Sometimes what we don't want leads us to our goal.
“Stupid stuff,” say critics. Everything should be related and should be good for something? Doesn't exist. Indeed! Daniel Rossa experienced it. The vicar from the Ruhr area actually wanted to attend an event at the German Evangelical Church Congress in Stuttgart. The problem, he couldn't get in anymore. "Closed due to overcrowding," it said.
So it happened that he suddenly found himself at the premiere of the world's longest painted Bible. The result: Rossa was not only one of the first people to see “The Wiedmann Bible”, but also the first theologian in history who was allowed to interpret it. Up until now, this was reserved for the artist, Willy Wiedmann. Because he had hidden this monumental work in the archive for decades and guarded it like a treasure.
“STUMPED ABOUT THE LONGEST ARTIST'S BIBLE IN THE WORLD - FOLLOW-UP TO A WORLD PREMIERE AT KIRCHENTAG” is the title of the article that Daniel Rossa has now published on Theologiestudierende.de. His findings give an interesting and at the same time instructive insight into the picture Bible. He himself does not cast a spell on Bible festivals, which often ends in an "aha" experience.
“Wiedmann provides the tree of knowledge - and with it knowledge itself? - as a "snake tree" ... It is also noticeable that the "branch" that is holding out the apple to Eva seems to clearly represent a man's arm due to its hair and the shape of a "Popeye forearm". It would be possible for the artist to take into account the fact that the serpent in Hebrew is grammatically masculine (evil does not come from women!). "
Rossa is of the opinion that "The Wiedmann Bible" even offers theologians, art historians and artists, etc. a new perspective on the Holy Scriptures.
“The Wiedmann Bible certainly provides stimuli for the discourse between theological disciplines ... Wiedmann's claim to offer a complete presentation of the Bible“ from a single pen ”meets the scientific interest in comparability, systematisation and completeness more than many others Art projects is otherwise the case. "
The monumental work of art should also not be missing in congregations or in school and religion lessons, etc., in which the participants deal with the Bible. "Due to its richness of representation, but also through Wiedmann's style, the Wiedmann Bible also offers a high potential for church work / education, school lessons or for looking at pictures in sermons and devotions, which is worth exploring and exploring by theologians." Rossa's interpretation definitely makes you want more. Sometimes it's just worth not getting what you wanted. Because in the end you will be rewarded with something much more valuable.