Steve Green Convocation highlights impact of the Bible throughout history

 

• Hobby Lobby president spoke in Convocation about Museum of the Bible and the Bible’s impact on the world.
• Museum opening Nov. 17 utilizes technology to bring Bible to life for visitors.

President of Hobby Lobby and chairman of the new Museum of the Bible Steve Green spoke at Liberty University’s Convocation to increase awareness about the Bible and its contents Sept. 8.

Green said the museum will be opening Nov. 17. The museum will be 430,000 square feet.

The eight-floor museum will feature floors dedicated to the history of the Bible, the narratives of the Bible and the impact of the Bible.

Green said there are people who know nothing about the Bible, and a basic narrative of the Bible exploring the stories of the Bible is a good place to start.

“We probably know this book less than we ever have in this nation because we don’t teach it like we once did,” Green said.

He says this is not because of a lack of Bibles in households.

“Our survey showed that over 90 percent of people in this country had a Bible and they just weren’t engaging with it,” Green said.

He says the goal of the museum is to encourage visitors to become more involved with the Bible.

“Our purpose for the museum is to invite people to engage with the Bible,” Green said. “This is a book for all people. It is a book that has impacted people from all different walks of life, all nationalities, all races and all genders. This book is for all, and our desire is to invite all people to engage with it.”

The museum will use new technology to bring life to biblical stories, and its exhibits will include a theater which can seat 500 people and a replica of the Gutenberg press.

There will also be space for temporary exhibits, so the museum’s collections will be constantly changing. One of the floors will contain a garden featuring biblical plants and a cafeteria which will serve Mediterranean-style food similar to what was eaten in biblical times.

Green says the building that now houses the museum was originally built in 1923 as a refrigeration warehouse. He says a set of train tracks went in and out of the building on the second floor so goods could be unloaded. The building was renovated to fit the needs of the museum.

Students are invited to register for one of two day-trips by visiting the LU Send homepage and clicking on the “Museum of the Bible” registration link. The $50 registration fee covers transportation to and from the museum and admission into the museum.

Green is the president of Hobby Lobby, which is the world’s largest privately owned arts and crafts supplier. Hobby Lobby was founded by Green’s father, David Green, who donated Green Hall to Liberty University in 2003.

For more information on the Museum of the Bible, go to museumofthebible.org.