Passages

We spent this hot three-day-weekend in Oklahoma City. One would wonder about our sanity of trading hot--home--for hotter--there, but there was method in our madness.

Several months ago I read in the Wall Street Journal about an exhibit that would be at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art this summer called Passages. It was a multimedia presentation on the history of the Bible, from early Jewish Torahs and traditions through the modern Bible renditions. There were 30,000 artifacts. Formally, it is known as The Green Collection for the Hobby Lobby-founder family which amassed it and will be the core of an international, non-sectarian museum of the Bible.

Armed with an iPod for commentary, we began our tour at 10 AM on Sunday morning. Three hours later, we found we were skimming because there was just so much! An ideal visit, as I've recommended to a friend who wants to go, is to eat an early lunch at the excellent Museum Cafe, then be prepared to spend 4-5 hours.

Torahs, a piece of the Dead Sea Scroll, ancient texts, Bibles in English predating the King James, a first edition King James, animatronic displays, the opportunity to try your hand at copying texts with real ink and a quill... I don't know where to stop except to say if you've an opportunity to see Passages, you'd be remiss in not doing so.

I'm not sure where the exhibit travels next. If memory serves correctly--and sometimes it does--I think the exhibit goes to New York next. Those lucky people.