Heavenly TreasuresST. PETERSBURG - Goodbye, John, Paul, George and Ringo. It's time to make room for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
After a three-month run of "The Beatles! Backstage and Behind the Scenes," Florida International Museum in St. Petersburg is switching gears.
"Ink and Blood: Sacred Treasures of the Bible" made its world tour premiere at the museum Friday. It runs through May 14.
My prediction is this exhibit, with an estimated worth of about
$15 million to $20 million, if you can even put a price on items so rare, will score high on the "wow" scale. It has something for everybody: history, art, science, archaeology and theology.
Among the more than 100 artifacts, manuscripts and Bibles on display are the third oldest Hebrew manuscript in existence from 7 B.C.; pages from the famous Gutenberg Bible that are more than 500 years old; first editions of the King James Bible from 1611; a 600-year-old Torah scroll; a 15th century collection of St. Jerome's letters; and the first English Bible printed in America.
Visitors also will get to see four fragments of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, considered the greatest archaeological discoveries of the past century by most scholars. There is even a working replica of the Gutenberg printing press.
It's a fascinating 5,000-year walk though time, but the most compelling thing about this comprehensive exhibit is the 44-year-old man behind it.
The founder and curator of "Ink and Blood" is William Noah (hold the ark jokes, please). This is just something he does in his spare time. He's a physician specializing in pulmonary and critical care and sleep disorders in the Nashville, Tenn., area. He's married to a fellow doctor and is the father of three girls. They live on a farm in Pleasant View, Tenn., where they raise beef cattle and American quarter horses.
He also writes historical and theological books on the Bible, produces documentaries and is a popular speaker at conferences.
"As a critical-care doctor, I'm pretty aggressive when it comes to getting answers and tracking down stuff. 'No' and 'slow' don't work with me," he admits with a laugh during a telephone interview.
Noah was raised Methodist, although he was not really involved in the church until college. His faith psyche became interested in what the Bible had to say; his science side wanted to know about its history.
"Here's this book of ancient writings that has had more influence than any other in our history," he says. "And yet, little is taught in the churches or schools about the academic angle on how it was developed. This became somewhat of an obsession for me."
That might be putting it mildly.
Several years ago, Noah began scouring the world for biblical artifacts and texts.
"My daughters all saw the pyramids before they were 10," he says. "They've been to Rome, Israel, England, you name it. It's been a great educational experience for the whole family."
Although Noah acquired some of his treasures along the way, his main objective was to find out how much was out there - and whether collectors would be interested in lending their pieces to an exhibit.
By 2003, he had arranged a small show in Murfreesboro, Tenn., outside Nashville. The reaction of the estimated 30,000 visitors was so positive, he decided to take the next step.
The result was an early incarnation of "Ink and Blood," which opened in Knoxville, Tenn., last winter. It included Greek, Latin and Hebrew manuscripts, biblical antiquities and rare Reformation Bibles from around the world. To educate the lay person in the historical development, Noah included commentary from some of the world's most renowned scholars. The show moved to Lexington, Ky., last summer.
In all, about 100,000 people saw the three previous versions of the collection. We all know that religious subjects tend to be controversial, meeting little agreement in the general marketplace. But because the exhibit delves into the material and not the message, "we got no significant complaints," Noah reports.
"What I learned is that other people have this same hunger I had to learn about the history of the Bible," Noah says. "We got some investors for the project because backers felt it was so unique and worthwhile. And the collectors got very excited about being part of this first-ever comprehensive exhibit."
The current version of "Ink and Blood" is more polished and includes short video documentaries written and produced by Noah.
He also wrote, produced and hosted a four-hour video series on the origins of the Bible, which included world-renowned scholars. One volume of the documentary, "William Tyndale: His Life, His Legacy," won the Gold Special Jury Award at the International Film Festival, Worldfest 2004. (Tyndale was a 16th century priest whose translations of the Bible found their way into the King James Version.)
As curator of the Florida International Museum, Cynthia Duval is excited about her venue being the first stop on this collection's tour.
"The Bible is a popular subject that everyone understands. That doesn't mean you have to believe in it, but you can respect its historical significance," she says. "It contains the most powerful and beautiful literature in the world, and it has survived the test of time. And this collection brings so many of those rare texts from thousands of years ago to one setting."
Noah does not hesitate when asked to pick his favorite piece among artifacts and manuscripts: the Gospel of John fragment from the third century. In scholarly circles, this "Oxyrinchus Papyrus" is known as P39 and is one of the earliest witnesses in existence to any portion of the New Testament.
Make a date to get to the museum in the next few months. This is something that should not be missed, whether you view the Bible as God's word or historical literature.
Ink and Blood: Secret
Treasures of the Bible
WHEN: Through May 14; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Florida International Museum, 244 Second Ave. N., St. Petersburg
ADMISSION: $16 (add $5 for audio tour); $14 age 62 and older and military, $9 ages 7 to 18 and students; free for age 6 and younger
INFORMATION: (727) 341-7904; www.floridamuseum.org