The Saint John's Bible

THE WORD BECAME FLESH
(John 1:14-18)

This is on a light and interesting note, to breathe back in some substance without the overhanging cloud of tragedy. May the Virginia Tech victims rest in peace, and their families find solace in the loving embrace of God.

Because I lack cable, I see a number of fascinating things on public television. One of them was on this particular project, which caught my eye. It was called the Saint John's Bible, and was a modern illumination of the Bible. We've all seen a number of incredible bibles I'm sure, and yet this project in particular seemed to be one of special importance. To explain my excitement regarding this, I'll go into a brief history lesson. Or at least, I'll try to be brief.

The importance of printing technology had a massive impact upon society. It allowed Martin Luther's revolutionary vernacular bible to spread across Germany and had a tremendous impact upon culture. Similarly, it fueled on powerful works such as the original Encyclopedia created by Diderot to circle all across Europe and as far as Russia, which promoted Catherine the Great's era of "Enlightened Absolutism." Today literacy rates are comparatively through the roof, and the printed word is available in mass. It is furthered even greater by the revolution of the internet, whose use as a tool of communication is still not a fully realized concept. If this technology were non-existent and we were forced to return to the method of hand-scribing books in complete copies like the ancient scribes, it would bring the level of communication we now enjoy to a startling and unpleasant halt, taking with it the freedom of expression of ideas. So what would be the value in such an idea?

Let's go back a little further to the days when they were scribed by hand. Books were not simply tools of information, but treasured works of hard-made art that were as much enjoyed for their beauty and quality as for the information inside of them. Illumination of bibles was a highly spiritual effort that was meant to represent the beauty of faith. It was a rigorous task, but the results were truly as lovely as any church, if on a more individual scale. The pictures also helped the less literate share in the experience. The symbolism incorporated was a reflection of the deeply-held cultural beliefs of the scribe, providing a snapshot microcosm of life in a time long since past.

The Kennicott Bible, a Jewish Illumination in 1476

Yet this sort of effort has not been put forth in ages into a bible to such a large scale as used to be undertaken in order to create the only books. So hearing that such an effort was being so heavily undertaken by a modern illuminator was a delightful surprise. And rather than turning toward classical art as an example, they chose a more modern medium. " At the dawn of the 21st century, Saint John's Abbey and University seek to ignite the spiritual imagination of believers throughout the world by commissioning a work of art that illuminates the Word of God for a new millennium." We are in a new millennium, and our culture is a significantly different one from the Medieval period. Donald Jackson, an internationally renowned calligrapher and scribe, is creating the new bible using modern materials for the conceptualization process, but then utilizes tools used by scribes a thousand years ago, such as quill pens, antique ink sticks (including the raw egg used to bind ink), and even real silver and gold.

This decisively innovative bible is an amalgamation of both old and new, uniting the attention to detail and individuality that comes from hand-crafting with the modern style that speaks a clear message to the 21st century. It is a reminder of the flexibility of the relevance of its contents, which may adapt to suit our world. While it is expensive to make, it will be priceless when it is finished and stand as a Testament to our time of our time.



Go take a look at the project for yourself! http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/index.html

- Laura