AUDIO
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD
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Introduction IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD
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AUDIO
Introduction IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD
Language is an essential part of what makes us human; it also plays a central role in Christianity. In many times and places, language has been used as an instrument of power: it can unite or divide people. In the fifteenth century, for example, the Archbishop of Mainz banned the printing of books in German, thus withholding knowledge from many people. Another example shows how language can bring people together. Martin Luther wanted to make the Bible accessible to everyone and therefore translated it for the first time into a form of German people could easily read and understand.
In this exhibition, we discover the role of language in relation to the Bible. In the first section of the exhibition, we look at two stories that show how language can prevent or promote understanding: the Tower of Babel from the Old Testament and the miracle of Pentecost from the New Testament.
The second section looks at the dissemination of the Bible. For centuries, the Bible was primarily available in Greek and Latin, languages that only a few people understood. More and more, people began to recognize the need for Bibles in vernacular languages. Handwritten translations already existed in the Middle Ages, but they were expensive, rare, and difficult to understand. Not until the invention of letterpress printing did Bibles in German, English, and other languages become accessible to many people.
In this audio tour we accompany you through the exhibition. Using four stations, we explore the significance of language for and in the Bible. We focus not so much on the art itself, but instead on the major themes it illustrates. The first station takes us to the Tower of Babel, followed by the miracle of Pentecost. We then turn our attention to the translation and dissemination of the Bible. We hope you enjoy listening and exploring!