Senators Lankford, Cornyn, and Coons Introduce Resolution to Recognize the Museum of the Bible

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Chris Coons (D-DE) have introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution to recognize the grand opening of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. The museum will officially open today and is free to the public. The museum holds items such as the Gutenberg Bible. Steven Green, Oklahoman, and president of Hobby Lobby serves as Chairman of the Board of the Museum of the Bible. 

“The museum takes you through six floors of exhibits that include artifacts, stories, art, history, and worldwide impacts of the Bible,” said Lankford. “This collection is a great addition to our nation’s Capitol. It is yet another reason for every American to visit Washington, DC to see some of the world’s most breathtaking treasures.”

A PDF of the letter is available here, and the full text of the resolution is below:

Recognizing the opening of the nonsectarian Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., the only museum of its size and scope in the world devoted exclusively to the Bible.

Whereas the Bible has played a prominent role in the culture of the United States and has been a significant influence throughout the history of our nation;

Whereas, in 1956, Congress passed a Joint Resolution adopting ‘‘In God We Trust’’ as the official motto of the United States;

Whereas, in 1982, Congress passed the Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution authorizing and requesting the President to proclaim 1983 as the ‘Year of the Bible’ ’’ (Public Law 97–280), finding that the Bible ‘‘has made a unique contribution in shaping the United States as a distinctive and blessed nation and people’’;

Whereas, on November 17, 2017, the Museum of the Bible opened a 430,000-square foot nonprofit museum in Washington, D.C., 3 blocks from the Capitol, and will be free to all visitors;

Whereas the Museum of the Bible is a nonsectarian institution that does not promote any faith or denomination;

Whereas, in 2014, the architectural concept submission for the Museum of the Bible was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts, the local Washington, D.C., Advisory Neighborhood Commission, and the Historic Preservation Review Board, and the primary building of the Museum of the Bible was awarded historical status by the Historic Preservation Review Board;

Whereas the Museum of the Bible will have 3 primary exhibit floors focused on the history, narrative, and impact of the Bible; 

Whereas the entrance to the Museum of the Bible will feature 2 40-foot-tall bronze panels that contain the first lines of Genesis in Latin, as originally printed in the Gutenberg Bible, and art glass panels featuring a papyrus containing the 19th psalm; and

Whereas the Museum of the Bible is an innovative, global, nonsectarian educational institution the purpose of which is to permit all people to engage with the Bible: 

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That Congress—

(1) recognizes the opening of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., the first non3 sectarian museum of its kind in the capital of the United States focused exclusively on the history, narrative, and impact of the Bible; and

(2) commends the leadership, staff, scholars, designers, construction workers, and volunteers who worked tirelessly to realize the goal of opening a museum, free to the public, with the nonsectarian purpose of ‘‘inviting all people to engage with the Bible’’.

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