Friends University will host one of the world’s most notable Dead Sea Scrolls scholars during two presentations April 6. Dr. Michael Wise, scholar-in-residence at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minn., will share his work with the Dead Sea Scrolls and how they shine a new light on the Bible. Both presentations are open to the public and will take place at 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Davis Administration Building’s Alumni Auditorium at Friends University.
Dr. Wise’s area of focus is ancient Judaism as a background to the rise of Christianity. He has studied the Semitic languages in order to immerse himself in rabbinic texts and in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and he uses more than 20 languages in his research.
He frequently lectures on the Dead Sea Scrolls from coast to coast. Dr. Wise and his work have been profiled in Time magazine; Vanity Fair; National Geographic; the New York Times; Chicago Tribune and the Times of London, and on the old MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour, the BBC, A&E’s “Mysteries of the Bible,” and in many other media in the United States and abroad. His book, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered (1992), was an international bestseller and was translated into seven foreign languages (German, Italian, Danish, French, Portuguese, Swedish and Dutch). Another work intended for general audiences, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation, appeared in 1996 and has also been translated into numerous foreign languages.
Dr. Wise is ordained as a minister in the Evangelical Free Church and regularly teaches adult Sunday School classes. He recently completed a second Ph.D., in the field of Classics (ancient Greek and Latin literature) at the University of Minnesota.
“We are excited to have Dr. Michael Wise on the campus of Friends University for two different talks – both open to the members of the Friends University community as well as guests from the greater Wichita community and beyond,” said Dr. Guy Chmieleski, Friends University campus pastor and dean of campus ministries. “Dr. Wise is an internationally recognized expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls and will share how his focused study on these ancient texts have served to shape the larger understanding of the Biblical narrative – and what that means for believers everywhere.”
For more information, contact 295-5746 or visit friends.edu/events/dead-sea-scrolls-new-light-bible/.
Friends University, a Christian University of Quaker heritage, equips students to honor God and serve others by integrating their intellectual, spiritual and professional lives.