Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Weston W. Fields will be presenting at the Prentice Meador Distinguished Lectures on Monday, April 11 in Collins Alumni Auditorium.
The event will begin at 7 p.m., and students who attend will receive chapel credit. A question and answer session and a book signing will follow the lecture.
Terry Briley, dean of the college of Bible and Ministry, said the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was important because it offered insight into the Bible that was 1000 years older than previous manuscripts.
“This has been, for the last 50 or 60 years, one of the most significant Biblical discoveries that has been made,” Briley said. “It’s very revealing in terms of the text of the Bible.”
Briley said that Fields is “one of the leading scholars in the world on the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
Fields has been the executive director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation since 1991. He has written four books, the most recent of which is The Dead Sea Scrolls. A Full History, Vol. 1.
Briley said he thinks the event will give attendees greater confidence in the reliability of the Bible.
“I think they’ll have a clearer picture of the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Biblical study,” Briley said. “I think they will probably come away with a better appreciation for how reliably the Biblical text has been handed down over time.”