According to the National Post, a major exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls will be showcased at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto next year from "summer" until December. Mark it on your calendars!
Background: "The scrolls were discovered in 11 caves along the shores of the Dead Sea starting in 1947 and consist of more than 900 manuscripts, largely fragmented, written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. They date back to 250 BC."
The scrolls help us with textual criticism of the Old Testament, leading to more accurate and nuanced renderings of Old Testament passages, while confirming the essential accuracy and trustworthiness of the Masoretic, i.e., "the received" text. They also help us better understand the Jewish cultural and religious milieu at the time of Christ. Since the birth of Christ is ground-zero of history, anything that adds to our understanding of this time and place is of utmost interest, value, and significance.
The sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity are just as important to our understanding of who we are as human beings as any investigation or discovery of science. Indeed, they are of utmost important, because, while science may hint of origins, the Scriptures declare of our destinies -- eternity spent either with, or without, God.
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