Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Also, the same language that the DSS use to describe the Pharisees is applied to the Liar and his followers in the Damascus Document, i.e., that they also sought "smooth things" in CD 1:18, which is another similarity that the Liar has in common with Paul. https://books.google.com/books?id...

Stephan, The passages I cited use terms that describe the written Torah and the Covenant of God (chukkim, brit) and distinguish them from "what the Righteousness Teacher expounded from the mouth of God": "...they did not (believe what the) Righteous Teacher expounded from the mouth of...

Stephan, The passages I cited make a clear distinction between the rejection of "the word received by the Teacher of Righteousness from the mouth of God" (elsewhere called "all the mysteries of the words of His servants the Prophets") and the rejection of the "statutes"...

I haven't said that it is certain that the Essenes = Doers, only that it is a possibility (one that Eisenman credits to Goranson). What is certain is that the Liar rejected the Torah and founded his own congregation.

Well, now you're talking about my choice of words rather than what the passages I cited say. All I'm saying is that in the case of the Liar there is enough information about him in the DSS to say with confidence that he was someone associated with the 'doers of the law' who rejected the Torah and th...

Stephan, You wrote: "I don't see how we can use the word 'exactly'." That may be true about the DSS in general, but I think we can say with confidence that the passages I cited that concern "the Liar" demonstrate clearly that the DSS sect (aka 'doers of the law') were opposed by ...

Stephan, You wrote: "I see no way that one could end up with someone who said 'don't do the law' from this alleged 'doers of the law' sect." But this is exactly what happened to the 'doers of the law' sect in the DSS, they were opposed by a man who rejected the Torah and taught others to d...

Stephan, I'm going to consider your above response later, but first I can't get past you calling (presumably) me "Bob." Do you really (and still? And from the get-go and all along?) think I'm Eisenman? Because if you honestly do, then I feel the same as I did last time, that it is preposte...

Stephan, I'm looking and word searching and not seeing any reference to Ishu in Ad. Haer. 2.22. Perhaps it's not reflected in this translation or maybe it's somewhere else? http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103222.htm You also wrote: "He also emphasizes a 'Hebrew' origin for Christianity and th...

This point of view is supported in footnote three on page 123 of this edition of the Panarion: https://books.google.com/books?id=IKyxt9kyys8C&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&dq=eusebius+jessaeans&source=bl&ots=ejKYbJvVDm&sig=NJ1JzctDsd2VBzXwij_J2IXUAkA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3e0mVbeUA4...