An original, first printing of the King James Bible will be featured at Southside Church on April 13th as part of a museum exhibit showing the history of the Bible. Called, “The Great He Bible,” it is a true first edition of the best-selling book, of all time.
Numerous other ancient and rare, authentic biblical artifacts will be shown in the exhibit, entitled, “God Has Protected His Word.” An actual page from the first book printed with movable type, the 1450 Gutenberg Bible, will be on view. Manuscripts in Hebrew, Greek, Ethiopic and Latin, including, early Christian papyrus (A.D. 250-450), and a complete Jewish Torah will be available for examination.
“Steps in the story,” leaves from the actual biblical publications by the reformers, Martin Luther, William Tyndale, John Rogers, Miles Coverdale and John Calvin will be exhibited as well as leaves from the first Bibles produced by the English Catholic exiles at Rheims and Douay.
“Often, scholars do not know the basic story of how we got the Bible,”
said exhibit curator, Dr. F.J. (Rusty) Maisel. “But, seeing it here, laid out and explained as a simple narrative, has helped many people to gain a better understanding of the book they have been reading for years. They say, what they’ve learned also helps them respond when friends ask about the Scriptures.”
There will also be a printing demonstration on a full size working replica of the Gutenberg press (pictured top left).
Maisel is a recognized authority on the authentication of rare Bibles and says that for most of his life he has had questions about “The Book.” His search for answers has led to over twenty-five years of studying and collecting original documents throughout America, Europe and Israel. He states, “The Bible, itself, tells us that God will preserve his Word. To say, I believe that, is still an expression of faith. But the years I’ve experienced, investigating that subject, have only strengthened my belief in the validity of the Scriptural texts.”
Portions of the display will be available Sunday, April 13th at 9:15 AM as Maisel will bring the 1st presentation, “How the Bible Changed the World: The Manuscript Tradition and the Copyists”. His 2nd presentation, “How the Bible Changed the World: It’s the Bible Trustworthy?” will be during the worship hour at 10:45 AM.
The complete display will be open to the public on April 13th. Dr. Maisel, the exhibit curator, will be there to answer questions from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, and will give a presentation about the documents, at 6:00 PM, “How the Bible Changed the World: English Translations”.
The display will also be available at no cost for public viewing on Monday, April 14th from 10:30-4:00 PM; groups of ten or more by appointment only.
To make a group appointment or further information, please contact Southside Church by calling 325-646-0844.
Below is a photo of some of the original documents collected from America, Europe and Israel that are featured in the exhibit.
