The flood of light

Scrolls from the Dead Sea.

I shall praise the MY GOD for thou hast brought Marco's with us.

And with the creature of clay has acted mightily. All the day

continually. I show blessed by name and in the abundance of thy goodness

shall my soul delight. I praise Thee O Lord I praise thee.

This is an excerpt from the scroll of Thanksgiving hymn. Who's one of the seven original

ard scrolls found in a cave near the Dead Sea. We're not certain who put

this another parchment documents in the caves nor what happened to their owners.

But it is probable that one day in the fateful spring of 68 A.D. as the Roman

legions swept down on the roots of them the documents were placed in earthenware jars

and hidden in the caves which gave them refuge for almost two thousand years.

These goals constitute twentieth century scholarships greatest discovery.

The flood of light program 13 of schools from the Dead

Sea a radial exploration of the most significant archaeological find of our time.

These programs are produced by radio station WAGA of the University of Wisconsin

under a grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center in cooperation with the

National Association of educational broadcasters.

Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in one thousand forty seven scholars from many fields have

been hard at work. Paleography archaeologists biblical scholars and theologians and

many more have been working with the documents. One of these scholars is Professor Menachem

Mansoor chairman of the department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies at the University of

Wisconsin. Recently Professor Mansoor traveled in Europe Israel and America

collecting documentary materials for these programs. He tape recorded interviews with over

25 leading scholars and theologians and gauged in the work. And now back at the

University of Wisconsin professor Mansoor has planned and written this series of programs

exploring the meaning and content of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Professor Mansoor.

We have now reached our final program. It will be presumptuous on my

part to speak today at length on the significance of this momentous

discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I would rather bring before you the

interviews recorded in my machine of world leading

scholars and theologians from various parts of the world to

impress upon you the impact of these findings and their importance to

our civilization. Traveling as I did

from one country to another in search for knowledge from competent scholars and world

authority I was particularly seeking answers to the following

questions. 1. What is the importance and significance of

the scrolls too. Will the scrolls bring about

any change in current religious beliefs. Some writers have claimed

or are they of purely historical import. And three

is the discovery of the scrolls gain or loss for religion.

First here is Professor William Reed of the College of the Bible in Lexington

Kentucky. I asked what's the importance and significance of

the scrolls.

We cannot say what the significance of the Qumran scrolls may be until all the

manuscript material has been published and studied for some time. However

certain things are clear at this date in some cases a

comparison of the canonical works with the mass

already taxed has shown that the ancient scribes were

exceedingly accurate in copying their sacred manuscripts.

In the case of several Old Testament books this has merely confirmed the importance of the master reading

text. Time does not permit me to speak of other possible points of

significant but it may be noted that the discovery of the Qumran

scrolls in a region where it was once thought that ancient manuscripts could not

survive raises the possibility that future explorations

may recover other early manuscripts from the Old Testament period or

from the period of early Christianity.

Now Professor Philip Hiatt is the dean of Vanderbilt University

and president of the society of medical literature. I asked him if he thought

there was any particular challenge offered by the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The deadly discoveries present a great challenge to scholars to those who

specialize in their old testament to those who specialize in the New Testament

and have been exploring all of the material from the

Dead Sea region must be studied carefully and integrated with material from

many other sources. Scholars should work together in seeking a better

understanding of the Bible and the origins of Christianity Judaism.

They should work objectively and without axes to grind

this way. We sure finally arrive at the truth.

Here now is an interview with Professor W. F.. All right of Johns Hopkins

University Baltimore. He's recognized as the world leading authority

on the book of archaeology. I asked Professor Albright whether the new

knowledge from the scrolls is going to revolutionize anything.

Here is Professor Albright I have said in various places that

the discovery of these grows from ribbit is

revolutionizing New Testament scholarship.

A French scholar named have insisted

that they revolutionize your

studies. Also but there's

a world of difference between my meaning for the word

revolution and the meaning attached the word revolution by Lego.

They insist that this revolutionized our knowledge of Christ

the beginnings of Christian theology of Christian theology. I

insist with a rapidly increasing number of Catholic Protestant

scholars that the importance lies in a different

direction hit to New Testament

scholars have worked on the New Testament without any literature

of comparable age with which to compare it in fact.

So as a result they were guessing the most

critical New Testament scholars place the writing in The New Testament between about 50

50 after Christ. One hundred fifty eight. It

seems to me that the evidence is no completely against this

point of view. The Gospel of John

which most critical scholars have been dating in the late into the second century

are actually extremely close

in language and often in point of view to comment on

scrolls through the Gospel of John is Kris

Jenner not Jewish and Jewish or not Christian.

I further Professor Albright whether the text of the

scrolls were published and what they bring about any change in

current religious beliefs.

Eventually it'll take a long time since you

know nothing about.

How the New Testament developed in my opinion wrong.

I think scholarship will have to be redone from one

but in a more conservative direction because the books of the New Testament.

All seem to be much earlier than most New Testament scholars among the partisans

particularly to some extent. Furthermore

we got to recognize that Christianity didn't come

with making a complete break with a past.

Connection with Judaism much closer than we had supposed.

There you have Professor Albright's view important

from Baltimore but was stopped on our

way there. Professor of

sacred scripture Immaculate Conception. I

put this question to Monsignor Doherty. Do you think the discovery of the

scrolls is a gain or a loss for religion.

It is my definite judgment that the discovery of the scroll is again for religion.

If you view them only in the abstract they contribute to our knowledge of the history of

religion. Discovery of first hand records such as these is always a

great boon to the scholars pacifically view they are of particular interest

to the study of the Jewish faith and to our knowledge of it.

They are of great interest to the Christian faith too.

If they throw light on the background of the New Testament one of the

American scholars who has been working on the scroll since their discovery

and published several texts on the scrolls is Professor Miller Barrows of

Yale University. His book of the scrolls was a bestseller and is

one of the most authoritative works on the subject. He too agrees

that the discovery is again for religion.

No discovery of truth can be a loss for religion. The

discovery of the scrolls is a gain for religion in so far as it helps

us to understand the Bible and the history of our religion.

Professor asked whether this

might bring about change in current religious believes.

What kind of change could they bring about. I have never heard that previous

discoveries of contacts between the Bible and Babylonian Egyptian

Persian and Greek religion caused any change in religious belief or

ritual.

Another scholar who is an authority on the scrolls and author of an important

book on the subject is Professor Charles Fritz of

Princeton Theological Seminary. Let us listen to what he has to say

about their importance and significance.

Professor French there is no question that the discovery of these scrolls has been a

great boon for religion both for the understanding of the Judaism of this

period that is from about 200 B.C. to A.D. 100. And for

our understanding of the New Testament and the origins of the Christian church they are of an

estimable value to be sure. Many of the things brought out in the scrolls have been

known before but never before were they seen so

clearly in the context of the life of a sect who settlement and

library are now plainly visible to human are like Dr

Barrows his colleague Professor French insists that

no change whatsoever will be brought about by the discovery.

The Dead Sea Scrolls will not bring about any change in current religious

belief and ritual. Nothing in these documents need change the

Christians belief in Christ as the Messiah promised by God of all to

save his people. This faith in the uniqueness of the person of Christ

which electrified and empowered the early Christians is unshaken today by

these discoveries whether they are of purely historical import.

We may say that these scrolls are most important historically for our understanding

of the Judaism of that time and the origins of the Christian church.

Let me now take you to Oxford England and let us listen to Professor

J Our driver. He's a world authority in Biblical studies.

Here are his views on the importance of the discovery.

This scrolls have so very little if any direct light

on either of the great religions Judaism or Christianity.

The importance lies in the flood of light

which they have thrown on the period which is at the

background of the Gospels.

Every scrap of information however small on the period of such talk

making importance is welcome Professor of the

University of Manchester a theologian and Bible scholar of the first water

is convinced that the discovery constitutes a considerable gain for

religion a very considerable gain every bit of

additional light we can have which bears on the Old Testament or the New

Testament is again and I welcome unreservedly.

The discovery of the scrolls in the new light which they have brought to

us in Manchester England.

I went to visit my former teacher the Reverend Edward Robertson

formerly of the University of Manchester and now our chief librarian at the

famous John Rylands library. That was a memorable

meeting with a beloved teacher. In the course of our exchange of views

on this cross Professor Roberts expressed the views of the layman as he prefers to

say his message is of importance to laymen. So let us

listen to Professor Robertson.

Well Dr Mansoor I feel convinced

that there is no real cause for fear

on the part of the religious community is

concerned. The divine inspiration and guidance is clear

strong and unshakable. I am quite convinced

that when the controversies which are raging at the moment

drowned the Dead Sea Scrolls have seized. On the