Crucible of Faith

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John T
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Crucible of Faith

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"Crucible of Faith" by Philip Jenkins.

Book review.

Philip Jenkins (professor of history at Baylor University) takes a closer look at a crucial period of time overlooked by both Christian and Rabbinic scholars alike. The crucible period is between 250-50 BCE. A time when, “Palestine was squeezed between the twin imperial grindstones.” That is, the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties. pg.31.

During this time the Jewish priesthood went through a major transformation of religious customs/tenants so as to be more palatable to the senses of their Greek masters. Jews who refused to graft Hellenistic culture in to their temple sacrifices eventually took arms in what became known the Maccabean revolt. Yet, what Mr. Philip tries to bring to the forefront in his book is not so much the cause of the ensuing war but why/how a new movement of religious thinking emerged from it.

This new movement is better known as the Essene movement.

The Essenes were headquartered at Qumran and the community there created new biblical stories extrapolated (mostly) from Genesis and 1 Enoch. The Essenes changed the cosmic view of the Jews. The origins of good and evil, angels and demons, heaven and hell, and the apocalyptic battle that would soon arrive, were explained in great detail by the scribes at Qumran. These stories/sages from Qumran became widely popular among the masses and was a driving force behind the messianic movement that was so fervent during the time of Jesus.

Although it is common to think that the Essenes were wiped out during the Jewish revolt of 70 CE. along with their ideology, Mr. Philip cites several sources and speculates they survived among the Jews, Samaritans, and Christians who fled the region during the Jewish war.
Mr. Philip concludes the Essene movement gave birth to Gnosticism, Manicheanism and a host of other Judeo-Christian offshoots.

A good read but I was mildly disappointed that he did not speculate on who he thought was the Teacher of Righteousness at Qumran.

Sincerely,

John T
"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into."...Jonathan Swift
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