Who Kept The Dead Sea Scrolls

It could be around AD 80 when the Jewish historian Josephus visited Qumran, beside the Dead Sea.

Just a few decades after Christ's ascension, many of his disciples and followers travelled near and far and everywhere to spread the Good News of salvation, first to the Jews and also to the non-Jews.  They were in a hurry because they were expecting Christ's return in a short while.

But the expectation of Christ's return also gave rise to another response - some believers turned to a quiet ascetic lifestyle.

Josephus described the Essene community at Qumran. "After prayers before dawn, each member would set to a task in which he was skilled.  Before noon, they would assemble, washed with cold water to purify themselves to eat a simple meal.  Then they resumed work until the evening meal.  The silence within seems like some dread mystery; it stems from their permanent sobriety and the restriction of their food and drink to the bare necessities."

The study of scriptural law and prayer were among the chief occupations at this Essene community at Qumran.  A common thread of their faith was a sense that the apocalypse was about to strike.  The sect believed that God's vengeance would soon be unleashed on the unfaithful, and that they alone would survive the Day of Judgement.

We need to thank this Essene community for hiding the scriptural scrolls for posterity. 

(Paraphrased and gleaned from the book "Vanished Civilizations")

Nicene Creed and the shorter Apostles' Creed - wordings

Nicene Creed:
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the given of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Apostles' Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Understanding the 2 Creeds: Nicene Creed and Apostles' Creed?

What we call the Nicene Creed arose from a baptismal rite from the territory covered by Paul and Barnabas in their missionary journeys. But Roman Catholics also know another confession of faith, the Apostles' Creed. It originally came from the baptismal ceremony of the Church of Rome, founded by the apostles Peter and Paul.

Both creeds have 3 main parts, mostly all expressions of faith coming from the early Church. That is because our faith is not a list of tenets common in a political platform, but a statement of personal commitment to the 3 divine persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both creeds also mention the Church, the sacraments and eternal life.

While both creeds started out as simple professions of faith in 3 divine persons, they were forced to expand. Various heresies arose, challenging the Church's teaching. In both the East and the West, a popularheresy of the 2nd century taught that the material world was disgusting, that God, the Father of Jesus, did not create it, and that the body of Jesus was only an appearance.

So both creed had to add that God the Father was creator of heaven and earth, and that Jesus was truly born and had truly died. In the fourth century, powerful heresies arose primarily in the East that denied the divinity of both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

The Nicene Creed was expanded by the first 2 ecumenical councils, which took place in the East, to emphasise the equality of Jesus with the Father and the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles' Creed, however, underwent no such official expansion. (Hence the Nicene Creed is much longer than the Apostles' Creed. See separate blog entry for the Creeds.)