Qumran, Early Christians & Early Rabbinic Judaism

Research on Qumran, Early Christians, and Early Rabbinic Judaism

Although fundamentalists in religious life assert that the answers to all human problems are available in inerrant scriptural form, there is still the problem of interpretation. From the beginning, differing stories, differing translations, and differing interpretations of scripture have led to the development of separate communities and sects within communities. The intent in this essay is to look at three separate groups the Qumran community, the Early Christians and Early Rabbinic Judaism exploring their major beliefs and their use of canonical scripture.

Although the community at Qumran was an important one during its time, it was not recovered historically until 1947 when Bedouin shepherds located the Dead Sea Scrolls in caves in the cliffs of the Wadi Qumran. Although there were a number of partial scrolls, there were only about a dozen full, intact scrolls for scholars to work with. Still, they were able to reconstruct quite a bit about what this Jewish sect utilized for worship and guidelines.

Beliefs. This sect and community reached its high point during the first century C.E., and was also destroyed during that time, with the community eliminated by the Romans in approximately 68 C.E. There are similarities between this sect and the early movement that developed around the figure of Jesus. Both were identified as righteous, and as important teachers. They

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from the perception of the outside world, including both Jewish and Hellenistic writers who essentially ignored the early Christian movement. Both Romans and Jews were much more interested in other sects in Palestine, including the Essenes. Beliefs. Nonetheless, despite this disinterest on the part of the major civilizations of the region, the movement spread. What are some of the beliefs of the early Christians that they were able to make plausible to those they proselytized. There are several of these that are important. Essentially, the Christians believed that they had received an ultimate revelation from the Son of God and that their movement would spread throughout the world. They also believed that themselves were forgiven for their sins, or redeemed, and that they would gain eternal life. They were free from the exigencies of this world, because Christ had gained victory over the world, and death. They believed that they had been released from the bondage of death and sin into an existence of faith, hope, and love. They expressed these beliefs in many ways. There were house churches, some of which shared possessions. There was a focus on the community of all believers, exemplifed by the sharing of communion

Category: Philosophy - Q