Gilded Bible Mixes Modern, Ancient
Illuminated Work Includes Twin Towers Reference

OMAHA, Neb. -- An illuminating exhibit got a big welcome to Omaha over the weekend.
The St. John's Bible is the first handwritten Bible produced since the invention of the printing press 500 years ago. Calligraphers and artists from St. John's University and St. John's Abbey in Minnesota took on the monumental task.

The Bible is making a stop in Omaha, under glass, at the Joslyn Museum. It is an illuminated work that is covered in gilt and calligraphy.

"It's an attempt to take this sacred scripture, this sacred work, and make it accessible to people today," said Director Carol Marrin. the rest


Bible's history tied to advancement of written word
Exhibit at Florida International Museum
By Mitch Stacy
The Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Bible's evolution from ancient Hebrew to modern languages and from clay tablets to printed books is a rich lesson in the history of civilizations, the origins of the written word and the revolution of printing.

The story of how the text of the Bible has been written and disseminated over the centuries is recounted in a new exhibition at the Florida International Museum that boasts artifacts as rare and priceless as they come, among them bits of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a fragment of the Gospel of John dating to about 250 A.D., a 1455 Gutenberg Bible and a first edition of the King James version from 1611.

The exhibit's founder and chief curator, William H. Noah, isn't a biblical scholar but a pulmonary physician who lives near Nashville, Tenn. He said a personal interest in the history of the sacred text led him to study it and assemble a collection that opened in Tennessee a year ago called "Ink & Blood: Dead Sea Scrolls to the English Bible." The rest