The Dead Sea Scrolls - Conspiracy Theories.

Rare interviews and discussions by Father O'Connor and other great Dead Sea Scrolls scholars of the "Conspiracy Theory" surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception, a book by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh has been the subject of much scrutiny and the sub title is; 'The sensational story behind the religious scandal of the Century.' The book discusses why seventy five percent of the eight hundred Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts have until recently been concealed from the world. The authors describe how that the scrolls were hidden from public view for some time by a group of scholars who were largely Catholic scholars under the leadership of Dominican Friar, Roland De Vaux 

Baigent and Leigh discuss the struggles between scholars, ownership of the scrolls and how the scrolls themselves, in their existence, challenges the origins of Christianity. The scrolls redefine religion and the nature of Jesus, his followers and disciples and the Bible itself. The authors argue that the Vatican suppressed the scrolls because they contain harmful information regarding the Church. Baigent and Leigh describe a dominating and ruthless Church challenged by one of the major archaeological breakthroughs in all time. The authors describe the Church as not only suppressing information but the possibility of destroying some of the scrolls so as not to incriminate the Church.

In retaliation to 'The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception', author and religious scholar, Hershel Shanks has written a book, 'Is the Vatican Suppressing the Dead Sea Scrolls?'
Hershel dismisses Baigent and Leigh's ideas.  And Rev. Joseph Augustine Fitzmyer, a religious scholar and academic, has described the book as ' a pattern of errors and misinformed statements'.

In the essay, 'The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament' by Mark M. Mattison, a very learned scholar who has written countless essays on Christianity, the Dead Sea Scrolls and issues of faith, we read more retaliation from the Church. He notes that Baigent and Leigh are 'sensationalists'. Mattison states that Baigent and Leigh state,

'An important strategy created by the editorial team, to suppress the truth, the authors argue, was creating a rigid orthodoxy of interpretation of the scrolls. The linchpin of this interpretation was the dating. The team tried to put as much distance as possible between the Dead Sea Scrolls and early Christianity. Thus, the team claimed that the scrolls belonged to a period long before the Christian era. Anyone who might question the early dating or the team's interpretation, or who would fight for the publication of the secret scrolls, would be treated as a heretic.'

Mattison goes to state;

'Why, then, did the editorial team drag their feet so much in publishing the texts entrusted to them? The answer is a little more boring than Baigent and Leigh's hypothesis but truer to the facts. The bottom line was simply greed. They wanted to be the first to publish the translations and lengthy commentaries on the texts from Cave Four. They were in charge of the manuscripts and they wanted it to stay that way. This is not an isolated problem; many newly-discovered ancient manuscripts have been withheld from the public by greedy scholars over the years. I would add that recently the monopoly on the scrolls has been broken; many more Dead Sea Scrolls are presently available to the general public, and Church doctrine seems to have survived well enough so far.'

Barbara Thiering is another 'sensationalist' as described by Mattison. In, 'Barabara Thiering: a short crtitique', a Dr. Johnathan Sarfati describes her as follows;

'Barbara Thiering is an Australian woman who has written several books attacking orthodox Christianity. Her basic thesis is that the New Testament was written in a code which only she has discovered. Although her outlandish ideas have absolutely no support in the scholarly world. She is unique in dating the Dead Sea Scrolls to the time of Christianity, although radiocarbon and handwriting tests put them mostly in the 1^st and 2^nd centuries bc.'

This is all very interesting to review. I like to respect the find of the Dead Sea Scrolls, they are already shrouded in mystery. The views of Baigent and Leigh are viable, maybe not reputable, but they have the right to discuss if not challenge the orthodox Church and the scholars findings.Likewise, Barbara Thiering, although disrespected by religious scholars, has a voice and the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery should be questioned to provide answers for many that waited many years. Now that they are so easily accessible, popular beliefs are inevitable.


RESEARCH FINDINGS:

To source information for this blog, I searched on the Internet for Dead Sea Scrolls Conspiracy, conspiracy theories. On the Internet, I was led from site to site, clicking on hyperlinks and such. I have cited relevant links that I used in my bibliography.  I visited the Melbourne Library and the State Library and found books on the topic. I also had a brief phone interview with my Auntie who had good suggestions. One of them being the book, 'The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception' I also visited the Theosophical Society Library and Bookshop which proved to be good as there were many books to choose from on the topic. I decided not to go to the Makor Library as planned as I was aware of having too much information.

MY REFLECTION:

I am enjoying this blog process and am finding that I will keep reading information about this topic after I have finished this project. As suspected I am finding the world of the Dead Sea Scrolls a great topic to explore. There is a wealth of information which is good but narrowing this down in the research process can be challenging. I have found that I have been discerning with what content to read and include in the project.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

israelarchaeology 2010, The dead sea scrolls conspiracy theories, 24 October, viewed 26 May 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-GYnl6nfoo

Wikipedia 2012, The dead sea scrolls deception, 9 May, viewed 26 May 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Sea_Scrolls_Deception


Biblicalarchaelogicalreview, ,Is the vattican suppressing the dead sea scrolls? , viewed 26 May 2012, http://members.bib-arch.org/search.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=17&Issue=6&ArticleID=11&UserID=0&,


Google 2012, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=9d6gq_bR1AIC&redir_esc=y, viewed 26 May 2012

MarkM.Mattison, The dead sea scrolls and the new testament, viewed 28 May 2012, http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/openhse/deadsea.html 


Creationministriesinternational, Barbara Thiering: a short critique, viewed 28 May 2012,  http://creation.com/barbara-thiering-a-short-critique


Creationministriesinternational, Dr. Jonathon Sarfati, viewed 28 May 2012, http://creation.com/dr-jonathan-sarfati