Lanier Theological Library

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Lanier Theological Library
Lanier Theological Library.jpg
Exterior of the Library.
Lanier Theological Library
29°58′40″N95°32′54″W / 29.977710633255356°N 95.54839991795082°W / 29.977710633255356; -95.54839991795082
Location Houston, Texas, United States
Established2010  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Other information
Website www.laniertheologicallibrary.org

Lanier Theological Library (LTL) is a 17,000 sq. ft non-circulating research library located in northwest Houston, Texas. It was built by Mark Lanier, who has taught Sunday school at Champion Forest Baptist Church for more than 20 years, and is part of his 35-acre estate. [1] He designed the library by combining his favorite architectural features from the libraries in and around the University of Oxford.

Contents

The LTL displays Christian artifacts such as handwritten letters by author C. S. Lewis, artwork from his Chronicles of Narnia book series, two copies of the original 1611 King James Version Bible and a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It includes more than 120,000 volumes and periodicals with daily additions. [2]

Design

Main hall of the Lanier Theological Library. Interiorof Lanier Theological Library.JPG
Main hall of the Lanier Theological Library.

Lanier Theological Library is 17,000 square feet on 10 acres including a stone chapel reconstruction of a 500 A.D. Byzantine chapel adjacent to the LTL and an English village with a train, cobblestone street and dining hall. [1] [3] The chapel's ceilings feature scenes from the Bible painted by Texas artist Richard McCluskey. He also painted the ceiling of the library's main hall. [4] It opened to the public in October 2010 and is maintained and facilitated by the Lanier Theological Library Foundation. The LTL is free for public use during regular operating hours and uses the Library of Congress Classification system.

Artifacts and private collections

The LTL specializes in Archaeology, Biblical studies, church history, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Egyptology, Linguistics, and Theology. [5] [4]

The LTL has acquired numerous private collections from many accomplished scholars, including David Bivin, Chaim Cohen, [6] Alan Crown, [7] Trude Dothan, Peter Flint, Florentino Garcia-Martinez, Moshe Goshen-Gottstein, William W. Hallo, Larry Hurtado, Robert Lindsey, Abraham Malamat, [8] Carol and Eric Meyers, David Owen, Randall Price, [9] Alan Segal, and Emanuel Tov. These collections are displayed in the library’s main hall and remain available for patrons’ use. [10]

Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran Scrolls Jar

An original fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls is on display at the LTL. This fragment contains some of the Hebrew words found in Amos 7:7-8:1. [11]

In 2017 the LTL acquired an original Qumran Scrolls Jar, one of four worldwide in private hands (others are in Norway, England, and Bethlehem). This jar is approximately 2,000 years old, having been produced between 50 BCE and 50 CE. It was excavated in April 1966 by Dr. Solomon H. Steckoll within one of the buildings on the main plateau of the Qumran site at the edge of the Dead Sea. The jar is 23.7 in (60.1 cm) high, 11.8 in (29.9 cm) in diameter, and 36.6 in (92.9 cm) in circumference. The opening at the top of the jar is 5 in. (12.7 cm) wide. [12]

First edition, first issue 1611 KJV Bibles

A “First Edition, First Issue” King James Version Bible, printed in 1611, commonly known as “The Great He Bible” and a “Second Folio Edition” of the KJV Bible, commonly known as “The Great She Bible” are owned by and displayed at the LTL. Less than 200 of “The Great He Bibles” exist today. The Old Testament of “The Great She Bible” was printed in 1613, but the New Testament was printed in 1611. [13]

Facsimiles

In 2015, A. E. Tracy Potts gave the LTL two tablets resembling what Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai, as described in Exodus and Deuteronomy. The Ten Commandments are carefully inscribed on the front and back of each tablet with paleo-Hebrew letters which have been sandblasted into the stone. Each tablet weighs 50 pounds. [14]

Other facsimiles on display include a Great Isaiah Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Commentary on Habakkuk, and the Rule of the Community. [15]

Ancient artifacts

The LTL possesses a vast collection of ancient artifacts ranging from the Early Bronze Age to the late Iron Age. [16] Pottery, lamps, vases, chalices, serving jugs, and numerous figurines from the ancient world line the halls of the LTL. Archeologists and scholars use these artifacts, with dates ranging from 2000 BCE to 5 CE, to glean valuable information about ancient cultures.

C. S. Lewis collection

Patrons of the LTL can enjoy the second largest collection of C. S. Lewis artifacts in the US. It includes 60 first edition books, starting with Lewis’s first book, Spirits in Bondage: A Cycle of Lyrics. The collection features a 9-page autograph manuscript of Lewis’s famous address in 1939 after the outbreak of World War II, now known as “Learning in War-Time”. There are four original illustrations from Prince Caspian by Pauline Baynes, illustrator for The Chronicles of Narnia stories, as well as several original handwritten notes and letters from C. S. Lewis. Lewis was in a group of scholars known as “The Inklings”, including J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield. [17]

Lectures

The LTL hosts lectures by world-renowned theologians and scholars of diverse nationalities and theological backgrounds. [15]

Library speakers have included:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead Sea Scrolls</span> Ancient Jewish manuscripts

The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period. They were discovered over a period of 10 years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea. Dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, the Dead Sea Scrolls include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the biblical canons, including deuterocanonical manuscripts from late Second Temple Judaism and extrabiblical books. At the same time, they cast new light on the emergence of Christianity and of Rabbinic Judaism. Almost all of the 15,000 scrolls and scroll fragments are held in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum located in Jerusalem. The Israeli government's custody of the Dead Sea Scrolls is disputed by Jordan and the Palestinian Authority on territorial, legal, and humanitarian grounds—they were mostly discovered following the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank and were acquired by Israel after Jordan lost the 1967 Arab–Israeli War—whilst Israel's claims are primarily based on historical and religious grounds, given their significance in Jewish history and in the heritage of Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damascus Document</span> Ancient Jewish Document

The Damascus Document is an ancient Hebrew text known from both the Cairo Geniza and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is considered one of the foundational documents of the ancient Jewish community of Qumran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emanuel Tov</span> Dutch–Israeli biblical scholar and linguist (born 1941)

Emanuel Tov is a Dutch–Israeli biblical scholar and linguist, emeritus J. L. Magnes Professor of Bible Studies in the Department of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has been intimately involved with the Dead Sea Scrolls for many decades, and from 1991, he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project.

John C. Trever was a Biblical scholar and archaeologist, who was involved in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Isaiah Scroll, designated 1QIsaa and also known as the Great Isaiah Scroll, is one of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls that were first discovered by Bedouin shepherds in 1946 from Qumran Cave 1. The scroll is written in Hebrew and contains the entire Book of Isaiah from beginning to end, apart from a few small damaged portions. It is the oldest complete copy of the Book of Isaiah, being approximately 1000 years older than the oldest Hebrew manuscripts known before the scrolls' discovery. 1QIsaa is also notable in being the only scroll from the Qumran Caves to be preserved almost in its entirety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qumran Caves</span> Caves in the West Bank

The Qumran Caves are a series of caves, both natural and artificial, found around the archaeological site of Qumran in the Judaean Desert. It is in these caves that the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

The Green Collection, later known as the Museum Collection, is one of the world's largest private collection of rare biblical texts and artifacts, made up of more than 40,000 biblical antiquities assembled by the Green family, founders of the American retail chain Hobby Lobby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of the Bible</span> History museum in Washington DC, United States

The Museum of the Bible is a museum in Washington, D.C., owned by Museum of the Bible, Inc., a non-profit organization established in 2010 by the Green family. The museum documents the narrative, history, and impact of the Bible. It opened on November 17, 2017, and has 1,150 items in its permanent collection and 2,000 items on loan from other institutions and collections.

4Q41 or 4QDeuteronomyn, also known as the All Souls Deuteronomy, is a Hebrew Bible manuscript from the first century BC containing two passages from the Book of Deuteronomy. Discovered in 1952 in a cave at Qumran, near the Dead Sea, it preserves the oldest existing copy of the Ten Commandments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4Q120</span> Biblical manuscript dating to the first century BCE

The manuscript 4Q120 is a Septuagint manuscript (LXX) of the biblical Book of Leviticus written on papyrus, found at Qumran. The Rahlfs-No. is 802. Paleographically it dates from the first century BCE. Currently the manuscript is housed in the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem.

Martin Gerald Abegg Jr. is a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, researcher, and professor. Abegg is responsible for reconstructing the full text of the Dead Sea Scrolls from the Dead Sea Scrolls concordance, a project that broke the lengthy publication monopoly held on the scrolls. He went on to co-direct the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University from 1995 to 2015. Here, Abegg held the Ben Zion Wacholder Professorship. He has been honoured with a collection of essays written by his peers and students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobby Lobby smuggling scandal</span> 2009 controversy

The Hobby Lobby smuggling scandal started in 2009 when representatives of the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores received a large number of clay bullae and tablets originating in the ancient Near East. The artifacts were intended for the Museum of the Bible, funded by the Evangelical Christian Green family, which owns the Oklahoma-based chain. Internal staff had warned superiors that the items had dubious provenance and were potentially looted from Iraq.

References

  1. 1 2 Macor, Alison (September 4, 2018). "Being Mark Lanier". Texas Super Lawyers. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Lawyer with Texas Panhandle ties brings religious texts to the public". Amarillo Globe-News. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  3. ↑ "The Chapel | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  4. 1 2 Cowen, Diane (2011-03-03). "Lanier shares love of theology through new library, speaker series". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  5. ↑ Lundegaard, Erik (2011-03-08). "Bibliophile Mark Lanier builds a theological library". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  6. ↑ "Chaim Cohen Collection | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  7. ↑ "Alan Crown Collection | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  8. ↑ "Abraham Malamat Collection | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  9. ↑ "Randall Price Collection | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  10. ↑ "Lanier Theological Library". Private Collections. Lanier Theological Library. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  11. ↑ "Original Dead Sea Scrolls Fragment on Display | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  12. ↑ "Qumran Scrolls Jar | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  13. ↑ "Two Early King James Bibles | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  14. ↑ "Two Stone Tablets | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  15. 1 2 Cowen, Diane (2011-03-03). "Lanier shares love of theology through new library, speaker series". Chron. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  16. ↑ "Artifacts in the Library | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  17. ↑ "C. S. Lewis Collection | Lanier Theological Library" . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
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