Essenes and Christianity - Essay Example

The Essenes are considered one of the most mysterious and peculiar religious sects of the Second Temple period. This semimonastic brotherhood was mentioned in multiple works of historians, Pliny the elder calling them remote and extraordinary community constantly multiplying the number of followers. Customs of this sect and their way of life have been widely discussed, as many contemporaries found them very unusual and many modern scholars consider their practices to be laid on the basis of Christianity. Herda, Bowlin & Reed write in their article: “The Essenes were an important group because they flourished and shared some views with other groups of the same time such as early rabbinic Jews and Christians». Therefore, this means that certain views and beliefs produced a profound effect on Christianity in the early stages of its development.
First of all, the core belief shared by the members of the Essene brotherhood was the idea of messianism, i.e. upcoming arrival of the Messiah. According to the Dead Seas Scrolls, Essenes can be called the religious community, in which the idea of messianism flourished (Patella). This sect was against any weapons, though they would carry it only as a means of protection against robbers and were ready to use it only in the struggle against the forces of evil when the Messiah would come to rescue God’s people. The impact of these beliefs can be traced in the foundations of the New Testament Christianity, as the idea of Jesus Christ as a messiah who came to redeem all sins of people is at the core of Christian belief.
Secondly, the form of organization practiced by the Essenes can be paralleled to that of the early Christian church. The community was ruled by a collegium consisting of 12 priests. Later, in the apostolic period, the church was headed by the twelve apostles. The structure of the Essene sect incorporated bishops, priests, churches, gospels, disciples, etc. – church hierarchy and organization probably inspired that of Christianity, along with the way of Holy Scriptures’ allegorical interpretation. This statement seems especially plausible, as Essenes existed long before the dawn of the New Testament Christianity.
Thirdly, there is a considerable number of customs and traditions that seem to be borrowed by early Christianity from the Essenes.
Essenes were required to be honest and fair, to honor God, and to oppose lies. They often fasted and focused their minds on divine things distancing themselves from the material world – this is also quite a parallel to the monastic rules of Christianity. Moreover, the way inhabitants of Qumran prayed marked transition from Jewish rules to Christian ones – instead of facing Jerusalem during the prayers, Essenes turned eastwards. Finally, the vocabulary used by Essenes included numerous expressions typical for New Testament scriptures. Read More