Was Jesus of Nazareth a real historical person or a fictional character in a religious legend? What do the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal about the origins of Christianity? Has there been a conspiracy to suppress information in the Scrolls that contradicts traditional church teaching? John Allegro addresses these and many other intriguing questions in this fascinating account of what may be the most significant archaeological discovery of the twentieth century.As one of the original scholars entrusted with the task of deciphering these ancient documents; Allegro worked on some of the most important texts; including the Biblical commentaries. In 1961; King Hussein of Jordan appointed him to be honorary advisor to the Jordanian government on the Dead Sea Scrolls. In his engaging and highly readable style; Allegro conveys the excitement of the initial archaeological find and takes the reader on a journey of intellectual discovery that goes to the heart of Western culture. Allegro suggests that Christianity evolved out of the Messianic theology of the Essenes; the Jewish sect that wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.This new edition of Allegro's book also contains an essay in which he describes the in-fighting among the scholars assigned to study the scrolls and his thirty-year battle to release all of the texts to the public. Allegro was one of the first scholars to protest the long delay in publishing the Scrolls and to criticize his colleagues for their secretive and possessive attitudes. This issue has recently been the focus of national media coverage; with the result that after forty years; open access to all of the Dead Sea Scrolls has finally been permitted.If he had lived to see it; John Allegro would have been very pleased by this resolution of the controversy. In the same spirit of free inquiry that Allegro championed; Prometheus is reissuing his book in paperback to encourage open discussion of these important ancient texts.
#735684 in Books 1992-07-07 1992-07-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.04 x 1.00 x 6.01l; 1.43 #File Name: 0877736316434 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Amazing and Beautifully told History of Buddhism in the WestBy CustomerThis is an amazing book! I can barely put it down. It will definitely hold your interest. It's a beautifully told history of Buddhism in the West as well as tracing Buddhism from it's beginnings.Well worth the read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. nearly all new to meBy Roger Petrichperhaps more detail than I was looking for - but one can always skim ahead to another chapter! Covers Buddhism from Buddha himself to the many ways that Buddhists arrived in the USA [or North American Continent] - and coming down quite close to the present [date of publication]. From the 1960s onward the "Asian Spirit" has become part of our American life; permeating contemporary culture -- with expressions as "It's so Zen!!" I plan on keeping this as a reference book; I'm sure that a re-read will provide new insights.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. One of the best books on the history of American BuddhismBy Michael Dale HarrisonThis is an outstanding read. Very well written; researched and interesting throughout. I have waited for years for this to come out for Kindle and I am happy to own it electronically now as well as my treasured analog copy.
