The Dead Sea Scrolls and the First Christians: Essays and Translations

NO OF PAGES: 449 SUB CAT I: Dead Sea Scrolls SUB CAT II: First Century Judaism SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: By the co-author of The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, this book takes us back to Qumran on the Dead Sea for a further exploration of the relationship between the Dead Sea Scrolls and Christianity's formative years.NOTES: SUBTITLE: Essays and Translations

This is the story of the community at Qumran, and one man's interpretation of the references to St James, and St. Paul who have the pseudonyms teacher of truth, and the lying spouter (Paul). The idea I came away with was that Paul was distorting or going against the teachings of the sect, and he was finally expelled from the community. This idea fits in with my hypothesis that Paul had a spiritual insight about Christ - being God - that James did not, and so the antagonism that developed withing the early Christian communities between the Church in jerusalem under James, and the teaching of Paul in the Diaspora. The suggestion is that Damascus as a code word for the various sects along the Sea of Galilee is the same Damascus that Paul refers to, and here in Qumran Paul spent three years studying the texts before heading out to meet with Peter in jerusalem. Intriguing idea. ( )