Steve Green is president of Hobby Lobby, the world’s largest privately owned arts and crafts retailer, with numerous locations in Georgia. Since Hobby Lobby purchased its first biblical artifact in 2009, The Green Collection — to which he now devotes 50 percent of his time — has rapidly grown into one of the largest private collections of rare biblical texts and artifacts in the world.
Eventually, Green hopes to build a national, non-sectarian museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., as a permanent home for the collection. Portions of the collection already are on display in “Passages,” a traveling exhibition that is at the Perimeter Expo Center in Atlanta from now through April. A modified version of the exhibition will open at the Vatican during the Catholic season of Lent.
The AJC recently spoke by phone with Green at Hobby Lobby’s headquarters in Oklahoma City.
Q: From no collection to one of the biggest in about two years. How did this happen?
A: We were introduced to [ancient and medieval manuscript scholar] Scott Carroll, who had a dream of putting in a Bible museum. That idea had been mentioned a time or two among the [Green] family, and we were working with him and his associates to see if we could help them do it. Then he mentioned the opportunity of acquiring a portion of a Bible in Turkey at a really good price and we said we might be open to donating that to the museum. He knows where the dealers in artifacts are, so he started bringing us more opportunities. One thing led to another ...
Q: What are biblical artifacts, as opposed to texts, and why are they also important to collect and study?
A: An example is, the first thing man wrote on was clay tablets, cuneiform. That would predate the first written script, which came at the time of Moses. Many cuneiform tablets tell of a good story that Genesis tells you of. The cuneiform tablet may not be biblical in nature, but it can confirm or support what the Bible says.
You want to look at other pieces of information at the time as evidence [either] of the validity of the Bible, or that it can’t be true. If the Bible is what it is, we have nothing to be afraid of, so let’s look at all the evidence. The more we study, the more we learn, the more we will realize that what the Bible is telling us is historically accurate.
Q: You’ve said one of the things that guides your acquisitions process is finding things that tell the “story” of the Bible. What is that story?
A: People don’t recognize the degree to which this book has impacted their lives. Also, its history, the fact that it has been banned and burned more than any other book, and yet it’s survived. It had over 40 writers over a 1,500 year period. That in itself is an incredible story. And what is the moral of the story, what is this book all about? There’s a lot to tell and it involves all those aspects of history, accuracy, how it came together and what it tells. It’s something that a museum could really accomplish.
Q: You’d like the museum to be in Washington D.C., as close to the National Mall as possible. Are you at all concerned that its development could get caught up in red tape or political debates, such as over the separation of church and state?
A: We feel that if we come and approach this at a very academic level — i.e. this is the history and the evidence and you make your choice based on that — to some degree that takes away any argument about the separation between church and state. It’s an academic effort we’re making to present this book that has had a huge impact on our world.
Q: Is “Passages” just aimed at people of faith? Why should someone for whom faith or the Bible doesn’t play a strong role in their life go see it?
A: That’s the two types of people who should look at it: Skeptics of the Bible and those that love the Bible. For those that love it, it’s a once in a lifetime experience to see historic evidence of the book they love. We are telling a story and we hope they end up having a greater appreciation for the book and will be encouraged to be more engaged in that book. Hopefully, the skeptic will come out because we’re presenting the evidence — here is the story, people have given their lives for this book, it’s the most documented book of antiquity. There’s something up with this book and maybe you want to reconsider your skepticism.
Q: Do you think the Vatican will be at all envious of “Passages’” impressive array of texts and artifacts?
A: I think it would be hard for them to be jealous when they know what they have in their own basement!
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