From ralphw@thebox.rain.com Sun Jun 16 02:16:43 1991
From: ralphw@thebox.rain.com (Ralph Winston)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,talk.politics.mideast,alt.activism,soc.history,soc.misc
Subject: Whatever Happened to the Dead Sea Scrolls? [part 2]
Date: 12 Jun 91 08:59:59 GMT
Organization: TheBox - Public Access Xenix
One question continued to occupy my interest; what had become of
the Scrolls? Why were none of them published for so many years?
Sometimes I wondered whether they would survive or ever be made
available to the public. However, we should note that even in the
custody of the Jordanians, they were held in the strictest secrecy -
and why? I could only surmise that extreme pressure has been exerted by
both Christian and Jewish sources: from the former, because it would
not be beneficial to them should it be established that this faith grew
out of a Jewish cult and was, therefore, not an original revelation;
nor would the Israelis wish the Scrolls released, since they were
filled with fierce denunciation of Jewish religious leaders and civil
authorities.
It is my considered opinion and my sad conclusion that the Dead
Sea Scrolls will never be given to the world unless basic changes
occur: first, they must be removed from the custody of the Israeli
government and, second, we must establish an intellectual climate in
the western world in which scholars and ministers can discuss religious
subjects without fear or reprisals, in the form of lost prestige,
removal from lucrative positions, loss of salaries or other sanctions
which can be enforced against anyone who dares interfere with the
emoluments or the powers of those who are most powerful and influential
in society.
I think it is as simple as that. And at the back of my mind
lingers a gnawing fear that instead of being translated and published,
the leather or parchment on which the Scrolls are inscribed may be
physically destroyed or become undecipherable before anything is done
to release them. And it is highly significant that for several years
there has been little or no discussion anywhere concerning the Scrolls.
It seems that by ignoring the whole subject, its significance will die
in the public consciousness.
The Future of the Scrolls
I can think of no possible valid reason why the Scrolls have been
withheld now for nearly thirty years. If they could not be prepared for
publication in that length of time, would a century or two centuries be
enough? It seems to me that unless we can rescue them from their
present custody and also achieve a new and different intellectual world
climate, there is little hope that anyone now living will ever see any
translation of these Scrolls.
I consider what has happened and is continuing to occur in the
matter of the Scrolls the greatest cover-up of important historical
material that has occurred in modern history.
_____________________________________________________________________
Conclusion
1. We know from the Scrolls, as well as from many passages in the
New Testament, that both the Essenes and Jesus were bitterly opposed to
the Jewish authorities, especially the religious. There can be little
doubt that the Scrolls now crumbling into dust include many passages in
which the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Scribes are excoriated in the
most bitter terms and that the tyranny exercised by them over the
dissident Essenes is described in full detail.
2. John Allegro, mentioned earlier, states that the Scrolls: "pose
questions too hot for the scholars' liking - that has been the trouble
with the Scrolls; they impinge so much on Judaism and on
Christianity... they became a political football when the Israelis
marched in and seized Jerusalem from the Jordanians in the war of 1967.
They are now in Israeli custody and are still, so far as I am aware,
locked up in cabinets in the basements of the museum in Jerusalem,
where one bomb could destroy them anytime."
3. There is a general conspiracy to conceal the contents of the
remaining Scrolls, and, if possible, to hasten their destruction.
_____________________________________________________________________
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If you found this interesting, read the Dead Sea Scrolls update, next
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Ralph Winston
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