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- From: gpalo@digi.lonestar.org (Gerry Palo)
- Newsgroups: sci.archaeology
- Subject: Re: Dead Sea Scrolls again
- Message-ID: <1992Nov19.160954.3276@digi.lonestar.org>
- Date: 19 Nov 92 16:09:54 GMT
- References: <1e87vkINN2kl@terminator.rs.itd.umich.edu> <1992Nov18.000437.27301@digi.lonestar.org> <1992Nov18.144909.26222@hellgate.utah.edu>
- Organization: DSC Communications Corp, Plano, TX
- Lines: 41
-
- In article <1992Nov18.144909.26222@hellgate.utah.edu> jwindley%asylum.cs.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Jay Windley) writes:
- >gpalo@digi.lonestar.org (Gerry Palo) writes:
- >>I have heard claims that the scrolls are being suppressed because they offer
- >>dramatic confirmation of the New Testament and vice versa, because they
- >>contradict it.
- >
- >The only reason for their suppression which has any kind of plausible
- >proof is that the scholars who have yet to publish their scrolls are
- >keeping them under wraps to protect their exclusive access, thus
- >ensuring themselves a place in the Dead Sea Scrolls saga. As soon as
- >the scrolls are public, they have no more clout as the "experts" on
- >those documents since everyone will be able to read and study them.
- >
- >This started as the conventional courtesy among scholars of right of
- >first publication. Rather than simply publish new documentary finds,
- >one scholar (or team) is chosen to do the initial work of
- >reconstruction, transcription, and interpretation. This scholar can
- >then publish his initial work along with the photographs of the
- >document for the rest of the scholarly community.
- >
- >However, I think that in the case of the Dead Sea Scrolls, this
- >priviledge has been grossly and intentionally misused by the scholars
- >of the Ecole Biblique and other such institutions. I don't believe
- >any of the stories that the scrolls are being suppressed for
- >idealogical reasons. I think the scholars are just selfish.
- >
- >I am fervently in favor of making the "suppressed" scrolls public. I
- >think several decades is far longer than a reasonable time to wait for
- >first publication.
- >
- >------------------------------------------------------------------------
- > Jay Windley * University of Utah * Salt Lake City
- > jwindley@asylum.cs.utah.edu
- >------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- But how can they have any clout if they never publish? Sooner or later
- they will be dead (if some of them aren't already) Is it maybe a matter
- of a job-for-life sinecure? Anyway, what can be done to get the scrolls
- made available, at least in facsimile?
-
- Gerry Palo (e-mail to 73237.2006@compuserve.com)
-