correction

I omitted the link here:

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailybeast.com%2Fthe-big-problem-with-biblical-literacy%3Fsource%3Darticles%26via%3Drss&data=02%7C01%7CCLASSICS-L%40lsv.uky.edu%7Cab2d5e3ec5154acd685108d68f865aff%7C2b30530b69b64457b818481cb53d42ae%7C0%7C0%7C636854204556118450&sdata=WXXjQXgrzqV9%2FAfIhU0LwhxjiLD6ACQK3nPWk9ZO%2FVQ%3D&reserved=0

Dan

On Sun, Feb 10, 2019 at 1:23 PM DANIEL P. Tompkins <[email protected]>
wrote:

> Everytime the Museum of the Bible in DC gets in the news, it's usually
> because of one or another infraction or misstep.: a record Candida Moss,
> Yale PhD now at Birmingham UK, is careful not to break:
>
> ... Ken McKenzie, CEO of the recently opened Hobby-Lobby backed Museum of
> the Bible in DC, discussed the museum’s non-sectarian [!!] Bible
> curriculum. While Hobby Lobby previously sponsored efforts to place a Bible
> literacy curriculum in public schools, they now target private schools and
> homeschoolers. McKenzie offered the following example of what non-sectarian
> education looks like: "Archaeological excavations have found the stone
> that was used of 1.5 to 2 pounds, and we’ll review some ancient texts about
> life at that time and watch a video that shows how a sling could be
> accurate,” Mr. McKenzie said. “This is not [an assignment that says], ‘This
> is what we believe.’”
>
> The statement created an immediate flurry of interest from academics who,
> understandably, wondered if McKenzie was suggesting that Museum of the
> Bible itself is claiming to possess the “1.5 to 2 pound” murder weapon
> that, according to the story, killed Goliath. In a comment to *The Daily
> Beast*, McKenzie clarified that he had been taken out of context; that
> what he meant was that “archaeologists’ research in the area where the
> event reportedly occurred have unearthed stones from that era weighing in
> at 1.5-2 pounds.” He also added that this is not an actual example from the
> institution’s curriculum.
>
> It is frustrating for McKenzie to be misquoted, but the method he
> describes raises another problem: the way that *Christian organizations
> weaponize archaeology* in the presentation of Biblical texts. *The
> presence of smallish rocks in the region where David fought Goliath isn’t
> proof of the Biblical story any more than the existence of the Sea of
> Galilee proves that Jesus walked on water. *
>
> Is the Museum of the Bible too easy a target?  Almost.  They seem capable
> of messing up a two-car funeral.
>
> On the other hand, the Museum is the creation (heh) of Hobby Lobby, which did
> so much damage in its war on women
> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2014%2F06%2F30%2Fpolitics%2Fscotus-obamacare-contraception%2Findex.html&amp;data=02%7C01%7CCLASSICS-L%40lsv.uky.edu%7Cab2d5e3ec5154acd685108d68f865aff%7C2b30530b69b64457b818481cb53d42ae%7C0%7C0%7C636854204556118450&amp;sdata=R7pxbN%2B2aBTGIBcisPpdL8vsOASbxsoafC%2FmXzzcdAw%3D&amp;reserved=0>.
> So when criticism is merited, it will likely be leveled.
>
> I'm copying one friend in Tel Aviv to ask, can 1.5 lb rocks still be found
> in the Holy Land?
>
> Dan
>