In defense of Glenn Beck’s beliefs about the Dead Sea Scrolls

29 May 2010 Church History  26 comments

Here’s what Glenn Beck said and believes about the Dead Sea Scrolls:

All right. So here’s what happened. When Constantine decided he was going to uh… cobble together an army, um, he did the uh… Council of uh… Nicaea, right, Pat? …
Council of Nicaea. Um… and what they did is brought all of the religious figures, uhh, together, all the Christians and then they said, “Ok, let’s uh, put together the Apostles’ Creed, let’s, you know, you guys do it.” So they brought all their religious scripture together, and that’s when the Bible was first bound and everything else. And then they said, “Anybody that disagrees with this is a heretic and… off with their head!” Well, that’s what the Dead Sea Scrolls are. The Dead Sea Scrolls are those scriptures that people had at the time that they said, “They are destroying all of this truth.” Whether it’s truth or not is, is up to the individual, but that… at that time those people thought that this was something that needed to be preserved and so they rolled up the scrolls and they put ‘em in clay pots and they, they put ‘em in the back of caves where no one could find them. They were hidden scripture because everything was being destroyed that disagreed with the Council of Nicaea and Constantine. That’s what those things are.

What I’m going to do is defend Glenn Beck here on what he got right. I will repost the words and strike what is incorrect. The remainder (what is either correct or at least possibly correct) will be in blue.

All right. So here’s what happened. When Constantine decided he was going to uh… cobble together an army, um, he did the uh… Council of uh… Nicaea, right, Pat?
Council of Nicaea. Um… and what they did is brought all of the religious figures, uhh, together, all the Christians and then they said, “Ok, let’s uh, put together the Apostles’ Creed, let’s, you know, you guys do it.” So they brought all their religious scripture together, and that’s when the Bible was first bound and everything else. And then they said, “Anybody that disagrees with this is a heretic and… off with their head!” Well, that’s what the Dead Sea Scrolls are. The Dead Sea Scrolls are those scriptures that people had at the time that they said, “They are destroying all of this truth.” Whether it’s truth or not is, is up to the individual, but that… at that time those people thought that this was something that needed to be preserved and so they rolled up the scrolls and they put ‘em in clay pots and they, they put ‘em in the back of caves where no one could find them. They were hidden scripture because everything was being destroyed that disagreed with the Council of Nicaea and Constantine. That’s what those things are.

There you go. Here’s where he was spot on:

  • “All right.” Can’t argue with that.
  • “uh … um … uh” I won’t take exception to those. We all say them.
  • “right, Pat?” Pat exists, and Beck asked him a question.
  • “Council of Nicea” A real historical event.
  • “Whether it’s truth or not is, is up to the individual,” Can’t really disagree with that when you’re speaking of truth in a relative sense. Some people believe the Dead Sea Scrolls contain truth, others do not.
  • “rolled up the scrolls and … put ‘em in clay pots and … put ‘em in the back of caves where no one could find them.” While wrong about who “they” were, it’s quite possible the real folks behind the DSS did what Beck said. Could be someone else moved them around later. Could be any number of possibilities.
  • “They were hidden scripture” No problem with that.

As for what was incorrect, I am waiting for those who are Glenn Beck supporters and defenders to speak up. I’d like to see their perspective on this. We all know what the history shows. Is this going to be similar to the Ergun Caner situation? I pray not.

  • Palamas

    And 68AD is no where near 325AD and 351AD – when the present form of the Nicene Creed was actually completed (minus the Latin filioque of course ;-) ).

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501987466 Michael Cornett

    This is too funny! Even with the Nag Hammadi confusion, those were Gnostic writings from the 2nd century, not issues from the Council of Nicaea.

    I can't tell you how many times I've heard of even seminarians confuse the Apostles Creed, Athanasian Creed, & Nicene or Nicene-Constantinople Creed. I had a discussion with a friend who happens to be a Baptist seminarian, and he was writing this huge article on the Nicene Creed, and happened to be using the Athanasian Creed, and even citing referential commentary on it.

  • http://caffeinatedthoughts.com/?author=22 David Shedlock

    I am sorry I missed this one until today. Would you be willing to do the same thing with American Indians and Jesus commentary recently? Would you consider posting one or more of the following links on your Facebook walls. TODAY!

    8/27 & 8/28 Glenn Beck Takes Another Bite Out of the Apple: The Meaning of Divine Destiny. http://caffeinatedthoughts.com/?p=8821

    Glenn Beck and George Whitefield – http://caffeinatedthoughts.com/?p=8174

    Glenn Beck and Martin Luther King – http://caffeinatedthoughts.com/?p=8548

    Glenn Beck and Evangelicals – http://caffeinatedthoughts.com/?p=8788

  • Joel

    Oh I see. Truth is on accessible through mainstream media. Whew. Makes my life easier.

  • Watchman

    What? Beck makes no mention of Joseph Smith and the Golden Plates he discovered in a field in Manchester, NY? Utter blasphemy!

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