SBL Petition
On April 23, 2009, I launched a campaign to form a new section of the Society of Biblical Literature dedicated to exploring the relationship between early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. I chose this date because it coincided with a Qumran conference held at the Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Cordova, Tennessee. The campaign got off to a rousing good start. I gathered two pages of signatories including faculty at the MABTS. And I brought my cause to the attention of the internationally prominent Qumran scholars in attendance: Peter Flint, Lawrence Schiffman, Emanuel Tov and James VanderKam.
Below are links to the same papers I circulated at the Cordova conference and a link to sign the petition.
An Open Letter to Bible Scholars Everywhere:
Is a “Second Wave” Movement Needed to
Free the Dead Sea Scrolls, This Time from Entrenched Theory?
The fight to wrench control of the Dead Sea Scrolls from the official editorial team in the 1980s and early 90s was partly waged by those who believed alternative theories to the Qumran-Essene hypothesis were being censored, theories such as a direct relationship between the scrolls and Jesus of Nazareth. When the scrolls were finally opened to public access, multiple translations and interpretations ensued and nearly all the scholarly establishment now believes that a direct relationship between the scrolls and Christianity has been discredited. However there is a small but determined group of scholars who maintain the scrolls do directly concern Christianity but that research of this question is underdeveloped, primarily due to sociological barriers in the scholarly community that are impeding the search for truth. I am one of those scholars. In this paper I will present facts and arguments to try and raise awareness of these barriers currently hindering scrolls research. The purpose of this petition is to assess interest among the scholarly community in forming a new section of the Society of Biblical Literature titled “The Dead Sea Scrolls and Early Christianity.” Read more . . .
Jesus the Wicked Priest Summary
This paper summarizes my book Jesus the Wicked Priest so scholars could begin debating it. So far, my paper has been suppressed from journals and conferences, which is one of the reasons I began this campaign.
This letter reveals that Pope Benedict XVI thinks Jesus and his disciples were associated with Qumran; the Pope is awaiting confirmation from scholars, just like the rest of us.
Click above to sign the petition.
If you are a biblical scholar with similar research interests please contact me. It is time we form a quorum.