'Very little confidence' that Dead Sea Scrolls collection authentic, SWBTS says
Pieces of papyrus sold as rare fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary a decade ago are "likely fraudulent" and the seminary might seek financial restitution, the school announced in a statement Monday (April 6).
"The Dead Sea Scrolls fragments were acquisitions of the prior administration," the statement said. "Because we have had very little confidence in their authenticity, the fragments have never been on public display since the arrival of the new seminary administration in February 2019."
The six fragments were purchased in two separate acquisitions in 2010 during the presidency of Paige Patterson, with seed money from Texas businessman and then-SWBTS trustee Gary Loveless. While the former and current SWBTS administrations have declined to reveal the purchase price, comparable pieces -- although revealed to be forgeries -- have sold for millions of...
