Day of Fasting and Prayer to Feature Torah Scroll Presentation
The Torah scroll is a gift from the Larson family of Slumberland Furniture and Dr. Scott Carroll.
For The King’s College’s annual Day of Fasting and Prayer on Thursday, January 26, a Torah scroll will be unveiled and presented to the College during a special presentation at 12:15 p.m. in the City Room.
Ken and Barbara Larson of St. Paul, Minn., together with Dr. Scott Carroll, an ancient history and religion scholar, will present the Torah scroll as a gift to King’s for the purpose of being studied and used in classes by students and faculty.
The Larsons, owners of Slumberland Furniture, a retail chain of 128 stores in 12 states, donated their first Torah scroll to Bethel Seminary in 2014 to mark their 50th wedding anniversary.
When the Larsons realized how many seminaries and Christian colleges do not have the opportunity to read from an original Torah scroll, they purchased a collection of Torahs to donate to such institutions around the world.
During the presentation, Carroll, often referred to as the “Indiana Jones” of biblical antiquity, will give a one-hour seminar about the Torah and the unique story of the scroll that will reside at King’s.
“The Torah scroll brings several things to the King’s campus at once,” said Dr. Dru Johnson, associate professor of biblical and theological studies. “First, the preserved scroll is a living artifact from a Jewish community. It’s so radically different from the paperback bibles we carry, displaying publicly many facets of scribal traditions and the expense of written documents in the ancient world. Second, it presents our students with the same truths of Scripture, but from another time and world.”
Johnson said he often uses the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanakh) to help students think about how the English translation is attempting to convey the meaning from another time and language.
In addition to the Torah scroll presentation, which is open to the public, The King’s College will join with Nyack College for a time of prayer and worship at 8:15 a.m. in the City Room and again on Nyack’s campus for a 5 p.m. chapel service. (Students can meet in King’s lobby at 4:45 p.m.). A closing worship gathering will end the day at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Union.