[UA] PoMo Christianity

[John Tynes]

Something remarkable is happening. Saint John's University of Minnesota, 
a Benedictine institution devoted to the collecting and preservation of 
old manuscripts, has commissioned a team of calligraphers and artists to 
create the first handwritten, illuminated Bible since the invention of 
moveable type.

The Saint John's Bible will be in seven volumes, 1,150 pages, with 160 
illuminations, at a production cost of $4 million. An excellent article 
in the December 2000 Smithsonian magazine covers the project in detail. 
They have an abstract online at present, with the full article to follow 
in a few weeks:

http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues00/dec00/bible.html

Or you can just buy it at a newsstand.

I believe the project is an excellent example of postmodern mysticism. 
The Saint John's Bible marries a classical format--the hand-inscribed, 
illuminated Bible--with modern elements, including an inclusive, 
modern-English text (the New Revised Standard) and contemporary 
illustration subjects. For example, a full-page illumination shows the 
bloodline of Christ in the shape of a gold leaf menorrah, but strands of 
DNA spiral alongside the branches. A depiction of Earth as seen from 
space is bracketed and overlaid with religious icons and symbols in a 
complex pattern suggesting, among other things, the Statosphere.

The official website of the project:

http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/

The implications of this work in UnAverse terms are substantial. Most 
obviously, the completed book (circa 2006) would grant a major charge to 
any Bibliomancer. But there's another symbolic magick element to the 
project worthy of thought.

The Bible is being funded by private donations, open to all. There are 
various levels of sponsorship, but even a small contribution (say $25) 
allows you to sponsor a single verse. The names and dedications of 
*every* sponsor will be included in an eighth volume, the Book of Honor, 
which will likewise by hand-inscribed and crafted.

In short, for a few dollars you can add your name to a new book of the 
Bible in a one-of-a-kind artifact that melds past, present, and future 
into a work of quite literally profound craftmanship.

Comments, anyone? I think this is pretty amazing, symbolic stuff that 
unwittingly embraces UA's postmodernist magickal philosophy.


<- John Tynes - rev at tccorp.com - http://www.JohnTynes.com/ ->
You've got a death wish. That's so selfish. I have one too,
but I direct it toward others.
              (Lisa Kudrow as Lucia in THE OPPOSITE OF SEX)


_______________________________________________
UA mailing list
UA at lists.uchicago.edu
http://lists.uchicago.edu/mailman/listinfo/ua