From: Jay Willingham (jaywillingham@cfl.rr.com)
Date: Sun Apr 20 2003 - 00:02:38 EDT
Happy Easter. He is Risen, He is Risen, indeed!
In a time of war, I would not want to spend soldiers' blood protecting
bricks and mortar, even if they bore the brush strokes of Michelangelo.
Policemen and warriors are distinctly different.
From what I have read elsewhere, the valuable pieces were long gone from the
museums by the time our troops got there. They were taken by people who had
the keys and knew exactly what to take. Some paintings have been recovered
at the Syrian border, so there may still be hope.
Hopefully and prayerfully, you are right and some of the antiquities from
Iraq will emerge when law and order prevails again in the Fertile Crescent.
During WWII, art from the great museums was stored in the basements of the
Biltmore House in the mountains of WNC to protect it from attacks on
Washington, DC.
Jay
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Miller" <kbmill@ksu.edu>
To: "Jay Willingham" <jaywillingham@cfl.rr.com>
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 9:22 PM
Subject: Re: More on Iraq National Museum Tragedy
>
> From what I understand from the articles I have read, the status and
> location of the Hammurabi stele is unknown. It may have been relocated
> for safe keeping, or it may have been stolen. Whether some of the
> looting was planned by professional thieves or not, it occurred because
> of the complete absence of any enforcement of order or protection of
> the museum.
>
> The looting of the museum and burning of the libraries were entirely
> preventable and the US was warned in advance of the danger. This was
> not just an ordinary museum but housed some of the world's greatest
> treasures from some of the earliest civilizations in an area that gave
> birth to Abraham and his descendants. The losses are irreparable.
> Something equivalent might be the looting and destruction of the
> Smithsonian Institute, or the burning of the Library of Congress.
>
> Human history, art, and culture are things worth fighting to preserve.
> These things are what give people their identities and shape who they
> are. We have always valued these things greatly. They enrich our
> lives and are expressions of our deepest human longings. From a
> Christian perspective, they are all reflections of the divine image, of
> our God-given gifts.
>
> How would the Christian community respond if the Sistine Chapel were
> destroyed during a time of violent unrest because of the failure of the
> authorities to protect it? Would we not have expected every effort to
> have been taken to protect such a world treasure?
>
>
> Keith
>
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