The Whistler Exhibit at the Smithsonian– Part Two

Last updated on: January 16, 2024 at 6:38 am By Ben Witherington

Whistler was an interesting artist. He was fascinated with the ordinary jobs most people did, running shops, making clothes, building bridges, and though he necessarily had to take commissions from the wealthy, for instance in doing portraits like the one immediately below, his focus was clearly elsewhere when he didn’t need to do otherwise economically. Like the Impresionists, Whistler was fascinated with surface phenomena, the way light affected how things look, or the difference color or the lack thereof made. ... Read more

The Whistler Exhibit at the Smithsonian– Part One

Last updated on: January 15, 2024 at 4:41 pm By Ben Witherington

I had gotten up early to see the sunrise over the capital building Wednesday morning from my hotel room, and I was not disappointed. After visiting several of the new exhibits at the Museum of the Bible, I took the long walk to Old Ebbitt Grill on 15th. This took a while, crossing the Mall and heading towards the Washington Monument. The Museum is much close to the Capital end of the Mall than the White House and Washington monument... Read more

Old Ebbitt Grill and Rhodes Tavern

Last updated on: January 15, 2024 at 4:14 pm By Ben Witherington

There are few restaurants left from the 19th century in Washington D.C. but the most famous one is quite clearly Old EbbitGrill on 15th, near the White House, and I make it a point to visit at least once, every time I come to D.C. The Grill opened in 1858, right in time to be frequented by Abraham Lincoln and many others there after. Situated as it is within a five to ten minute walk of the White House, it... Read more

Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity Reborn

Last updated on: January 15, 2024 at 1:02 pm By Ben Witherington

After years of painstaking cleaning, not to mention adding a whole new roof, the church of the Nativity. There has been a nice exhibit showing the results at the MOTB. And here are some shots. The original floor has been protected under boards for centuries, but it too got refurbished…. The columns and the wall frescos had been covered with the soot of centuries of burning lamps and candles in ages before electricity. Here are some images now... Read more

The New Digital Imaging Room at the MOTB

Last updated on: January 15, 2024 at 12:39 pm By Ben Witherington

At first, when you get to the basement you run across warning signs…. This is by the door of the digital imaging lab. But stay tuned. On the other side of the door are more signs which can be posted on the outside of the door as needed… Inside is equipment that is uber expensive, and a special thanks to the Murdoch trust for making it possible for the Museum of the Bible to have this state of the... Read more

Hagia Sophia— Plural!

Last updated on: January 15, 2024 at 3:31 pm By Ben Witherington

There is a new exhibit in the Museum of the Bible about the numerous Hagia Sophias. By way of background these churches are called Hagia Sophia because of the Orthodox theology that the personification of God’s wisdom found in Proverbs 3, 8-9 was assumed to actually refer to Christ the second person of the Trinity who was involved in the work of creation with the Father. Hagia Sophia then is usually accompanied with and pointing to an image of Christ,... Read more

A Sad Obituary :)

Last updated on: January 15, 2024 at 10:44 am By Ben Witherington

It was sad when Mr. Pepperoni died, and just when they were about to lower him into the grave they notice at the bottom of the headstone a tiny inscripture which read— EAT ME!!! Chaos ensued. Read more

The Scripture and Science Exhibit at the MOTB– Part Two

Last updated on: January 15, 2024 at 3:34 pm By Ben Witherington

There are some fun exhibits about Christian thoughts about space, for instance, and how it has influenced films. But most of the exhibits are quite serious about showing the Christian origins of science, in part by displaying some of the early essays or treatises by folk like Galileo, Copernicus, Newton and others. One of the most interesting exhibits is the creation of a door of Chartes Cathedral, which became a center for learning including philosophical and scientific learning. Read more

The Scripture and Science Exhibit at the MOTB– Part One

Last updated on: January 15, 2024 at 3:38 pm By Ben Witherington

The new exhibit in the Museum of the Bible on Science and Scripture has been excellent, but not as well attended as one might have hoped. There are several emphases in this exhibit, for instance showing how most of the early pioneers in science were devout Christians (see the pictures above) and some of the modern ones like Francis Collins, the former head of the human genome project, and Dorothy Vaughan, the NASA scientist mathematician and devout Christian who worked... Read more

Something’s Fishy about the Red Sea Crossing

Last updated on: January 13, 2024 at 7:20 am By Ben Witherington

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