Why,
after 30 years, was John Allegro the only scholar to have published all
the scroll texts allotted to him? Why were the others so reluctant to
discuss differences of interpretation, or welcome the light that the
scrolls shed on the origins of Christianity?
John Allegro argues that the Christianity of the New Testament is a
weave of many threads. It has little to do with historical
circumstance, unless to recall the possible fate of the Essene Teacher
of Righteousness. It has much to do with key elements of Essenism,
hidden in names, titles and story motifs; and with Old Testament
prophecy; and with Jewish cultic beliefs and practices which go back to
ancient fertility religions. All these are woven with Hellenistic
mystery cults and myths into the Pauline theology of Christos.
Allegro understood from the start that the job of the editing team was
to make the Dead Sea scroll texts available to scholars everywhere, and
he believed their message mattered to everyone.
***Those who controlled the scrolls threatened suit but backed off
because of press coverage and public opinion. The door was opened to a
new wave of scholarship and interpretation.***
The scrolls had been written around or shortly before the time of
Jesus. They give insight into the religious life and thought of a
Jewish sect based at Qumran by the Dead Sea and usually identified as
Essenes. Allegro believed the scrolls could help us understand the
common origin of three religions - Judaism, Christianity and
Islam. He hoped they might be able to bring together scholars
of each tradition in studying their common heritage without the
barriers of religious prejudice.
This would mean making the texts accessible to all. Allegro had
published the sections of text allotted to him in academic journals as
soon as he had prepared them, and his volume (number five) in the
official series Discoveries in the Judaean Desert of Jordan was ready
for the press by the early 1960s. He continually campaigned for the
publication of all scroll texts. However, his colleagues took a
different approach, and little else appeared until 1991.
Allegro saw himself as a publicist for the scrolls. His books, talks
and broadcasts promoted public interest in the scrolls and their
significance. At first, the rest of the team encouraged his efforts,
which after all were intended to help fund their research. But they
thought he went too far in raising questions about the parallels
between Essenism and Christianity, and doing so in public. He was
accused of stirring up controversy at the expense of scholarship.
