The Beautiful Word of God

St. John's Abbey and University, Collegeville, MN decided to celebrate the new millenium by commissioning the creation of a bible- one made "the old-fashioned way" - by hand, using medieval techniques.

on real vellum

using hand-made quill pens

and hand-ground pigment

An article on the project, linked in the title of this post, includes this observation:

"The entire process flies in the face of modernity's worship of speed and efficiency. This is no longer the Middle Ages. We have the printing press. We have computers. What does the handwritten word have that the mass-printed word doesn't? The Saint John's team hopes more Americans will ask that question."

The article includes a slide show of some of the artwork, as well as images of the artists at work. The images included in the Bible reflect contemporary experiences, like 9/11 and AIDS, as well as our current scientific understanding of human origins. "Making reference to the latest anthropological theories of human origins, [artistic director Donald] Jackson based his portrayals of Adam and Eve on Ethiopian tribal people. At an exhibition in Omaha, a museum docent noticed an African American woman staring at this particular page. When the docent commented on her intense interest, the visitor turned to her with tears in her eyes: 'This is the first time I have ever seen an Adam and Eve that looked like me.'"

Jackson, a renowned calligrapher, explains that calligraphy honors the words and the person receiving those words: "'Every tiny mark contains the beat of the heart of the person who made it.' The "Illuminating the Word" exhibit notes that the other two "peoples of the Book"—Jews and Muslims—honor scribes as those who handle the very words of God. The Torah read in a synagogue must be handwritten on a parchment scroll. In Islam, calligraphy is considered the highest art form. Eastern religions also esteem it. Christians, by contrast, have almost exclusively embraced the printing press for their sacred text."

Would that we Christians had the same respect for our own sacred texts. The reverential treatment that this Bible, painstakingly made at a cost of $4 million, rather than mass produced, might well be given to each Bible!

Even more desirous would be that such reverence were also given to each human being, an immortal soul loved from all eternity by God - and that each Christian were "a living Gospel for all people to hear."