Significance of the dead sea scrolls
...ed in the desert separate from mainstream society. Pieces of these ancient scrolls,discovered in 1947 by a shepherd, are on display in Sydney as part of the Olympic Arts Festival. Everyone seems to be fascinated by accounts of the search for hidden treasure and lost secrets, and the effort to expose conspiracies, as some of the higher-numbered channels on our television sets have discovered. The story of the finding and study of the Dead Sea Scrolls carries some of that kind of interest. Discovered initially in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd boy exploring a cave in the bluffs along the western shore of the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea Scrolls have revolutionized our understanding of Judaism in the Second Temple period and have had a significant impact on discussions of Jesus and the origins of Christianity. Their study has stirred controversy in scholarly forums and the popular press. Current battles among scholars are over the nature and identity of the group (or groups) responsible for writing and preserving the scrolls, the source of the scrolls, the reason for their deposit in the caves, and the connection between the caves where they were deposited and the nearby r...