Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 221
EAN: 9781403961433
ISBN: 1403961433
Label: Palgrave Macmillan
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: February 01, 2003
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Sales Rank: 1257420
Studio: Palgrave Macmillan
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Since their discoveries in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been a source of constant controversy. Scholars still argue over the meaning of the fragmentary texts--especially what they say about the Jewish roots of the first Christian communities. Discovering that the scroll fragments date Mark's gospel much earlier than once believed, Carsten Peter Thiede claims that the scrolls establish links between the two great faiths, and that they literally revolutionize our understanding of the Bible. Unraveling the complex and fascinating history ofthe Dead Sea Scrolls, this book will challenge and even change how people think about religion.
Amazon.com Review:
Most people know that the Dead Sea Scrolls exist, and most people have a vague idea that they contain some sort of secrets about the early days of Christianity and about a crucial period of Jewish history. But most of the literature pertaining to the scrolls is written in scholarly jargon that is all but impenetrable to the general reader. For a straightforward, who-what-when-where orientation to the scrolls and their significance in early Christianity, lay people are lucky to have The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish Origins of Christianity by Carsten Peter Thiede. The book begins by providing basic information about the scrolls. They were written by an orthodox Jewish sect called the Essenes between 150 B.C. and A.D. 68. They are written in Hebrew and Aramaic (the language that Jesus spoke). And they were known by other ancient writers, including Origen, an influential theologian in the early Church, until at least the third century. Although most of Thiede's book reviews basic information, his arguments are by no means bland. Readers already familiar with the scrolls will be challenged by Thiede's argument that cutting-edge, microscopic analysis has revealed previously unnoticed texts in the scrolls; and readers coming to the scrolls for the first time will have to reckon with his invitation 'to develop a new awareness of [Christianity's] roots'--in other words, to attempt to overcome '2,000 years of mainly anti-Jewish church history,' in order to grapple with the fact that 'Christianity is Jewish.' --Michael Joseph Gross
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
DSS and Christian Origins:
The major reason why the Dead Sea scrolls have been 'news' for almost fifty years is that they have repeatedly been connected with John the Baptist and the early Christians. The relation of Jesus sayings and the Dead Sea scrolls has been lingering, but attempts to demonstrate any direct relation between them turn out to be based on ungrounded evidence and cannot be taken as serious, concluded D. Harrington, the Jesuit DSS eminent expert. Moreover, it seems ... Read More
Rating:  -
If you are interested in The Dead Sea Scrolls and what they may mean to us, skip this book. The key word in the title is "Christianity." This book is more about Christianity than it is about the Scrolls. Thiede is shown here to be a thinly veiled fundamentalist (i.e., with a biased predisposition) who passes himself off as a scholar.
The central attraction of the Scrolls is the question of what they might mean to Christianity, because there are many parallels or commonalities between ... Read More
Rating:  -
Thiede reviews documents and fragments that have not previously been translated or have not been discussed widely. He has some detailed and exciting analyses, critically comparing with other proposals for reconstruction of fragments in Caves 4 and 7.
This book provides a thoroughly stimulating and satisfying read, handling the scenarios of history and culture in a flowing fashion that held my interest. Even with extensive notation and comparison with some other materials on the Dead ... Read More
Rating: -
One reviewer claims the book breaks no ground, in that it is already established that Christianity has Jewish roots. While this is true, liberal theology has often claimed that the orthodox doctrines of the deity of Christ and his physical resurrection were not believed by his earliest followers. Thiede's claim, if true, that a fragment of 1 Timothy has been found among the scrolls would shatter this liberal perception. I also found the book compelling in its treatment of the Septuagint, the Greek ... Read More
Rating: -
This book provides valuable information for laypeople who want to understand the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls in relation to Christian history. It gets pretty technical in parts, but the author's conclusions are clearly stated. The most important thesis he sets forth concerns the possiblity that there are fragments of the gospel of Mark and I Timothy among the Qumran scrolls. If this is true, then it is a clear indication that the New Testament literature was around earlier than many believe, ... Read More
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