VOA慢速英语New Bible Museum Opens in Washington--

 

Washington D.C. is a city full of museums. Visitors have a large choice of places to go to learn about United States history, culture and art.

The latest one to open in Washington is the Museum of the Bible. The 40,000-square-meter building is located near the U.S. Capitol, the National Mall and several Smithsonian museums.

Unlike most major museums in Washington, the $500 million Museum of the Bible was not financed by the government. An American businessman, Steve Green, mostly paid for it. He is the president of Hobby Lobby, a large business that sells arts and crafts.

Green’s idea for the museum came after he privately¹ collected more than 300 Bible-related artifacts. He wanted a way to share these items with the rest of the world in a permanent home.

Green says the goal of the museum is to educate people, not preach to them. “There’s just a basic need for people to read the book,” he told reporters. “We just want to present the facts and let visitors decide.”

Museum officials have said the institution is not intended to represent the views of any particular religious or political group. They noted² that more than 100 scholars representing a variety of groups helped design all exhibits in the museum.

However, some religious scholars have questioned whether the museum provides a balanced view of the Bible and religious history.

Joel Baden is a professor at Yale Divinity School and co-author of the book Bible Nation. He told Reuters the museum leaves out some important history relating to other major world religions.

“They are telling a story of the Bible that is a particularly American Protestant one.” He said little attention was given to Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims and Mormons.

There are also concerns about the museum’s true intentions because of several controversies³ involving Steve Green and Hobby Lobby. Green and his family have been very public in opposing birth control and supporting efforts to include Bible teachings in U.S. public schools.

In 2014, Hobby Lobby won a U.S. Supreme⁴ Court case giving the right to deny workers at family-owned companies health coverage⁵ for birth control.

In July, Hobby Lobby also was ordered to pay a $3 million fine and return artifacts the company bought without knowing the items had been smuggled⁶ out of Iraq. The company admitted it should have taken greater care in doing business with its dealers⁷. Museum officials said none of those items were meant to be put in the Museum of the Bible.

John Fea is head of the history department at Messiah College, a private, Christian⁸ college in the state of Pennsylvania. He said he thinks it will be very difficult for the museum to remain neutral in proving information about the holy book.

“It’s going to be very, very hard to present the Bible in that way," he said. "Because the Bible is always so sort of ensconced, and so connected to a particular religious tradition and their way of interpreting it.”

Visitors enter the museum through a dramatic 12-meter-tall bronze entrance containing writing from the first book of the Bible, Genesis. One museum official said about the design, "when you walk in, you’re really walking into the Bible.”

The writing on the doors came from an early version of the Gutenberg Bible. The Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed in Europe with movable type.

Among the many Bibles shown at the museum is one called the Eliot Indian Bible. The museum says it was the first Bible printed in America in a Native American language.

The Museum collection also includes several first editions of the King James Bible and early versions from Christian Reformation leader Martin Luther.

Also shown are a large collection from the Dead Sea Scrolls⁹, and what the museum describes as the “world's largest collection of Torah scrolls,” covering more than 700 years of history.

In addition, visitors can explore an area on the Bible’s influence on cultures across the world, including education, literature and art. Included in this area are a Bible once owned by Elvis Presley and modern fashion designs inspired by biblical subjects.

There is no cost to visit the museum, but donations are accepted.

I’m Bryan Lynn. And I'm Caty Weaver¹⁰.

Words in This Story

artifact – n. things made by people in the past

innovative¹¹ – adj. using new methods or ideas

engage – v. to do something

preach – v. speak or write about something in an approving way

basic – adj. simple, not including anything extra

exhibit – n. collection of objects placed in one place for people to see or inspect

controversy¹² – n. strong disagreement over something among a large group of people

ensconced – adj. positioned safely or comfortably somewhere

1 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

7 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 scrolls   

n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕

参考例句：

• Either turn it off or only pick up selected stuff like wands, rings and scrolls. 把他关掉然后只捡你需要的物品，像是魔杖(wand)，戒指(rings)和滚动条(scrolls)。 来自互联网
• Ancient scrolls were found in caves by the Dead Sea. 死海旁边的山洞里发现了古代的卷轴。 来自辞典例句

10 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

11 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

12 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。