Who Were the Essenes? - Dr. Steve Mason

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  • čas přidán 4. 01. 2023
  • Today I was honored to speak with Dr. Steve Mason, professor emeritus of Ancient Mediterranean Religions and Cultures at the University of Groningen.
    Dr. Mason provided a scholarly overview of the Essenes and discussed the topic of the possible influence that the Essenes may have played in the early Jesus movement, while sharing how to not make false assumptions or connect dots without sufficient evidence.
    Many thanks to Dr. Mason for his lifelong contributions toward these critical topics, and for his presentation here today. I am looking forward to digging deeper into this subject!
    ______________________________________
    Dr. Mason's books may be purchased here:
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    Dr. Mason's page on the University of Groningen website is:
    www.rug.nl/staff/s.mason/
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    Our prior interviews may be seen here:
    • Harmonic Atheist - Int...
    • Harmonic Atheist - Dr....
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    --Tim
    _________________________________________
    Ending music by Eyal Raz, "Friends"
    • Friends
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Komentáře • 32

  • @billguthrie2218
    @billguthrie2218 Před rokem +9

    Great info. What I appreciate most... intellectual honesty.

  • @Telecasterfan
    @Telecasterfan Před rokem +7

    After listening to ~10 hours of Dr. Mason on various interviews, I've noticed I started talking like him a little bit lol

  • @ncarmstron
    @ncarmstron Před rokem +13

    After watching Dr. Mason on MythVision, he’s become one of my favorite scholars.

  • @johnjohnson1657
    @johnjohnson1657 Před rokem +5

    Great show again. Kudos.

  • @stevenv6463
    @stevenv6463 Před rokem +4

    It is good to hear about the other literary sources on the Essenes. I didn't know that Philo and Pliny even mentioned them.
    Also I feel like Dr. Tabor is looming in the background of this conversation.

  • @Zen_Traveler
    @Zen_Traveler Před rokem +3

    Thank you for one of the most comprehensive discussion of the Essenes I've found on CZcams! Fwiw, after having an interest in the DSS for several decades I think Dr Norman Golb's view that although there may have been a community living in Qumran, most of this material came from Jerusalem and put in caves as 70 CE was on the horizon. They also may have used jars made at the site and then stored them in the caves....Thoughts?

  • @logicsetsyoufree9052
    @logicsetsyoufree9052 Před rokem +5

    Your on fire Time! Good stuff

  • @shuai83
    @shuai83 Před rokem +7

    Dr. Mason seems to doing his own circular reasoning in throwing shade on modern understanding of some of the most "amazing" attributes of the Essenes that most clearly links their evolution into early Christianity (i.e. marriage, pacifism, and socialism.) It's unfortunate that so many historians and scholars seem so clueless about the uniqueness of the Essenes and early Christian permeance of marriage rule. The reason so many Essenes seem to historians like Philo and Pliny to be "without women" wasn't because Essenes forbid marriage, but because they forbid re-marriage. So did every single early Christian right up until the Protestant reformation, which seemed to cause most modern scholars to forget how the teaching was practiced. Matthew 19 may as well be taken directly out of the Essene's community rule scroll. The teaching of Pacifism was also equally shared by early Christians which has now been completely forgotten in the era of Augustinian blood thirsty authoritarianism and modern day cult of Trump. Anyone who acknowledges these obvious connections must also be willing to endure much push back from exposing modern Christians as complete frauds when it comes to being in-line with some of the earliest Essene/ Christian vales and practices.

    • @heidibrown997
      @heidibrown997 Před 10 měsíci

      I agree with you, concerning to Essens. Their importance has not been understood fully by many Christian leaders.
      Only in one point do I disagree here, though God called us to personal peace with all men. Jesus own testimony gives us an example.
      It does NOT apply to a Nation leader. Moses had to fight enemies of Israel when in the wilderness.
      Joshua was commanded of God to destroy the people in the land He, God, had promised to Israel. They conquered the people with Whom God has had patience for well over 400 years. Actually since Ham and Canan got of the ark.
      David, beloved of God, had to fight the remaining enemies of God in the land, so Solomon would be able to have peace and build the first Temple.
      Just you do not not like Mr. Trumps person, you are blinded to the fact of national security. And the chief duty of any president of the United States according to our constitution.
      I am glad to let myself be defrauded personally. Yet my husbands role was to protect his family, we had 3 girls.

    • @GilesMcRiker
      @GilesMcRiker Před 5 měsíci

      The essenes were obsessed with separating themselves from outsiders and with Jewish ritual purity laws, two of the main features that distinguish them from rabbinic judaism.
      Are you yourself in some kind of cult?

  • @kevinmcdonald6560
    @kevinmcdonald6560 Před rokem +2

    great presentation, my only question would be: why would looters leave pick axes with the smashed jars in one of the caves? that's strange to me

  • @Arnold-ee2be
    @Arnold-ee2be Před 4 měsíci

    Another thing that the speaker failed to mention was that flavius Josephus actually lived with them. So I would consider his commentary quite reliable

  • @Arnold-ee2be
    @Arnold-ee2be Před 4 měsíci

    John the Baptist appeared to be an excommunicated one because of the Oaths that they give, they were forbidden to eat normal food. Hence eating Locust and honey

  • @riseoftheinfinite8800
    @riseoftheinfinite8800 Před 3 měsíci

    We are the SOLs that are here to disSOLve all mortal traps

  • @Arnold-ee2be
    @Arnold-ee2be Před 4 měsíci +1

    My understanding was that there was no town of Nazareth at the time of Jesus. But there was a Brotherhood of a as scenes living there and they were known later as Nazarene. When you go to the New Testament there is a place where Jesus is referred to as Jesus of Nazarene

  • @Zen_Traveler
    @Zen_Traveler Před rokem +2

    Translation, Transmitting, Editing, Propaganda: Thank you for the content and Dr Mason's scholarship! Dr Eisenman really opened my eyes to how important the DSS were in showing that Judaism at the time was more diverse than previously thought. On that note, he posits from the material that possibly Essenes had different factions, with the later ones developing to more Sicarii/Zealot type using Hyppolytus having a different version of Josephus than has come down to us...Any thoughts on the possibility of this?

  • @Kim-eh2ov
    @Kim-eh2ov Před 3 měsíci

    Why does nobody ever talk about who they realy were, the direct decendents of Zadok the preist of King David and Solamon

  • @COFFEEWITHBUDDHA
    @COFFEEWITHBUDDHA Před měsícem

    What do y’all think about Ammon Hillman?

  • @josegaleano6932
    @josegaleano6932 Před rokem +3

    Team I see a big Future on you you are very talented and I like your program thank you for helping us we need to reason with reality

  • @Arnold-ee2be
    @Arnold-ee2be Před 4 měsíci

    One would have to look at then who wandered around in the Judean desert living like that

  • @Arnold-ee2be
    @Arnold-ee2be Před 4 měsíci

    A very knowledgeable man on the subject but............... left out some very interesting facts. Although they the disdained from the pleasures of life, they were known to have lived to a very advanced age, over 120 years. Two of the authors said that the origins were very ancient way before the arrival of the Jews in Israel . Hence they alluded to the idea that their Origins were not related to Hebrew history. At quam run numerous copies of the Book of Enoch were found, but the Mainstay Jewish thought had already discarded that book, labeling it as fantasy. Mysterious other findings have given qumrun strong linkage with egyptian history.......

  • @mojo449
    @mojo449 Před rokem +3

  • @satie321
    @satie321 Před rokem +1

    Hello Tim, any updates on the projects you've been working on?

    • @HarmonicAtheist
      @HarmonicAtheist  Před rokem +3

      Hi, it's in progress but I'm not ready yet to present it. Hoping to have it ready for first draft level review by the Summer. I don't want to share until it's fairly polished, etc.
      But I do work on it nonstop.
      Thanks for asking!

  • @simonsmith1785
    @simonsmith1785 Před měsícem

    So who were the Essenes? 20 minutes in to this video and still don’t have a cliff note explanation.
    I appreciate the details but I have no context.

  • @bevann7883
    @bevann7883 Před 6 dny

    "Nazareth" was the community of the Essenes.

  • @bevann7883
    @bevann7883 Před 6 dny

    IN FACT, the Essenes are mentioned in the New Testament:
    Acts 24:5
    Acts 28:22.

    • @bevann7883
      @bevann7883 Před 6 dny

      Jesus The Christ was raised in the community of the Essenes. The Essenes were expecting the Messiah, the Perfect Human, to show the True God of Love to the World.

  • @wardsmaill8973
    @wardsmaill8973 Před rokem

    "promosm" 🤣