The Dead Sea Scrolls: And Christianity.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has revolutionised our picture of the early history of Judaism and of the Jewish background of early Christianity. With the completion of the publication of the entire scrolls collection, it is now possible to draw significant conclusions from this treasure trove of ancient documents. This illustrated lecture by Professor Lawrence Schiffman will discuss the discovery of the scrolls, the archaeology of Qumran where the scrolls were unearthed, the nature of the library, and its significance for the study of Judaism, Christianity and their common destiny.

Who were the Essenes?

Shaye I.D. Cohen explains this; 

'A good example of a group which separated itself from society at large and defined itself against the Temple in Jerusalem are the Essenes, or perhaps you might say, the people of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Dead Sea community, whom most scholars regard as Essenes. Here is a group of people who left Jerusalem, went to live in the wilderness, to live by themselves, totally isolated from other Jews, from the rest of the community, and as their Scrolls reveal, saw themselves as the new sacred community, waiting for the time, when ... they imagine that the Temple would be reconstituted and reconstructed and rebuilt.... and a new and better priestly group would take over the Temple in Jerusalem. And, in the meantime, while the wicked priests are still off in Jerusalem, following the wrong calendar, following the wrong purity rules and officiating improperly before the Lord, in the meantime, pure purity and true holiness resided only among themselves, in their own community, off near the Dead Sea.... The community itself was a surrogate temple....'

The Essenes were a God fearing apocalyptic, scholars that wrote much that can redefine our thoughts regarding Christianity. The Dead Sea Scrolls enlivened the Bible for many when they were finally released. And the scrolls help to broaden our knowledge of the Bible, Christianity, who Jesus was and our beliefs. Whether or not we believe in the doctrines of the Church, the content of the scrolls is enlightening.

The following is an excerpt from the Dead Sea Scrolls;

The Parable of the Bountiful Tree

4Q302a

F.1 Col.2

Please consider this, you who are wise: If a man  has a fine tree, which grows high, all the way to heaven (...) (...) of the soil, and it produces succulent fruit every year with the autumn rains and the spring rains, (...) and in thirst, will he not (...) and guard it (...) to multiply the boughs (?) of (...) from its shoot, to increase (...) and its mass of branches (...)

F.2 Col.1

(...) your God (...) your hearts (...) (...) with a willing spirit. (...) Shall God establish (...) from your hand? When you rebel, (...) your intentions, will He not confront you, reprove you and reply to your complaint? (...) As for God, His dwelling is in heaven, and his kingdom embraces the lands; in the seas (...) in them, and (...)

 

This is beautiful and illustrates the richness of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The literature is abundant and the scrolls shed light on the people of the time, their beliefs and the nature of religion.

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Old Testament;

One of the areas of study to which the Dead Seas Scrolls have had a profound impact is the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament. The Essenes or the community of Qumran lived from 150 B.C. until approximately 70 A.D. This means that the books were not yet written before the end of the community. The Qumran community was dedicated to its library and the library contains numerous commentaries on the biblical books of the Old Testament. The books have taught us much about the text of the Hebrew Scriptures, the development of biblical books and the issue of a canon. 

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament;

Some of the biggest controversies surrounding the scrolls involve the relationship between and the contribution to the New Testament and to Jesus. Many scholars have found similarities between the scrolls and the books of the New Testament and have also labelled the Essenes as the first Christians. Although there are also differences between the two groups and the literature, the penmanship for example, early Christians and the Essenes did share similar traits in the texts. 

Dove

What archaeological discovery has had the all-time greatest Biblical impact?

"Probably the Dead Sea Scrolls have had the greatest Biblical impact. They have provided Old Testament manuscripts approximately 1,000 years older than our previous oldest manuscript. The Dead Sea Scrolls have demonstrated that the Old Testament was accurately transmitted during this interval. In addition, they provide a wealth of information on the times leading up to, and during, the life of Christ.
—Dr. Bryant Wood, archaeologist, Associates for Biblical Research

 



RESEARCH FINDINGS:

I referred to the following books; 'The Dead Sea Scrolls today' by James C. Vanderkam, as well as 'The Prophet of the Dead Sea Scrolls; The Essenes and the early Christians - One and the same people, their seven devout practices' by Upton Clary Ewing, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English' translated by Geza Vermes and 'The Gnostic Gospels' by Elaine Pagels. These books were very informative regarding the topic of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Christianity.

On the Internet, I researched searches such as Dead Sea Scrolls and Christianity, The Essenes, Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes, Images of the Essenes, Dead Sea poetry examples. I also searched fr information to support hyperlinks.

MY REFLECTIONS:

This post, in particular, has challenged what I believe in regards to the Dead Sea Scrolls. I have been researching and I am very interested in the history of religion, peoples need for beliefs or non beliefs and the result of  such pivotal findings such as these scrolls.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

UCtelevsion 2008, Judaism, Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls, 8 August, viewed 2 June, 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92hyhBXLaWE  

Frontline 1998, A portrait of jesus' world; the essenes and the dead sea scrolls,WGBH educational foundation, viewed 2 June 2012, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/portrait/essenes.html

The Gnostic Society Library, Dead sea scroll texts, viewed 2 June 2012,  http://www.gnosis.org/library/partre.htm 


Google Books 2012, The dead sea scrolls today, viewed 2 June 2012, http://books.google.com.au/books/about/The_Dead_Sea_Scrolls_Today.html?id=i2i5haDHAygC&redir_esc=y


Amazon 2012, The prophet of the dead sea scrolls: the essenes and the early christians, one and the same holy christiians: their seven devout practices, viewed 2 June 2012, http://www.amazon.com/The-Prophet-Dead-Scrolls-Christians-One/dp/0930852265


goodreads 2012, The gnostic gospels, viewed 2 June 2012, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110763.The_Gnostic_Gospels


Religious tolerance B.A. Robinson 2010, The hebrew scriptures, a.k.a. the old testament, 10 February, viewed 2 June 2012, http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jf.htm


Wikipedia 2012, Dead sea scrolls, 2 June, viewed 2 June 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls


Dr. Will Varner 1997, What is the importance of the dead sea scrolls? viewed 2 June 2012, http://www.christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a023.html

Vanderkam, J 1994, The dead sea scrolls today, Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co. Michigan. 


Pagels, E 2006, The gnostic gospels: long buried and suppressed the gnostic gospels contain the secret writings attributed to the followers of jesus, 3rd edn, Phoenix, London.

Ewing, U 1993, The prophet of the dead sea scrolls: the essenes and the early christians: one and the same people their seven devout practices, 3rd Rev. Edn, Tree of Life Publications, CA.