I once asked the Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cambridge how he stays abreast of fast-moving developments in biblical archaeology, a field of investigation that is related but decidely peripheral to his own work.
'I mostly read BAR ... ', he said, in an unexpectedly low-brow response for the hallowed halls of the Great University. 'Then if I want to know more about a topic, I move on to more scholarly publications.'
It was a vote of confidence in a magazine (*not* an academic journal!) that I've read for years and found equally useful in maintaining a generalist knowledge in an area of investigation that let's address the elephant in the room most of us come to out of religious interests.
BAR effectively combines the well-edited prose of leading scholars with due general-interest attention to color photos and complementary resources like slides (in a past era) and phenomenally well-produced videos and dvds.
An issue pulled at random from my shelves (November/December 2001) contains articles entitled:
-Excavating Philistine Gath. Have we found Goliath's hometown
-The Monastery of the Cross. Where heaven and earth meet
-The Rise and Fall of the Dead Sea
-Is It or Isn't It a Synagogue?
In addition, the usual suspects appear issue by issue in interesting columns that add color commentary to a polemical field where personalities as well as artefacts and theories loom large.
You'll want to ignore the over-heated reader responses on one brand of disillusionment or another. But you'd be wrong to heed some reviewers' critiques of the political headbashing that goes on among archaeologists. When elephants of this kind collide, it's usually over an ideological argument that matters. It does us no good to deride such battles as mere politics. BAR has had the good sense to play both a spectator's and a provocateur's role in such infighting over the complaints of readers who wish things were more placid around here.
They are not. And the things we continue to dig up from the rocky ground of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and other locations continue to insure that we never fall prey to boring consensus regarding the history of these great lands and the faiths they engendered.
Read BAR if this sounds remotely interesting and decide for yourself.
He's been in the rock business a long time, serving as chief editor/founder of BAR, Bible Review and Archaeology Odyssey; he is also president of Biblical Archaeology Society among many other ventures. I've read his Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls which he mainly edited, although he wrote a few articles himself. This is a magazine of substance, one I would love to have a subscription to. The issue of July/August 2004 has an interesting article/interview that Mr. Shanks orchestrated between Elie Wiesel and Frank Moore Cross, the subject being how they understood, approached, studied the Bible, from their perspective, which their lifes' work ultimately revolves around. One, F.M. Cross, comes from a Presbyterian, academic background, the other, Wiesel, a jewish one. Frank Moore Cross contributed several articles to Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the only protestant to work on the scrolls among the original team of 7 other people, six of whom were Catholic clerics; he is an expert in this field. And I just love Wiesel's mind, I love how he writes and thinks. That one article, I think is really illuminating, showing how rich in teaching the Bible is regardless of its many detractors, or fumbling misinterpreters. It is, as I've been taught in sunday school, G-d breathed, it's G-d's words, it is a living text even if it contains mostly stories of people long since dead and gone. Elie Wiesel says of it: " Wherever you open it, any page, you know that you are in the presence of something that exists nowhere else." The moral of the article is neither approach, Wiesel's or Cross', toward scripture is wrong, it just simply reflects the richness, the variety of the text.
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BAR presents an overall terrific introduction to the world of Biblical artifacts! Professional archaeologists & world-renowned scholars distill their dry, black-and-white academic publications into a language ordinary, non-technical people can understand & put to use when they study the Bible. What I like in particular is their presentation of vivid color photos that bring the artifacts & excavation sites to life! I appreciate BAR for introducing me to material I never knew existed that complements the Biblical record & helps demonstrate its reliability (such as the mysterious LMLK seal impressions made during the lifetimes of King Hezekiah & the great prophet Isaiah, which inspired me to write my own book on the subject--also available here at Amazon). My only complaint is that the editor occasionally publishes statements by archaeologists/scholars as facts when they actually represent atheistic/theistic biases in disguise. Fortunately, a "Letters to the Editor" section provides a forum for readers to challenge the experts, which makes for some interesting, often entertaining reading!
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It seems that at least one letter to the editor in each edition of Biblical Archaeology Review and its companion magazine, Bible Review, has a request to 'cancel my subscription'! Indeed, at one point upon renewing my subscription, I received the bonus gift of a small book that bore the title 'Cancel My Subscription!' These are letters which come from people who have found something offensive or unsettling among the many articles in an issue. And that is perfectly understandable -these magazines are touching upon very core beliefs in a way that is no respector of interpretative frameworks. BAR and BR are wonderful at letting the scholars, reviewers and other contributors speak for themselves. In fact, one might go so far as to say that the controversies are encouraged -for every reader who cancels, there are many more who are thankful for the illumination of differing viewpoints.
Biblical Archaeology Review has to its great credit early calls to the end the monopolistic tactics that the review team of the Dead Sea Scrolls seemed to have, and seemed to be poised to keep the scrolls out of the public view for yet another generation of scholars.
BAR takes issue with those who block the free transmission of knowledge and the free exercise of research. They have also taken public issue with archaeologists (the community with whom one would think they need to stay in good standing) for their fairly regular failure to publish results of archaeological research in a timely manner, or at all. And, as much archaeological research involves an element of destruction (when you move one layer off another layer, the top layer is usually destroyed -documentation of what was removed is critical, or else it really is lost) archaeologists who do not report what they've done are really burying the past more securely than any ocean tide or sand dune could.
The Biblical Archaeology Society (which produces these two magazines and a third, which I haven't read extensively and so do not yet feel qualified to review) also hosts regular seminars and gatherings. When I went the the AAR/SBL (American Academy of Religion/Society for Biblical Literature) conference last year, I also attended the BAS seminars held nearby. These are wonderful occasions, with noted scholars who regularly appear in the pages of BAR and BR, with groups of people, both amateurs and professionals, who are intensively interested in the topics presented. And, of course, one of the questions which always arises is, 'Where is Hershel?'
This refers to Hershel Shanks, editor and founder, who has, through his efforts and style, seemed to have established an instant rapport with his readers, such that those who have never met him feel they are on a first-name basis.
BAR has various sections with short newsy updates and in-depth articles on current archaeological problems, issues or discoveries. They also highlight personalities. Some scholars have regular columns (Elie Wiesel has been contributing a regular column to Bible Review for the past few years on significant figures from the Hebrew Scriptures).
Articles include an examination of current archaeological investigations and digs, as well as past digs that were not adequately covered. Architectural and artifact analysis is done, with extensive scientific reporting, but not so much that the articles are inaccessible to the interested layperson. Textual analysis and new interpretations are presented, both on newly discovered biblical and proto-biblical texts (the Dead Sea Scrolls aren't the only ones), as well an non-biblical texts from the region, to illustrate better the culture and society. There is usually at least one article on a major player in the field, again past or present, often in an interview with Hershel Shanks.
For the low price, one gets a wonderful magazine that always leaves one wanting more. Glossy pages, beautiful photography, interesting maps and diagrams -this magazine is a visual feast as well as an intellectual treat. Biblical Archaeology Review invests as much in the outstanding photography (for which it has won awards) as it does in the clear and precise writing. BAR is not afraid to contradict itself (archaeological evidence is often susceptible to multiple, sometimes conflicting interpretations) and will be up front with what it does and does not believe. It does not purport to support any particular doctrinal or dogmatic view, inviting the reader to take what is presented and work for her or himself the implications for faith, both spiritual and historical.
Read it to find out what you agree with; don't be afraid to disagree -write in and tell them about it! Just don't cancel your subscription!
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I've subscribed to BAR for at least 6 years now, and I enjoy the mix of articles on Holy Land archeology and related topics. The current events reported are informative and useful. The book reviews are helpful for guiding further reading in the field. I recommend it highly. My only complaint about the content would be that the editor tends to focus on controversies in the press and in the field that perhaps merit less attention than he gives it. Of course, it seems self-serving on his part to keep beating drums, but it is never dull. Probably sells a few extra copies evry month as well.
A little background on myself: BA degree in anthropology, ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church, USA. I have worked in a public school for 20 years now.
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