John Marco Allegro : The Maverick of the Dead Sea Scrolls

by Brown, Judith Anne

• ISBN13: 9780802828491
• ISBN10: 0802828493
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-08-22
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

This book explores the life and work of John Allegro, freethinker and rebel, whose work on the Dead Sea Scrolls led him to challenge the Church, the editing team, and most conventional assumptions about the development of Christianity.

Author Biography

Judith Anne Brown is the daughter of John Marco Allegro, a freelance writer and editor, and an associate of the Plain Language Commission

Table of Contents

Editors' Foreword	ix
Acknowledgments	xiv
Introduction	xv
1. Early Years	1	(18)
2. Introducing the Scrolls	19	(32)
Discoveries by the Dead Sea	21	(5)
At the Scrollery	26	(25)
3. The First Stirrings of Controversy	51	(25)
Writing The Dead Sea Scrolls	51	(6)
Jerusalem	57	(3)
Opening the Copper Scroll	60	(16)
4. A Rift Occurs	76	(22)
The Three Radio Talks	76	(6)
The Rift Made Public	82	(3)
The Second Part of the Copper Scroll	85	(13)
5. Public Interest and Scholarly Reluctance	98	(15)
Bringing the Copper Scroll to Light	98	(6)
Leather Technology and the Scrolls	104	(2)
Shifting Relationships in the Team	106	(4)
The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls	110	(3)
6. Seeking the Treasure	113	(21)
1960: The Treasure of the Copper Scroll	113	(5)
The 1960 Expedition	118	(16)
7. More Expeditions	134	(18)
Caves and Ruins	134	(11)
Shapira and the Mujib Expedition	145	(7)
8. More Controversies	152	(22)
Scroll Publications and Delays	152	(1)
Why the Delay?	153	(4)
A Catholic Monopoly?	157	(1)
The Plan to Widen Access to the Scrolls	158	(6)
The Challenge of Nationalization	164	(6)
The Dispute over the Title of DJDJ V	170	(4)
9. Questions from the Exhibition	174	(11)
10. A Grand, Unifying Theory of Religion	185	(12)
Overview	185	(4)
Corroboration from Classical Texts	189	(1)
The Technique of Analyzing Words	190	(1)
Mushroom Names	191	(1)
The Fertility Concept in Ancient Sumer	192	(1)
Rain, Dew, and the Sea of Knowledge	192	(1)
Death and Resurrection	192	(1)
Mandrakes and Mushrooms	193	(1)
Why Mushrooms?	193	(4)
11. Questioning The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross	197	(14)
Reaction	202	(8)
Concluding Analysis	210	(1)
12. Following The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross	211	(19)
The End of a Road	215	(3)
The Chosen People	218	(2)
Freelancing	220	(3)
Lost Gods	223	(7)
13. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth	230	(11)
The Essene Legacy	231	(3)
The Fulfillment of Prophecy	234	(1)
From Messiah to Bringer of Light	235	(2)
Wisdom Made Manifest	237	(2)
The Word Becoming Flesh	239	(2)
14. Interpreting Gnosticism in Light of the Scrolls	241	(15)
Gnostic Parallels to the New Testament	244	(3)
The Christian Myth - Telling the People	247	(2)
Choosing Jesus	249	(1)
The Growth of the Church	250	(6)
15. Following The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth	256	(17)
Physician, Heal Thyself	258	(4)
In the United States	262	(2)
The Campaign to Publish the Scrolls	264	(6)
One More Book: The Tyranny of the Creed	270	(3)
16. Back to Philology	273	(10)
John Allegro's Legacy	277	(6)
Bibliography	283	(2)
Further Reading	285	(1)
Index	286