Support the Qumran institute

 

The Qumran Institute of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies is the largest knowledge centre on the Dead Sea Scrolls in Europe. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the fifties and sixties of the last century, in a cave near Qumran in Israel. Their discovery made quite a noise in the world: the contents of the scrolls are invaluable for archeological, historical and religious studies, as they were written in a time that the foundations of Western society were still being formed. Scientists are now able to precisely research how discussions of political, judicial and religious nature were held, and how the Bible was formed.

 

Throughout the whole world, the disentanglement of the more than 10.000 text fragments by researchers has been followed with great interest. The Qumran Institute has published two translations in Dutch, the latest of which in 2007. Researchers have now reached a point where they can begin to draw parallels between the contents of the scrolls and knowledge already gathered by historians, archeologists, antiquity experts and theologists. This is the main focus of the Qumran Institute.

 

For a number of new initiatives, the Qumran Institute is in need of additional support: for the appointment of new PhD-students and Fellows, more publications and largescale participation in the public debate on religion, for research travels and for the institutional library. The execution of these plans wil aid the University of Groningen in fortifying the position of the Qumran Institute as scientific leader in the research on the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as addressing the huge interest of our society at large in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

Look here for options in giving to the Qumran Institute, or contact Ms. Rhoda Schuling of the Ubbo Emmius Foundation (0031-(0)50-363 7564 / r.schuling@rug.nl).