Baptist Press Archive

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

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  • Dead Sea Scrolls, Bible history brought to life in seminary exhibit
    by Sharayah Colter, posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (12 years ago)

    FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Type "Dead Sea Scrolls" into the search bar and Google presents 29 pages of images related to the ancient documents. Stick the 1998 animated film "The Prince of Egypt" into the DVD player and DreamWorks presents its rendition of Bible times in the Near East.

    In The Exhibit:

    -- Murals of Dead Sea region

    -- Artifacts such as coins, pottery and sandals

    -- Replica Wailing Wall

    -- Authentic Bedouin tent

    -- Tent from Qumran dig site

    -- Scroll stylus and ink well

    -- Replica of Cave 4

    -- Dead Sea Scroll fragments and other manuscripts

    -- Dead Sea Scrolls film

    -- iScroll kiosks

    -- Portion of St. John's Bible

    -- Early Bibles and texts

    -- Gift shop

    -- Interactive dig site

    For many Christians, the eastern lands where God spoke to Abraham, where God led the Israelites to freedom, and where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again may just as well exist only in the events' respective time periods. Hindered by vacation time, finances, or other responsibilities, millions of people cannot visit the desert surrounding the Dead Sea. For some, Google and DreamWorks may offer the closest access they may ever have to the lands the patriarchs crisscrossed by sandaled foot.

    Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary hopes to change that reality and give more people than ever a chance to see manuscripts that reveal the faithful transmission of the biblical texts over thousands of years through its Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition, which will run from July 2012 to January 2013.

    Organizers expect to see more than 400,000 people visit the exhibit during its six-month run at the seminary's MacGorman Chapel and Performing Arts Center.

    Weston Fields, guest curator for the Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition and executive director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, said that while the ancient scroll fragments do not "prove" the Bible is true, they prove, more or less, that the Bible Christians use today, including 66 books from Genesis to Revelation, is the Bible God intended Christians to have, even thousands of years after He first inspired its writing.

    "What I try to get people to understand is, there is a prior question to the 'Is the Bible true?' question, and that is, 'Is what we have the Bible?'" Fields said. ... Read More

  • Why the Dead Sea Scrolls matter
    by Benjamin Hawkins, posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (12 years ago)

    FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- When a Bedouin shepherd discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel in the 1940s, few people immediately understood their importance. After taking the scrolls back to his camp, this shepherd left one of them on the ground to be torn apart by children, while one person reportedly used another scroll fragment to wipe a baby's bottom. Read More

  • Scrolls' accidental discovery adds to intrigue
    by Keith Collier, posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (12 years ago)

    Photo courtesy of SWBTS
    FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- While searching for a stray goat in January 1947, a Bedouin goat herder stumbled upon the discovery of a lifetime. The story goes that as he was throwing rocks into a cave, he heard the sound of breaking pottery. He brought his father and brother, and the three entered the cave. Tucked away in this rocky fissure overlooking the Dead Sea near Qumran in Israel, they unearthed jars containing several scrolls. Read More

  • SBC entities issue 1st report on ethnic diversity
    by Diana Chandler, posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Southern Baptist Convention entities have issued their first reports in response to historic measures adopted a year ago to improve accountability in the inclusion of ethnic minorities in SBC life. Read More

  • Israeli tourism ministry honors 3 SBC leaders
    by Joni B. Hannigan, posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Three Southern Baptist leaders were recognized by the Israel Ministry of Tourism with a Faithful Ambassador Award June 18 for their support of Christian tourism.

    Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, was honored at a "Celebrate Israel" breakfast, along with Jack Graham, senior pastor of the Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church; and O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone Financial Resources.

    Page, in prayer, thanked God th... Read More

  • God-given femininity: Value it, Kassian says
    by Shannon Baker, posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- A sold-out crowd of 1,800 ministers' wives heard Mary Kassian speak on "The Hidden Person of the Heart," drawing from 1 Peter 3, at their luncheon during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in New Orleans.

    Kassian, a women's studies professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a national speaker for "True Women" conferences, admitted that 1 Peter 3, where wives are instructed to quietly submit to their husbands, was not her favorite part of Scriptu... Read More

  • Mary Cox honored by ministers' wives
    by Shannon Baker, posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Mary Cox, who has served alongside her husband, Frank Cox, pastor of North Metro First Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Ga., for the past 30 years, was honored with the 2012 Willie Turner Dawson Award during the Ministers' Wives Luncheon at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans.

    Cox also has served since 2004 as ministers' wives consultant for the Georgia Baptist Convention, supporting ministers' wives through regular contact and an annual retreat... Read More

  • IMB, NAMB presidents address DOMs' queries
    by Frank Michael McCormack, posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS -- The Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Directors of Missions held its annual meeting at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary June 17-18. Nearly 225 associational leaders attended the SBCADOM sessions in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 19-20 in New Orleans.

    Day one of the conference was highlighted by interviews with International Mission Board President Tom Elliff and North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell.

    D... Read More

  • Evangelists underscore 'power of God'
    by Emily Grooms & Vicky Kaniaru, posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Two former presidents and the new president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists focused on "The Gospel: The Power of God Unto Salvation" during the group's Sunday morning worship June 17 in New Orleans prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting.

    Braxton Hunter expressed impatience with division over the sinner's prayer; Keith Fordham said "Christ's blood" is what's needed for "what's wrong with the Southern Baptist Convention;" and the group's ... Read More