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Re: orion perspectives, Essenes
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Judith Romney Wegner wrote:
> >At 06:19 PM 9/13/97 -0400, you wrote:
>
> >You mean the "rubbish" which suggests that the Essenes did not write
> the
> >scrolls and that no connection can be made between the inhabitants of
> the
> >Qumran community and the finds in the nearby caves. What information
>
> >are....[snip]
> >
> >
> >
> >Jim
The continuing debate over whether or not the Essenes
wrote/copied/owned the DSS seems to hinge on a perspective of this group
as static in their doctrines. The accounts of Essenes that survive
(Philo, Josephus, Pliny) were written in the 1st century. The texts,
with the possible exception of 1QH, were composed as much as
2 centuries prior. One need only look at the disparity and fluidity
of Christian teachings between the time of the HJ and the emergence
of Hellenistic Christianity to understand how mutable Essenism
could have been as well over an equal period of time. Unfortunately,
we do not have a chronicle, outside of the texts, that give us a picture
of Essenes in Hasmonean times. The issues, therefore, over celibacy,
slaves, etc is not defining and does not abrogate an Essene origin for
the texts. There could have been an equal disparity between the
Essenes of the texts composition and the Essenes of Josephus just as
there was between the "Ebionites" and the Marcionists.
Jack
--
D’man dith laych idneh d’nishMA nishMA
Jack Kilmon (jpman@accesscomm.net)
http://users.accesscomm.net/scriptorium