AWC professor breaks down mystery, message of artifacts

Some of the most famous pieces of paper in the world have a friend in Yuma. The 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls are hailed as the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th Century and a Yuma professor wants to help the world understand their message and mystery.

Pam Kuhlken, a professor at Arizona Western College, recently co-authored the book "What are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They

Matter?"

Kuhlken timed the book's release to coincide with the largest and longest exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls in world history. The precious documents will leave their home in Israel for two floors of the San Diego Natural History Museum from June 29 through December 31.

The Yuma woman wrote the book along with an American researcher who is considered one of the world's leading scholars in study of the scrolls.

Kuhlken, 38, says that although countless books have already been written about the scrolls, far too many spoke only to academic readers.

"I was always offended at the books out there on the scrolls, written in such obtuse jargon - so scary and so dully," she said, adding with a laugh, "I never actually made it through a Dead Sea Scrolls book myself until I started researching this one."

Their working title for the book was actually something along the lines of "The Dead Sea Scrolls for Dummies." Kuhlken stressed that they simply wanted to share the scroll's important historical and religious message in a fashion more appealing to a general readership.

"People deserve to know and understand the scrolls," she said. "They have so much to tell us."

The 27 tattered scrolls were firstdiscovered by Bedouin herders and then by archaeologists between 1947 and 1956 inside 11 caves along the shores of the Dead Sea in Israel. The scrolls represent nearly every book in the Hebrew Scriptures, which comprise the Old Testament in the Bible, as well as alternative Gospels.

Kuhlken said that despite conspiracy theories, the scrolls do not contain any stunning, secret information. She stressed that their importance isn't so much what they reveal as what they validate.

According to Kuhlken, "What they tell us is that the Bible, over all these years, has been transmitted 99.99 percent correctly. They show how the Bible retained its integrity over the centuries, which is just incredible."

Prior to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest religious document was a copy of a 1,000-year-old Hebrew Bible.

"The scrolls are 1,000 years older. That's quite a jump."

Kuhlken's personal interest in the Dead Sea Scrolls stems from her lifelong love of the Bible. She holds a doctorate in theology and attended seminary training for several years.

A progressive Christian, she described her unique views this way: "I love God, I love Jesus, and I'm voting for Hillary."

Kuhlken's personal research into the scrolls includes several trips to the Israeli cave sites. She reads and speaks Hebrew and Greek (in addition to German and English), which enabled her to study the ancient scrolls.

But her book is mostly built around interviews with her co-author, David Noel Freedman, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego. Kuhlken said that the world-famous scroll expert, who is 85, has studied the scrolls for the past 60 years. Freedman studied beneath America's first scrolls expert and was in his laboratory when the call came from Israel that some amazing scrolls had been discovered.

"The book really turned into a biography because this is a story of how he's lived most of this life with the scrolls," the Yuma professor said.

The museum in San Diego and the Israeli Antiquities Authority asked Freedman to suggest a curator for the upcoming exhibit in California. The scrolls expert will also present a lecture on Sept. 17.

Kuhlken conducted 50 interviews with Freedman - a longtime friend - over a period of six months.

"What are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They Matter?" was released coast to coast in April by a major Christian publisher. The book is available nationwide at Barnes and Noble Booksellers, as well as online through Amazon.com.

Kuhlken said she plans to begin scheduling university speaking engagements now that finals have been completed at AWC.

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DR. PAM KUHLKEN: ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHILDHOOD: Born in Hollywood, raised in San Diego

EDUCATION AND CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

- Studied in Heidelberg, Germany, for one year.

- Spent summer in New Orleans writing collection of interviews with local people.

- Studied at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel for one summer.

- Completed three years graduate work in Poetics and Creative Writing at University of California-Berkeley.

- Taught college literature and writing in Prague, Czech Republic, for one year.

HER DEGREES:

- Master's in Poetics from New College of California, San Francisco

- Master's in Theology from Bethel Theological Seminary

- Doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of California (specializing in World Literature, Literary Theory, Film, and German studies)

SPOUSE:

- Novelist Ken Kuhlken, Ernest Hemmingway Award finalist

- Go to www.kenkuhlken.net

- They helped to found Perelandra College (www.perelandra.info)

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MEET KUHLKEN IN PERSON

-The author plans to host a book signing event.

-WHERE: Barnes and Noble Booksellers

-WHEN: Saturday

-HOURS: 1 to 4 p.m.

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RESEARCH THE SCROLLS YOURSELF

The famed Dead Sea Scrolls are coming to San Diego for their largest and longest exhibition in history.

Two floors of the San Diego Natural History Museum will showcase all 27 scrolls for six months. Ten of the scrolls have never before been seen by the public.

-WHEN: June 29 through Dec. 31

-WHERE: Balboa Park in San Diego

-EXHIBIT COST: $15-$28 each for non-members

-MORE INFO: Go to www.sdnhm.org/scrolls or call toll free 1-877-946-7797

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Darin Fenger can be reached at dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.