Yuku free message boards

Matthew Ellard wrote:

---

I was a television production accountant for the Australian company that made "Beyond 2000" and "Mythbusters". My bosses made documentaries on any subject because, then, Australian tax consessions made this profitable. My bosses made a documentary "Jesus the Wicked Priest" written by Barbara Thiering. The documentary's producer gave me her book to read ( because he wouldn't read it) and this is where I first read about the Essenes and their probable connection to the Jesus myth. This was in the early 1990's. The documentary was an absolute "flop" but it did make me start wondering about the origins of Christianity. Here I am 20 years later on the Skeptic's Annotated Bible.

Good on Barabara Thiering!

I can't comment on her theory (or anyone else's) but there are certainly some strong theological and cultural parallels between the Essenes and early Christians. There are, however, some strong distinctions as well. Probably the most interesting connection that I found in my little bit of research is that the Essenes had (essentially) descended from the defeated "Pro-Hellenization" segment of the Maccabeus revolution a couple hundred years prior to Christianity. This fact answers for me the question of how "Jews" who are among the most staunchly mono-theistic culture on earth, could find themselves willing to accept a "god-man" as their Messiah and accept all of the other obviously pagan influences found in the Christian religion (virgin birth, etc).