Museum of the Bible, Part 1

This post begins a series that will take us to the end of the year: my trip to Washington, D.C. to visit my friend (and body double?) Jenny, learn even more about American history, and walk long miles around the nation’s capital. My first stop in Washington was the Museum of the Bible, a massive collection of Bibles and Christian publications on display in a state-of-the-art facility. While marketing towards a Christian audience, the museum does an excellent job of navigating the heterodoxy of the religion, a fancy way of saying that Christians have a wide range of beliefs, some of which conflict with each other. The museum has been open since 2017 and regularly hosts new exhibits, along with collaborating with other organizations. I will preface this three-part review by saying if you are an American Christian, or if you want to better understand the mindset of American Christians, this is the best one-stop source to comprehend the culture.

My initial fear about this museum, before I spent almost eight hours inside it and took over two hundred pictures, was that the place would be hokey. I have been to other Bible museums created by well-meaning church ladies and people of the cloth that consisted of plastic blue-eyed Jesuses and Michael W. Smith played without permission. These museums are fine for church groups and locals, but not the evangelical mission intended by the creators. A sense of this does remain in the exhibits that rely on immersion rather than artifacts. On the third floor, The Hebrew Bible Experience and The New Testament Experience are walk-throughs with timed entry. Jenny and I managed to avoid long lines by being a group of two that could fit into a larger group; large families, homeschool groups, and church groups would have extensive wait times. I appreciated the artistry that went into the creation of these walkthroughs. I was personally not a fan of the film shown near the end of New Testament, which was directed by the creators of The Chosen and took significant liberties with “The Road to Emmaus” found the Gospel of Luke. (For frequent readers, if you think my gripes about LOTR liberties are bad, Bible liberties are worse owing to the element of blasphemy involved.) I had mixed feelings about The World of Jesus of Nazareth, sandwiched between the two walk-throughs, as this was a replica of a Galilean village that seemed part living history and part playground. The costumed actress was talented and knew her script.

Getting past my issues with the third floor, all other parts of the museum were excellent and will be described in greater detail. Jenny had connections to museum insiders (a person with a membership; I’m being dramatic), which allowed us to enter the museum early and freely try out the premium experience Washington Revelations, normally $9.99. The six-minute film was shown in an immersive theater where guests leaned against a padded support instead of sitting. The floor moved as the audience “flew” over a drone shot with a 3D animation version of Washington to show all the places that Bible verses appeared on buildings. At one time, the audience was lightly sprayed with water. I was impressed by the mechanics of the stage and wished a tour of the control room had been available; maybe I need to find someone with extra exclusive membership. The ride itself was heavy on spectacle, a Disneyfication of what might have been a compelling short documentary. My pedantic athlete brain kept telling me that the angles of the platform were not steep enough for the turns I saw on screen; I understand that a thrill ride would not work in a Bible museum, but decreasing the animated angles would have improved the realism.

After the ride, we explored “Bible Now”. This high tech space included a live map for where the popular YouVersion Bible app was being opened around the world. Touchscreens shared stats on favorite Bible verse or theme by country. Nearby was an exhibit of unexpected locations of Bible verses, including books, movies, music, and clothing. This section was highly interactive and did a great job balancing technology with educational value. Moving between sections on this floor, we stopped to admire one of the stained glass windows that decorate every landing. The beautiful designs include traditional depictions of biblical characters with a sign describing the process behind its creation.

At “Bible in the World”, a costumed interpreter worked a Gutenberg press reproduction, the first time I had seen this type of printing press. While historians do not know the exact specifications of the press design, the museum has modeled the pressing mechanism after a grape press. Another exhibit showed how belief in the Bible drove scientist of the past and the present to make discoveries and improve lives. This exhibit tactfully discussed the misconception the religion and science needed to be separate. My favorite sculptures on display were Sir Isaac Newton and George Washington Carver. Between my nerdery and the accuracy of the sculptures, I recognized these famous figures from across the room. Speaking of famous people, the exhibit beside the scientists held the Bibles of powerful leaders, including Elizabeth II and Jimmy Carter. With this section finished, we moved along to “Bible in America”, which told the story of religion and politics influencing each other. I was impressed by the collection of 17^th and 18^th century books in the first section of the exhibit, especially a memoir written by Increase Mather; the first Bible printed in America, which was a translation into an Algonquin language by John Eliot; and an abridged children’s Bible printed in Worcester, MA. At the end of this subsection, we watched a short film about a regular guest to this blog, George Whitefield, who started the First Great Awakening. More about “Bible in the America” will appear on Wednesday with Part 2 of my review.