|
![[Under Construction]](images/undercon.gif)
| |
Recent Media Coverage of
Treasures In Time, Inc.
Dr. Kenneth Hanson, author of
Secrets from the Lost Bible,
Dead Sea Scrolls,
Kabbalah, and
Essene Book of Everyday Virtues was recently featured on the
History Channel special "Banned
from the Bible". As one of the world's foremost experts on non-canonical
Christian texts, Dr. Hanson was the chief consultant for the production and is
interviewed repeatedly throughout the hour-long program. Visit the
History Channel website for more information.
A pith helmet is among
the props Kenneth Hanson uses during his one-man show about his academic and
geographic odyssey and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
(RICARDO
RAMIREZ BUXEDA/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
August 29,
2005
THE VIEW FROM HERE
There's no
business like . . . scroll business
A UCF professor
steps from behind the podium and into the spotlight to make history come alive.
Mark I. Pinsky | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted August 29, 2005
If only history class were like this:
The professor -- looking more than a little like actor Kevin Bacon -- stalks in,
animated, enthusiastic and dramatic. He is wearing a pith helmet and bush
jacket, one of several costumes he will don and doff during his lecture,
accessorizing each with matching accents and languages.
Gesturing expansively, he leans against
a podium, handles a large pottery jar, brandishes a sword and climbs a pile of
fake rocks.
At several points, he bursts into song. While slides appear on the screen,
instrumental music -- live and recorded -- accompanies his remarks, and there
are occasional rimshots from the rock band's drummer, to punctuate a hokey line.
Though the topic he addresses is 2,000 years old, cultural references include
Elvis, Bob Dylan, Walter Cronkite and Indiana Jones.
Obviously, this is no history class. It's Journey to the Scrolls and Beyond! --
Kenneth Hanson's one-man show about the ancient, sacred Hebrew writings
discovered about 60 years ago in the Judean hills near the Dead Sea.
And the setting is not a sunlit lecture hall. It's an evening presentation at
the University Unitarian Universalist Society in Oviedo -- not far from the
University of Central Florida, where Hanson teaches biblical and Jewish history.
The audience is middle-age or older, with just a sprinkling of young people.
Most of the three-dozen people in the society's main hall are congregation
members, but there is also a handful from the distinctly less religious Free
Inquiry Society, made up of humanists, agnostics and atheists.
For about two hours this night, Hanson, 51, weaves the story of his academic and
geographic odyssey from Chicago, as a wide-eyed undergraduate, to Jerusalem, as
an inspired scholar, with the tale of the discovery of the 2,000-year-old Dead
Sea Scrolls. Among the texts written on animal skins, some found in sealed clay
jars, were the book of the prophet Isaiah; what may have been a precursor of the
New Testament's Book of Revelation; and a Book of Discipline of the Essenes, the
ascetic religious community thought to have compiled the scrolls.
Josh Reid, 16, of Geneva is here with his mother and grandmother. His favorite
part, the Oviedo High School student says, was the beginning -- Hanson's
entrance and his personal experience in Israel as a young man.
His mother, Chris Reid, shares Josh's enthusiasm. "It was very entertaining and
informative, and I learned a lot -- but painlessly," says Reid, 57, a
real-estate appraiser in Geneva. "I liked seeing it face-to-face, watching one
person taking on so many roles."
Gladyce Bouley, 81, the family matriarch, had read some translations of the
scrolls. Hanson's narrative "tied things together for me," she says, after
buying one of his four books on sale at the back of the room.
No one -- including the star himself -- would confuse his one-man show with a
show on the History Channel. Hanson's props and special effects are modest but
effective, and he is sometimes a little hammy. Still, the scholarship is
unquestionable, and the applause from the crowd is heartfelt.
Hanson has experienced a spiritual odyssey, as well as a geographic one. He was
raised a United Methodist, later became a Baptist, a charismatic and then what
he calls a "rootin' tootin' evangelical."
Spurred by his son, who attended a friend's bar mitzvah at age 13 and wanted to
convert to Judaism, Hanson joined him in the process. Their conversion was
completed in 2000, long after Hanson's academic and intellectual passion for the
faith and its history were whetted.
Hanson, 51, says he found it hard to connect when he went on traditional tours
promoting his books on Jewish history and faith, including The Dead Sea Scrolls:
The Untold Story and Secrets From the Lost Bible. In his talks, he found himself
slipping into characters involved in the story -- a Bedouin shepherd, an
Arab-Christian antiquities dealer, a Greek Orthodox archbishop, an Israeli
archaeologist -- "not what you would expect from a Dead Sea Scrolls lecture," he
acknowledges.
What he learned from these talks, he says, is that to really grab "an audience,
you have to be dramatic."
So he developed his one-man show, which debuted at the Jewish Community Center
of Central Florida in Maitland three years ago and has been performed about a
dozen times.
Weili Luo, of Orlando, a UCF colleague, pronounces Hanson's presentation
"excellent" and "very educational," a very effective way to communicate culture
and history to students.
Hanson thinks he's been well-prepared by some insightful critics. College
students, he says, are "the toughest audience there is. . . . To be effective in
the classroom, you have to be a showman."
Mark I. Pinsky | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted August 29, 2005
The View From Here is a slice of local life by Sentinel reporters. Today,
feature writer Mark Pinsky contributes.
Mark I. Pinsky can be reached at mpinsky@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5589.
What a great response to your
program! Everyone was so pleased with the content and your presentation skills.
This morning, the St. Augustine record (our daily newspaper) contained a front
page article about Holocaust Remembrance Day that led off with your
presentation. I have enclosed the link if you are interested in reading the
online version of the article.
- Sol Hirsch
The Dead Sea Scrolls
have truly come alive! Your "multi-media approach" kept the topic from being
dry as dust. I personally want to commend you on the even-handed way that you
presented the information (and speculations) ... It's probably not necessary to
tell you how well your presentation was received.
- David R. Jenkins
Chair, Curriculum Committee
Learning Institute for Elders at University of Central Florida
His
lecture ... was so exciting that everyone demanded his return!
Williamsburg Education for Lifelong Learning
... He immediately
captured his audience ...
Congregation Shalom Newsletter
A natural
bridge-builder between Christians and Jews ...
- Henry B. Stern
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Other Audience Reviews:
Dr. Hanson is a dynamic and outstanding speaker/professor who uses effective
teaching and attention devices. It is a pleasure to hear an educator who is not
only an authority on a subject (like the Dead Sea Scrolls and has the ability to
generate interest and a desire to learn! Dr. Hanson is one of the best speakers
I have heard.
Two thumbs up! Left me wanting more.
Outstanding professor!! A real learning experience. He is an expert in the true
sense of the word and he presents the subject dynamically.
Ken made the greatest impression on me with the enthusiasm he brings to the
subject in every way.
Dynamic - Great!!!
The high point of the program.
Would rank Dr. Hanson in the top two of my 50+ Hostel course experiences!
Dr. Hanson deserves a 10 plus. The best lecture I've heard at an Elderhostel.
Sparked interest; then followed through.
Excellent, entertaining, very informing, the ideal professor! Made me want to
go back to college. Great music, language, history. Religion well presented!
|
