Hello Thomas, As for myself, I do not take the opinions of others as fact. I personally always do the ground work myself and come to my own conclusions.
I'm sure we all do, that's why we're here. The point is that the captain of the Titanic would have said the same thing. In fact, prior to realising they are wrong, most poeple would say the same as well. Our own opinions are not proof of anything.
At the same time I do listen to the opinions of others and weight them carefully before making a desicion as to what I will add to my belief system.
So did the Captain of the Titanic. It's laudable, but it doesn't mean you are right, or I am wrong.
What part of Judaism didn't Jesus follow?
I did not say that. I said Jesus broke too many rules of the Essenes to be considered an Essene.
The Essenes community lived under a formal rule in addition to the observances of orthodox Judaism - celibacy, dietary rules, separation of the sexes, etc. In effect they were a very formalistic monastic community and followed very strict rules regarding purification and defilement.
Jesus, on the other hand, had the disconcerting habit or walking, taking, eating and generally passing time with all and sundry who crossed his path - the sick, beggars, liars, demoniacs, prostitutes, adulterers, tax-collectors, fishermen, thieves ... worse - gentiles, and worse than that, the forces of the occupation, and way worse than that ... Samaritans!
No orthodox Esssene would or could conduct him or herself in such a fashion without facing expulsion from the sect - or, the sect would have changed its practices to model themselves of the life and works of Jesus, if indeed He was the TofR, which they did not, so that rather implies he was not.
So we have two options:
Jesus was not an Essene, nor the Teacher of Righteousness, or
Jesus was an Essence and the Teacher of Righteousness, but the rest got it so wrong its unbelievable, turning into some hardline, right-wing organisation.
I might also add that the Damascus Document, from which the TofR is drawn, states that the Essenes, who were founded as an order by the ToR, by their own account predate Jesus by some 150 years.
I have chosenn not to give my power to mankind or another human being when I am capable of discerning for myself.
Yes, the Captain of the Titanic made the same decision.
I might add, you will find not a single authentic spiritual or esoteric tradition that would accept you as an initiate on those terms.
I have personally (along with many others) come to the conclusion that the Teacher of Righteousness was indeed Jesus.
That's OK, that's your prerogative, to believe whatever you like. I know those who believe Jesus was a wise man, a charlatan, a fool, that He never even existed, that He travelled to India, or Tibet, or Japan, or Atlantis, or the Steppes of Russia, or England, or France ... even that Jesus was from Sirius.
All I'm saying is the documents themselves and seem to indicate otherwise.
Pax,
Thomas