Concordia University Presents Dead Sea Scrolls Lecture Series

ST. PAUL, MINN. (01/22/2010)(readMedia)-- Concordia University, St. Paul will present a series of four public lectures on the Dead Sea Scrolls beginning in February in conjunction with the exhibition coming to the Science Museum of Minnesota in March 2010. All lectures will be held on the Concordia campus in Graebner Memorial Chapel (1259 Carroll Ave.) and are free and open to the public. See lecture schedule and overview below.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, which scholars believe were written between approximately 200 BC and 200 AD, lay hidden and forgotten for centuries until they were discovered in the 1950s in caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Altogether, archeologists have uncovered more than 600 scrolls and thousands of fragments in 11 caves around the ruins of an old Roman fortress called Qumran.

The scrolls have been called the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times. They contain some of the oldest known fragments of the Christian Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. Most texts are written in Hebrew or Aramaic, which has enhanced scholarly understanding of these languages and offered a cultural context for the times in which they were written. These ancient scrolls are now under the conservation of the Israel Antiquities Authority and are seldom seen on display. The exhibition coming to the Science Museum of Minnesota offers a rare and unique opportunity for a first-hand look at these artifacts and a deepened understanding of their significance in Christian thought and traditions.

WHAT: Dead Sea Scrolls Lecture Series

WHERE: Graebner Memorial Chapel at Concordia University, St. Paul

1259 Carroll Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104

WHEN: Selected Thursdays

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

COST: Free and open to the public

THURSDAY, FEB. 11

The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: You've Got to Know the Territory

Dr. Thomas Trapp, professor of religion and theology at Concordia, presents how the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, sold, evaluated and have been fought over. The first foray will examine the wider setting of the discoveries, such as where the scrolls were found, what materials and languages were used, what generally was found in what caves, how some scrolls could be pieced together, who has been responsible for publishing and interpreting the texts at different stages of the "game" during the past 60 years and what contribution the scrolls make to the study of the biblical text. Roughly one fourth (about 200) of the scrolls and scroll fragments are from biblical books.

THURSDAY, FEB. 25

But Wait...There's More: Who Wrote the Scrolls and What Else Did they Write?

Dr. Trapp goes into further detail about how 600 scrolls and fragments of scrolls deal with documents considered special to the Dead Sea Qumran community and its wider community. Theories will be examined to discover what groups played significant roles in Israel during the late pre-Christian era, and might have had ties to those who lived at Qumran, as well as what formal types or genres of scrolls are available. These include documents about community life, preparing for the end times, psalms of praise and worship, interpretations of promises from certain biblical books, rejection of those who had different views and agendas and issues about calendars and liturgical worship.

THURSDAY, MAR. 18

The Archaeology of Kh. Qumran

Dr. Mark Schuler, professor of theology and Greek at Concordia, delves into the place where the first Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. About one mile west of the Dead Sea and nine miles south of Jericho is Khirbet Qumran, ruins and a cemetery located on a low plateau between the rock cliff and the plain; the first scrolls were discovered in a cave half a mile north of this site. Was G. Lankester Harding correct when he wrote in 1952, "It would appear, then, that the people who lived at Khirbet Qumran deposited the scrolls in the cave, probably about A.D. 70"? Are the ruins a monastic site of the community written about in the Scrolls? If so, what does archaeology tell us about the community and its relation to the Scrolls?

THURSDAY, APRIL 15

Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Dr. Schuler concludes the series relating Christianity to the scrolls. Although none (so far) of the Dead Sea Scrolls were written by a Christian and there is no direct relationship between Jesus and the Scrolls, there are significant parallels and similar wordings between certain Scrolls and Gospel passages. How do these parallels help us understand the world and teachings of Jesus? How do the messianic expectations of the Scrolls compare to the messianic claims of Christianity? What about the raising of the dead in the messianic age?

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Dr. Thomas Trapp has been a professor of religion and theology at Concordia-St. Paul since 1982. His primary areas of academic interest have been the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament and the Hebrew language. He has special interest in textual matters of the Hebrew Bible and how many promises of restoration and fulfillment were dealt with after the exiles returned from Babylon. These two areas form the backdrop for his two presentations.

Dr. Mark Schuler is professor of theology and Greek at Concordia-St. Paul and chairperson of the Department of Religion and Theology. His research includes the archaeology of Roman/Byzantine Palestine. He is co-director of the Hippos/Sussita Excavation, Jordan Valley Israel and Upper Midwest Regional Representative of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

ABOUT CONCORDIA

Concordia University, St. Paul is a comprehensive, private university of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and one of 10 schools that comprise the Concordia University System. Established in 1893, Concordia offers more than 40 liberal arts majors, including business administration, education, fine arts, the sciences and church professions. Concordia is a regional leader in accelerated, cohort-delivered, undergraduate and master's degrees in business administration, leadership and management, criminal justice and human services. Concordia is the only private university in Minnesota to offer NCAA Division II athletics for men and women. On the web: www.csp.edu.