The Dead Sea Scrolls - Why all the uproar?

Question

Why do religious people dismiss the Dead Sea Scrolls out of hand, when they have been carbon dated to the 1st Century A.D. Yet, accept as gospel, the Bible written some 8 centuries later in a highly edited version?

Answer 1

Hi B O F
It is because the established church doesn't want a good story spoilt by fact. Bad for business.

Answer 2

The Dead Sea Scrolls dating has revealed a range of dates covering almost 3 centuries. For example, the Isaiah Scroll dates to about 100 BCE.

The issue with the Dead Sea Scrolls is that little or nothing is really known about those who allegedly wrote them. Were they some early christian sect (surely not for the early scrolls), a scribal arts school or was it simply a depository for invalid or damaged scrolls? Jewish Law holds that any writing that includes God's name cannot be destroyed, but rather must be buried when invalid (not written correctly) or damaged beyond repair. The fact that these documents, mostly religious in nature, were buried in jars suggest that this cave was a document graveyard as opposed to a library.

That some of the later documents found seem to relate to early christianity is not surprising as the end of the period in which those caves were used was at the time of struggles of the early christians.

The other problem is that, in most cases, only fragments remain. Imagine what could be on the missing pieces? For example, if the word 'not' was missing, the entire meaning of a passage would change. As few of these documents are anywhere near complete, to try to claim any truths from them is not scientifically or historically rational.

Answer 3

I think you overlook the fact that many of the manuscripts found substantiate the reliability of the Scriptures. Perhaps the most remarkable discovery from the Dead Sea scrolls was an almost completely intact copy of the entire Book of Isaiah. Before it's discovery the oldest original manuscript of Isaiah dated to around 1100 A.D.,yet when compared the two showed no significant differences. But in stating that the earliest manuscripts for the New Testament date to the 8th century you are completely wrong. Numerous manuscripts of the Gospels and Epistles which are written in cursive Greek and date back as far as the 2nd century are in existence today.

Answer 4

No... many on the books of the New Testament are dated to around 100 to 400 AD. Your claim to them being highly edited is pure conjecture.

Also realize that the dead sea scrolls have not yet been fully translated or even assembled.

As to which is a more accurate portrayal of the past, only time and research will tell

Answer 5

Most Christians and Jews do accept the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are authentic and believable. They are some of the best proof around that the Bible is 100% accurate in its current form.

First, the Dead Sea Scrolls have never been "carbon dated" because they are too new for carbon dating to work. They have been dated rather by the type of parchment used, the mixture of the ink, the lettering style, and - for the non-bible manuscripts - the words used (for instead, an book that used the word "astronaut" had to date from 1960 or beyond). Using that information, the manuscripts have been dated to a period starting about 150BC, and ending at 70AD when the Romans drove all the Jews out of the area.

Despite what Dan Brown claims in the DaVinci Code, the manuscripts in the Dead Sea Scrolls are entirely Jewish writings. There is not one single manuscript that contains even a word of the New Testament. So they have absolutely nothing to do with the Gospels - the ones in the Bible or the Gnostic ones. There are no NT manuscripts in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Rather the scrolls are a collection of scripture and other writings that appear to have belonged to a religion community located about 10-15 miles away. They were a militant group, often in conflict with the Romans and the Jewish leaders. They would be about like the "Christian" white supremest or similar "live in the desert with weapons expecting the end of the earth" groups are to mainstream Chrisitanity today.

Among the writing they preserved are several manuals that deal with life in their community, rules, disciple, etc. Also a very image filled allegory of how their group came to be about the Struggle of the Sons of Light with the Sons of Darkness. The manuscripts of this library are separated into several different "rooms" within the cave.

One room contains a large selection of literature written during that last great upraising against the Greeks around 250BC, known as the Maccabean Revolt. In fact, their group appears to have grown directly out of that revolt. This includes a series of "Books of Enoch", that claim to come from the time of Adam and Eve and tell the prophecies of Adam's seventh descendent Enoch.

Another room had a lot of Torah (Old Testament) related books. several copies of the Old Testament translated into other languages, including the Greek LXX. Some paraphrases of the Old Testament in the Samarian version of Hebrew. Children's books, etc. They also have several commentaries on the Torah. The text of the Torah contained with the paraphrases and children's book often varies from the standard text of the Torah used today. (But then have you ever seen a paraprase - which is a rewritten of a test into your words - or a children's book that didn't?)

Another area have copies of the Torah. Every book of the current Old Testament as been found except the book of Esther. (No all the manuscripts and fragments have been recorded yet, so there may still be more things to find). The actual Torah manuscripts found in the Dead Sea scroll are the identical to the ones in use today. The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that the Old Testament we use today is the same as the one used at the time of Jesus and for 150 years before.

One of the most important finds was five copies of the book of Isaiah, all intact, and sealed in ceramic jars. One of them is written in Paleo-Hebrew script, a alphabet that has not been used since about 400BC. At the time of the Maccabean Revoltin 250BC, the leader - Judas Maccabee - wanted to revive the Paleo-Hebrew script, but no one was found who knew it anymore. At the time the Dead Sea Scrolls were made, this was an unknown language. So the manuscript most likely predated the other Dead Sea Scrolls by 200-300 years. It was wrapped in oiled skins, placed in a sealed jar, and given a private alcove that overlooked the rest of the rooms of the library. It appears to have been their greatest treasure from its position and care. The language places the scroll with 50 years of the death of Isaiah. When compared to the text of Isaiah used today, there was a total of FIVE words different (and four of those were spellings). Further proof that the manuscripts we have today are accurate.

As far as the gospels been "written some 8 centuries later in a highly edited version", apparently you have never taken the time to study the facts about New Testament manuscripts. There are over 5,300 manuscripts of the New Testament still in existence that date from before 1000AD. Of those there are 2328 New Testament manuscripts from the first 250 years of Christianity. About 40 contain all the books of the New Testament. Others contain all parts, like just the Gospels, or just the writings of Paul. There are 1716 manuscript copies of the Gospels, 531 of the Act, 628 of the Pauline Epistles, 219 of the Apocalypse. All PREDATE the Nicean Council at the time of Constantine where some people claim the NT was altered. The 2328 known manuscripts do not support that claim.

If the entire New Testament were to disappear today, it is possible to reconstruct every word of it - except 11 verses - using letters, quotations in other books, litergies, prayer books, inscripts, art with lettering in it, etc. all of which comes from the first 250 hundred years of the Christian faith. It shows the New Testament was in the form we know it today long before the 8th century.

The earliest manuscripts that exist today date back to with 60 years of the time the originals were written. The gospel of John was written between 90 and 95 AD. We have fragments of it (called P52) that appear to come from between 115-120AD. We have fragments from which 808 of 878 verses of John can be reconstructed that date before 150AD. We have p46, which is a fragment manuscript from which 1390 verses of the 2389 verse of Paul's writings (70%) have so far been reconstructed, and they are still working on the fragments. This manuscript is normally dated between 100-125AD. Shall I go on?

Christians, and Jews, have no problems with the Dead Sea Scrolls. So far they have done nothing but support our claim that the text of the Bible are accurate and reliable. That they have not been altered, changed, lost or edited in over 2500 years.

Answer 6

People hate change, and they certainly hate it when the things that they find comfort in are challenged.

To be fair, most people have not read or researched the Bible beyond what they've heard in church or Sunday school. Most people want things to be easy and require little work or effort---this is exactly what the Church and the Council at Nicea had in mind when Constantine gave them orders to come up with a universal faith for his empire (and it worked beautifully for him---for almost 2000 years now!)

Most people do not seek, therefore they will never find or recognize the truth. They are sheep (or as a friend of mine calls them, "sheeple.")

I would say, quit worrying about other people and what they chose to believe. All that matters is that you ask questions and seek out answers for yourself.

Answer 7

I don't dismiss anything about the Dead Sea Scrolls. I have not read them.

Answer 8

Because the Scrolls have revolutionized textual criticism of the Old Testament. They also show Christianity to be rooted in Judaism and have been called the evolutionary link between the two.


They don´t want to have to re-write everything.

Answer 9

I think that one of the important findings, was that the context of the writings in the scrolls did not differ much from what we had, showing that information was mor or less accurately passed on

Answer 10

Dear Boring, read the last verses in the Bible if anyone tries to alter it in anyway will have to answer to him. Our Father has given us a tool (the bible) to guide us in the right direction. I am sure and positive he would not let anyone are thing alter the words in his book.

He would not give us a dull sword with no edge. So as he would not give us a bible that lies. God Bless. Love. Amen. Wake up. You have been asleep to long.