Religious Lit. For Dummies: The Dead Sea Scrolls

All the stuff Lee Strobel and Richard Dawkins did not tell you about religion! Wow who thought religious literature could be read without theology. Wow actually comparing and contrasting real texts! We are almost doing this in a scientific way! Wow anthropology! And Christians Thought they were the only ones to use the OT to predict the Messiah. See what writers thought 100 years before Christ! Qumran scroll 4Q521: http://www.textexcavation.com/qumran4q521.html Also here is a Miracle being preformed and a forgiveness of sin long before Christ was said to have done the same. Text 4Q242- Prayer of Nabonidus Words of the prayer, said by Nabonidus, king of Babylonia, the great king, when afflicted with an ulcer on command of the most high God in Temâ:'I, Nabonidus, was afflicted with an evil ulcer for seven years, and far from men I was driven, until I prayed to the most high God. And an exorcist pardoned my sins. He was a Jew from among the children of the exile of Judah, and said: "Recount this in writing to glorify and exalt the name of the most high God." Then I wrote this: "When I was afflicted for seven years by the most high God with an evil ulcer during my stay at Temâ, I prayed to the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood, stone and lime, because I thought and considered them gods..."' [the end is missing] WOW That is AMAZING! Dead Sea Scroll Beatitudes Text-4Q525 [Blessed is] ...with a pure heart and does not slander with his tongue. Blessed are those who hold to her [Wisdom's] precepts And do not hold to the ways of iniquity. Blessed are those who rejoice in her, And do not burst forth in ways of folly. Blessed are those who seek her with pure hands,And do not pursue her with a treacherous heart. Blessed is the man who has attained Wisdom, And walks in the Law of the Most High. He directs his heart towards her ways, And restrains himself by her corrections, And always takes delight in her chastisements. He does not forsake her when he sees distress,Nor abandon her in time of strain. He will not forget her [on the day of] fear, And will not despise [her] when his soul is afflicted.For always he will meditate on her, And in his distress he will consider [her] WoW What amazing Discoveries! P.S. Sorry I had to add all the wows for added drama. I have faith that most of you are in fact not dummies. ;0)