum to the people of this nation and the world.

Thank you very much. We hope to see all of you and what you very sick. You've been listening to family policy matters focus on addition production family to listen to a radio show online, and for more resources and information about issues important to families in North Carolina go to our website and see family.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook