somewhat undesirable scenario completely eliminates a potentially much more damaging theory.3. The Dead Sea Scrolls and books, like my own, have produced increasing evidence to support the likelihood that early members of Jesus followers, including John the Baptist, and even Jesus himself, were members of the Qumran community.The consensus tendency, before Pope Benedicts pronouncements, was to resist the conclusion that John the Baptist was a long-term member of the community, or that Jesus had ever been a member. Certainly John the Baptists rebellious character does not seem to be consistent with his remaining very long within the quiescent structure of the Qumran community. This resistance among Christian theologians and historians has almost certainly been motivated by a desire to retain the uniqueness of the Christian message and avoid the implication that another sect might have been the source of many of its beliefs and practices. However, even staunch Catholic traditionalists, like Father Jerome Murphy-OConnor, of the Ecole Biblique in East Jerusalem, were forced to admit as early as 1960, long before much more persuasive information had become available from the Dead Sea Scrolls, that Paul, the architect of Christianity, was definitely in contact with someone who knew Essene teaching thoroughly, and that Timothy, one of Jesus close followers, belonged to the same circle as John the Baptist.In fact, some earlier scholars, such as Dr. Joseph Klausner in 1925 and Heinrich Graetz4 in the nineteenth century, were firmly convinced long before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls that John the Baptist was at one time an Essene. The opinion of these latter scholars is largely based on analysis of the Christian Scriptures and the descriptions of John the Baptist given by Flavius Josephus, a contemporary Roman/Jewish historian (37ca. 100 CE). The most relevant quotation from the Christian Scriptures indicating John the Baptists membership in the Qumran Essene community comes from Luke 1:80:And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing to Israel.The Gospel of Luke endorses the probability that John the Baptist attained intellectual and religious maturity elsewhere than at his home when it refers to him spending his early life in the desert. For example, when the Evangelists describe the Baptist as living in the wilderness and eating a diet of locusts and wild honey, it is understood by most scholars to be a reference to the Qumran-Essenes, as anyone banished from membership would have previously taken a vow only to eat prepared food that had been blessed by the leader of the community. However, once evicted they would be forced to eat only wild food.John the Baptists baptizing ritual was very reminiscent of the ritual immersion practiced by the Essenes; and, in the words of an earlier commentator, Israeli professor Yigael Yadin, The influence of the sects teachings is recognizable in the views, practices, ideology, and even the very phraseology of the founders of Christianity.5 Professor Yadin had little doubt that John the Baptist was a member of the community for a period of his life. Other experts of