Toward A Jewish (M)Orality, Vol. 53 Book

Most Christians don't know what to think about the Dead Sea Scrolls except that they predate Jesus, and simple interpretations of history and textual authority claim that whatever existed first must have the greatest authority. Michael O. Wise, a leading Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, now offers a smart, accessible argument about the relationship between Jesus and the Scrolls. The First Messiah: Investigating the Savior Before Jesus argues that Judah, a messianic figure described in the Scrolls, anticipated Jesus' coming in many respects--Judah was perceived by his contemporaries as fulfilling many of the same prophesies as Jesus, he taught many of the same principles Jesus taught, and after his death he inspired a movement that prefigured early Christianity. The First Messiah is not a hatchet-job on Jesus, however; Wise is not out to torpedo anybody's faith. Instead, he's offering readers a valuable lesson in humility. While respecting the possibility of Jesus' unique cosmic significance, he convincingly shows that Jesus' assumption of messianic status reenacts a social and religious drama that had clear historical precedents. This drama continues to be enacted by people around the world today. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Update: This book was quite uninteresting of a read. For such an interesting topic, it still could not hold my own interest. I put it down for now for other items of interest