Everyone has influence, which is the basis of leadership. BOW's bi-weekly episodes are purposed to prepare and empower Christian women for leadership and life. They feature our ministry team and women guests who share from their professional ministry experience. Whatever your calling - influencing your neighbors, coworkers, family, friends, leading small groups - this podcast is for you. For additional resources or to watch videos of these podcasts, please visit beyondordinarywomen.org.
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Everyone has influence, which is the basis of leadership. BOW's bi-weekly episodes are purposed to prepare and empower Christian women for leadership and life. They feature our ministry team and women guests who share from their professional ministry experience. Whatever your calling - influencing your neighbors, coworkers, family, friends, leading small groups - this podcast is for you. For additional resources or to watch videos of these podcasts, please visit beyondordinarywomen.org.
Dr. Kelley Mathews
Dr. Sandra Glahn, Professor at Dallas Seminary, joins BOW Team Member Kelley Mathews in this episode. They discuss the fascinating archaeological discovery of the Megiddo Mosaic and what it reveals about women and worship in the early church.
The Mosaic was found in what is the earliest Christian church known in the world
This Mosaic is currently on loan and can be seen at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
Other resources:
See pictures of the Megiddo Mosaic at the website of The Museum of the Bible.
BOW's podcast series on how Biblical archaeology can enhance our faith with Angela Everett: 1. Biblical Archaeology: Why It Is Important; 2. Old Testament Discoveries; 3. New Testament Discoveries. Or link to the videos of each where you can see images of the archaeological finds: Part 1; Part 2: and Part 3.
This episode is available on video as well.
Timestamps:
00:20 Introductions of Dr. Glahn & the topic
02:23 What is the visual record of the church and why is it important?
06:18 Background of the Visual Museum of Women in Christianity
07:52 What was the archaeological find at Megiddo? And what does it tell us about the early Christian church? And particularly women?
14:27 The most significant thing about the mosaic itself
20:45 The incorrect and better narratives as to why there were so many women the early church
24:05 Display at the Museum of the Bible [Note: If you are interested, check to see if the Mosaic is still on display.]
24:35 Why was the Mosaic covered?
25:24 The deity of Christ
26:59 Where to see images of the mosaic
TranscriptKelley >> Welcome to the Beyond Ordinary Women Podcast. I'm Kelley Mathews and I am delighted today to host Dr. Sandra Glahn, a longtime friend and colleague. And she's a seminary professor. But today we're going to talk to her in her context of being the co-founder of the Visual Museum of Women in Christianity. Welcome.
Dr. Glahn >> Thank you. My pleasure.
Kelley >> This is fun. Yeah. So today we're going to talk about something old, really old. And archaeology is a big part of biblical studies that gives us lots of background. And there have been some discoveries in recent years that really apply to women in particular. So tell us what we all heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls or most of us probably.
And those were discovered decades ago and they've really revealed a lot. What are people saying is the biggest discovery since then?
Dr. Glahn >> Since then. So it's a floor that was found in Megiddo, which is connected with Armageddon. That's where you hear the "magid" in there. So it's not just notorious. It's also known for some great stuff in church history and in biblical history.
And some folks were digging in a prison courtyard and came upon a preserved floor that's a beautiful stone mosaic. And the thing I love about mosaics is they can look like they were set yesterday, whereas a fresco fades, a statue usually in 2000 years, loses a nose or an arm, or archer loses a bow or whatever.
But the mosaics are much more preserved. And this floor was intentionally preserved. So it was clear that it was hidden for a reason, but it was intended to hide it for a long lasting preservation.
So it wasn't just covered over with sand and dirt as the years went by, it was more like a plaster-ish substance that said, “We want to protect this, but we want to hide it.”
So I should probably back up and tell you what in the world I do. I'm a seminary professor who mostly teach writing and all those hard verses about women in the Bible.
What do I have to do with archaeology? And because that will be relevant in what we talk about.
Beyond Ordinary Women Podcast
Everyone has influence, which is the basis of leadership. BOW's bi-weekly episodes are purposed to prepare and empower Christian women for leadership and life. They feature our ministry team and women guests who share from their professional ministry experience. Whatever your calling - influencing your neighbors, coworkers, family, friends, leading small groups - this podcast is for you. For additional resources or to watch videos of these podcasts, please visit beyondordinarywomen.org.
