The Complete World of The Dead Sea Scrolls

The latest installment from Stephen Town, this night shelf read is a must for anyone interested in religious studies.

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Davies P., Brooke G. and Callaway P., The Complete World of The Dead Sea Scrolls, in the University Library at C 21.4 DAV

The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls at Qumran in the late 1940s has been described as ‘the greatest manuscript find of all time’. It regrettably also turned into one of the most shameful academic episodes of all time, with controversy, dispute and obstruction leading to almost fifty years of delay in opening up full access to these remarkable survivals.

The finds include over 900 documents of early versions of the Hebrew Bible, other diverse religious works from the Second Jerusalem Temple period not included in the canon, and previously unknown sectarian works possibly arising from a local religious community around the time of Christ.

The Library has a number of works on the texts, which can be found through Yorsearch, but this donation is a well-produced and colourfully illustrated introduction to the scrolls, their discovery and history, and interpretation.

Art from across the globe

As our Art literature collection continues to expand, Stephen Town adds a splash of diversity to the selection.

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This week's donations contain an eclectic mix
of art and illustration

I spent last weekend going through my late mother’s book collections. She would never have called it a library, but it was very substantial and varied, reflecting her interests, profession, causes and beliefs. It incorporated my late father’s collection and those of both their forbears, spanning nearly a century of commitment to Yorkshire education, a family tradition which of course I also continue until my retirement.

I have selected four items from her collection to add to my donations, all relating to the history of art. Most of her books will go to broader charitable causes, as she would have wished, and her almost complete set of twentieth century crime writing may well be available for purchase in a charity shop near you very soon.

Beach & Koch: King of the World: the Padshahnama

My mother loved India and continued to visit well past the time the rest of the family considered it safe and sensible. This large and beautifully illustrated book was published on the occasion of the exhibition of the Mughal manuscript from the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. The exhibition, organised by the Sackler Gallery, travelled across India, the UK and USA in 1997-98 and was part of the 5oth Anniversary celebrations of the independence of India and Pakistan. The book was the first time these illustrations had been published.

Neil MacGregor: Seeing salvation: images of Christ in Art

The Art section in our Library also has the National Gallery work arising from the millennial exhibition on which this book is based. But this work was produced by the BBC and accompanied a TV series shown in 2000, concentrating on the history of the artistic depiction of Christ. Parts of the holidays of my childhood were spent in galleries and churches across Europe, as a cultural alternative to walking and climbing. My mother had a strong faith, but as MacGregor suggests, these images can still speak powerfully to non-believers.

Pinkney: William Morris in Oxford

Like Morris, my mother was an Oxford student. Also like Morris, she was a strong believer in social justice, although in her later years this was expressed more through liberalism than socialism. This book focuses on Morris’ later life in Oxford, covering what the author describes as his campaigning years, as he took up architectural and social causes to transform the University and City.

Higgins & Robinson: William de Morgan

De Morgan was an arts and crafts potter, and a lifelong friend of William Morris. We already have a selection of works on De Morgan in the Library at LG 8.3, and this slim but copiously illustrated book will further enhance our collection. The pages contain some previously unillustrated designs for tiles, stained glass and pots, showing off his ‘fabulous animals, rich florals and flowing Persian curves’.

The Evidence for God

Stephen Town questions the case for and against religion with the latest donation in his 'My Nightshelf' series.

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Ward, K., The Evidence for God, in the University Library at C 11 WAR.

Photo: York Minster by
NMK Photography. Reproduced
under a Creative Commons Licence

In the week that the first woman Bishop (as far as we know) was consecrated in our City, Keith Ward, the Emeritus Professor of Divinity at Oxford University came to speak at St Peter’s School in the lecture series which I have mentioned in previous posts.

Professor Ward is a very accomplished and elegant speaker, who in his talk managed to refer to almost every reputable philosopher of the past two thousand years as well as most populist scientists of contemporary times. Within the first few minutes he constructed a reasonably convincing opposition between materialism and idealism in the minds of his largely non-academic audience, went on to associate these with different evidential assumptions identifying materialism as weak, and, with some reference to aesthetics, justified transcendental belief and consequently the existence of God.

Perhaps I simplify the arguments a little; they are more convincingly elaborated upon in my chosen book this week, Keith Ward’s ‘The Evidence for God’.

Despite the very persuasive style I still left the lecture a little dissatisfied. Personally, I don’t think that a religious position needs to rest solely on belief and evidence (a contemporary obsession), or on taking a stand on the opposition between materialism and idealism that Professor Ward suggests.

Image courtesy of Ward, K., The Evidence for God (2014)

A number of religions still operate without this excessive focus on belief and evidence, and there are other philosophers and theologians who will make the point that the early church was in fact philosophically materialist.

So what has this to do with a woman Bishop? Professor Ward appeared genuinely sad that there seems to be less interest in the traditional forms of organised religion, and that future forms need to be different. Perhaps the event in the Minster will be a positive step along this path.

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Further reading: A satisfying and full account to me of how we arrived at the current position of overwhelming secularism is in Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age. This is hardly a nightshelf read, but well worth the effort.

Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence

In a tribute to those affected by the recent attacks in Paris, Stephen Town donates another thought provoking book in his Nightshelf series.

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Armstrong, K., Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence, in the University Library at C91.17 ARM.

The appalling violence of last week calls for an educated response from those in institutions of learning. The best I can do is to donate a book this week that thoughtfully and articulately lays out the history of violence and its relationship to religion.

The author of this title, Karen Armstrong, is noted as a wise and intelligent commentator, and her ‘The Battle for God’ was the most compelling and insightful explanation of fundamentalism I have read. The often perceived connections between religion and violence are well documented in the media. But ‘Fields of Blood’ may serve as a corrective to those looking to lay easy blame.

Faith & Wisdom in Science

In the third edition of his 'Donating my night shelf' series, Stephen Town negotiates the web of theory around faith, religion and science.

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McLeish, T., Faith & Wisdom in Science, in the University Library at C 15 MCL

Photo: St Peter's school - founded 627AD
by Ramson. Reproduced under a
Creative Commons license

St Peter’s School in York lays claim to being the oldest School in Europe and fourth oldest in the world, founded in 627 AD. It was shortly after this time that the first great library in York’s history was also created by the Archbishop Egbert, and developed by Albert and Alcuin in the following century. In an age when faith and education were inextricably connected all these foundations for learning grew from the Church.

Modern day St Peter’s offers a lecture series of high quality, drawing academics, researchers, other experts and the public together to discuss wide ranging topics from the history of World War I to the art and design of the London Underground. Last week, Tom McLeish of Durham University (and a St Peter’s parent) graced the series with an introduction to his ideas on science and faith. These strands of thought are further developed in his book “Faith and Wisdom in Science” which is my third donation to this series.

Photo: Professor Tom McLeish, speaking at St Peter's School, 2014
Reproduced with permission from St Peter's School.

As professor of physics at Durham, McLeish has impeccable scientific credentials. But he is also an Anglican Lay Reader, and judging by the lecture has a deep grasp of classics, theology and philosophy. McLeish’s thesis is that much of the current debate on science and religion is in the wrong space. His manifesto is that “Science needs a cultural narrative”, and a stronger one than the narrow assumptions presented by those funding state research in these times.

The book provides a different, and rather more intellectually satisfying contribution to the science/faith debate. It questions the arguments from those who present science and religion as irreconcilable and encourages you to think more holistically about the origins of each. McLeish talks about the history of seeking wisdom through natural philosophy as stemming as much from religious impulse as from other sources. I doubt many of his audience at St Peter’s will have followed his injunction to go home and read chapters 39 to 42 of the Book of Job, but, as a result of an entertaining and stimulating evening, plenty will have purchased his book and will hopefully be challenging their own thoughts on the subject.