Potter argues similarly. He states that he applied the logic which he learned in college to the facts concerning The Secrets of Enochand decided that there was “no convincing reason against Jesus’ authorship.”^27 With this logic he surely should have noticed that his argument was also from silence. An absence of reasons against Jesus’ authorship provides no evidence that he did, in fact, write the book. Potter additionally argues that The Secrets of Enochwas written by one author, from AD 1–50.^28 That is also an argument from the absence of evidence. There were surely an enormous number of intelligent people who lived between these years who would, given accurate dates, also be candidates for authorship. But this is not evidence that Jesus was the author. In concession, Potter even admits that his thesis is somewhat “imaginative.”^29
2.Major differences with Qumran
The second major reason for rejecting this thesis is that, while there are similarities between Jesus and Qumran,^30 there are also many differences that oppose any close connection. As asserted by Brownlee, “The Qumran literature tells us much about the background of primitive Christianity, but it can tell us nothing
25 Ewing, Essene Christ, p. 51.
26 Ibid., p. 78.
27 Potter,Did Jesus Write This Book?p. 14.
28 Ibid., pp. 134–135.
29 Ibid., p. 136.
30 For an extensive list of similarities, see especially James H. Charlesworth, “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Historical Jesus,” in Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. by James H. Charlesworth (New York: Doubleday, 1992), pp. 9–22; Jean Daniélou, “What the Dead Sea Scrolls Tell Us About Jesus,” in Daniel-Rops, Sources, pp. 23–28; John M. Allegro, The Dead Sea Scrolls(Baltimore: Penguin, 1956), pp. 148–151; William Brownlee, “Jesus and Qumran,” in Jesus and the Historian, ed. by F. Thomas Trotter (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968), p. 75.
directly about Jesus.”^31 A number of scholars have noted numerous differences between Jesus and Qumran beliefs.^32
(1) Jesus opposed legalism, whereas the Essenes held strictly to it. (2) Jesus also opposed ceremonial purity, while the Essenes, again, adhered meticulously to it. (3) Jesus associated with common people and “sinners,” whereas such activity was appalling to the Essenes. (4) The sinlessness of Jesus is in contrast to the Essene teaching that even the Messiah would be purified from sin by suffering. (5) Jesus combined several messianic aspects, while the Qumran community was looking for two (or even three) different messiahs. (6) Jesus did not teach a strong hierarchy among his followers, while the Essenes imposed strict social rules. (7) Jesus’ group was open, but the Essene community was closed. (8) Jesus’ ministry was public, while the Essenes were very private. (9) Jesus’ teachings were oral, whereas the Essenes emphasized writing and copying. (10) Jesus’ manner of teaching was clear, not obtuse as in the Dead Sea Scrolls. (11) Jesus had no formal training, in contrast to those from the Qumran community. (12) Healing was a major part of Jesus’ ministry, but this aspect was not emphasized at Qumran. (13) The teaching of love was Jesus’ major ethical message, but does not appear in Essene teachings. (14) Jesus’ ethics are closer to Rabbinic literature than to Qumran. (15) Jesus had a more positive admiration for the Old Testament prophets than did the Essenes. (16) Jesus did not emphasize angelology as much as did the Qumran community. (17) Jesus’ central teaching was the Kingdom of God, whereas the Essenes give little or no place to the concept. (18) For Jesus, salvation was straightforward, while the Essenes had an elaborate initiation system. (19) Jesus taught that salvation would also be extended to the Gentiles while the Essenes were more exlusivistic. (20) Jesus was missionary-minded, while the Essenes were not. (21) According to Josephus, the Essenes taught the immortality of the soul, in contrast to the Christian teaching of the resurrection of the body.
