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Re: orion Epiphanius & Goranson
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I think David Crowder is wrong in his assertion of
anti-Semitism and anti-Christianity on the Orion pages.
If he is referring to the Copenhagen group then the good
news is that they seem to be anti-everything, perhaps nay
even motherhood and apple-pie:-)
Happy Easter and Pesach to everyone....happy weekend to our
Copenhagen friends.
Ever
Mike
Mike_Sanders@photoad.com (Private e-mail)
BibleMysteries@photoad.com (Web Site e-mail)
http://www.photoad.com/BibleMysteries/
-----Original Message-----
From: David Crowder <DCROWDER@compuserve.com>
To: Orion Center <orion@panda.mscc.huji.ac.il>
Cc: David Mills <interservepers@xc.org>
Date: Monday, April 06, 1998 2:09 AM
Subject: orion Epiphanius & Goranson
> I am posting the following letter from Neil Altman
belatedly. It was
>written
>some time ago in response to posts on Orion in December and
January
>concerning the apparent presence of CE Chinese in the
scrolls and other
>items
>that I raised then and in response to statements by Dr.
Stephen Goranson
>concerning Altman and his writings.
> Frankly, as time passed I questioned whether it was
really worth it to
>spend the
>hours necessary to counter Goranson, post and then deal
with the return
>fire.
>However, a few new issues have come up, and I thought
before we got to
>those,
>we'd better clear the decks of this cargo just in case
Epiphanius, the
>Essenes
>and Altman's earlier articles come up again.
> I wouldn't be surprised to hear objections to Altman
being posted since
>he is
>not a member, but other non-member writers and researchers
are posted here.
>
>And articles bearing Altman's name have been widely
published in newspapers
>and magazines reaching well in excess of 3 million homes in
the U.S. and
>Canada since 1992.
> Nonetheless, we appreciate Orion's indulgence.
>
>David Crowder
>El Paso
>
>
>The following letter comes from Neil Altman:
>
> Dear Stephen Goranson and Orion readers,
>
> For the past five months, while we were busy working on
an international
>story
>that involved hundreds of hours of research, interviews and
writing, we had
>little
>time to respond cogently to what was taking place on Orion
and what was
>being
>said about us. Now, in the coming weeks, we are going to
deal with the
>appropriation of our research, which David Crowder dubbed
"The Chinese
>Connection Heist."
> Even before we had a chance to publish our research, it
was stolen,
>twisted
>and falsely reported on Orion and elsewhere. It was
unethical and
>unprofessional but only a few of the Orion members said a
word. I would
>like to
>personally thank those who did speak up.
> Before getting to the bones we have to pick with Stephen
Goranson, I
>would
>like to put something else on the table -- that
anti-Christianity and
>anti-Semitism
>that exists among scroll scholars and in the departments of
academic
>institutions
>dedicated to the study of the Bible.
> I would like to ask how many members of Orion have
Orthodox Jews,
>Evangelical Christians or Messianic Jews in their secular
religion
>departments? I
>raised this question to a secretary at one of the top
universities in the
>U.S. and
>she told me that in 40 years, the department had never had
anyone teaching
>who fell into one of those three categories.
> A senior editor at Baker Book House told me he knew of
only five
>Evangelicals
>in secular religion departments in the country.
> Can anyone tell me why were Jews kept off the
international team until
>1987?
>Or, how many Orthodox Jews are on the team of translators
now? If only a
>few,
>why? Are they not from the strictest sect in Judaism who
are messianic in
>outlook? Who best to translate and interpret the Dead Sea
Scrolls than
>those
>who can most identify with them?
> Now, Goranson, in going after us, made a number of very
incorrect
>statements
>regarding, among other things, the writings of Epiphanius.
> I'm sure he is acquainted with A.F.J. Klijn and G.J.
Reinik. and their
>1973
>book, "Patristic Evidence for Jewish-Christian Sects,"
published in Leiden
>by
>E.J. Brill. Yet on Dec. 31, 1997, Goranson wrote that he
had read two of
>my
>articles in which I supposedly had made incorrect
assertions. He said,
>"Neil
>Altman asserted that Epiphanius wrote that the name
'Essene' was used to
>designate early gentile followers of Jesus. But that is not
so. ..."
> Sorry, but it is.
> On page 169 of "Patristic Evidence," Klijn and Reinik
translate
>Epiphanius as
>writing, "All Christians were Nazoreans once. For a short
time, they were
>given
>also the name Iessaeans, before the disciples in Antioch
began to be called
>Christians. When they were once called Iessaeans during a
short period,
>some
>again withdrew at that time after the ascension of the Lord
when Mark
>preached
>in the land of Egypt."
> When Goranson said that Epiphanius never mentioned that
the
>Iessaeans/Essenes were Christians, which I cited in my 1994
article in The
>Lutheran, he again painted a false picture.
> In that article, I wrote: "Another important clue in the
search for the
>Essenes is
>offered by Athanase Negoitsa in "Revue de Qumran. He writes
of a document
>by
>Nilus the Ascetic of the 4th century AD that indicates THE
ESSENES LIVED
>THEN. (Emphasis mine) Nilus praises their 'meditative and
lofty moral
>life.' But
>he regrets that the Essenes do not follow in the true
philosophy of the
>gospel of
>Christ.
> "Is there a source that clearly states the Essenes
originated in the
>Christian
>period and not before?
> "We know from the writings of the Church Fathers that
the Jews who
>believed
>in Jesus were called Nazarenes" and that they kept the laws
of Moses and
>the
>customs of the Jewish people.
> "And we read in Acts of the Apostles (11:26) that the
gentiles who
>believed in
>Jesus were called 'Christians.'
> "But between the time that the first gentile
(Cornelius) believed and
>the time
>that large numbers of gentiles in Antioch were converted,
what name
>differentiated gentiles?
> "I found the following statement in Epiphanius: 'All
Christians were
>called
>Nazoraeans (Nazarenes) once. For a short time they were
given also the name
>Iessaeans, before the disciples in Antioch began to be
called Christians.'
> "... But even Negoitsa doesn't mention Epiphanius'
statements about
>'Iessaeans.' What is the derivation of this Greek word, and
does it have
>any
>bearing on Christianity?
> "Phillip Comfort, professor of Greek and New Testament
at Wheaton
>College
>and senior Bible editor at Tyndale Publishing House,
states: 'The word
>(Iessaeans/Essenes) comes from Iessaios=Jesse, the father
of David. The
>early
>Christians may have called themselves this because the
Messiah was called
>the
>Son of Jesse.' "
> I think Comfort's statement lends weight and a better
understanding to
>Epiphanius' statement that the Essenes were a Christian
sect.
> What I cited is a small part of The Lutheran article,
which went into
>much more
>detail.
> I will have more to say about Goranson, Epiphanius, red
ink, etc.,
>hopefully
>this week.
>
>Neil Altman
>Philadelphia, Pa.
>(610) 789-2730
>