On
May 2, 1611, the King James Version of the Bible was first published.
In commemoration of the 400th anniversary, an exhibit chonicling the
book’s history makes its official world premiere, starting Monday at the
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch.
“Passages”
is a 14,000-square-foot, interactive exhibit culled from portions of
The Green Collection, an assemblage of Bibles and biblical artifacts
owned by the Green family of Oklahoma City, which owns crafts chain
Hobby Lobby and Christian bookstores Mardel.
“It’s
a big deal,” said Scott Carroll, director of The Green Collection.
“It’s an experience of a lifetime. You’d have to travel around the world
to see what you can see here.”
Although
visitors won’t have to hop a plane, the collection will after the
exhibit closes in October: The pieces then will be shown in the Vatican.
But it’s by no means a Catholic or Protestant gig.
“We are unswervingly nonsectarian,” Carroll said. “We’re simply about telling the story of the book we’re privileged to curate.”
Those without a religious connection to the text are welcome as well.
“For
people who have no personal investment in the Bible, these are windows
to history,” Carroll said. “There’s something about being a cultured
person, about knowing the literature of the world.”
