parties

Rewatch this clip below, and ask, "Would Jesus be a Republican or Democrat? ..or nothing? neither? other?  Think about why you anwered the way you did?

Watch Dave's video on the four parties of Jesus' day.  He gives an important announcement there about your signature paper; he also gives the sections in your textbook to look at for the four parties:

Pharisees .lay scholars/ middle class   Oral and Written Torah    angels, demons, resurrection........
 Sadduccees   priestly/aristocratic         Written Torah only               no angels, demons, resurrection 


Essenes:  quiet, communal, prob connected to Dead Sea Scrolls 
Zealots    advocated armed rebellion against Rome


YOUR party. assigned by last name"
A-G Pharisee
H-M Sadducee
N-S Zealot
T-Z Essene

PS: If you really want to trade parties, you can(:




Here in the next video is a rabbi's take on the four parties.  Notice by now there is disagreement on some of the details of the four.  What was interesting about this video?  Knowing what you know, which party do you think you would've belonged to and why?:
Each party has their own culture  and response to culture.

Since we will so much time discussing the various "parties" of Jesus day, it is helpful to our discussion of culture to hear how one writer views and succinctly characterizes each group's approach to culture (even though the following is overstatement:

• "Pharisees  separated from culture
•  Sadducees blended into the culture

• Zealots ruled over culture/misused it

• Essenes ignored culture....

The Pharisees were sectarian, developing an unending number of laws to separate themselves from the common people. 

The Sadducees were syncretists, compromising their beliefs in order to blend into the culture.

 The Zealots misused culture as they attempted to usher in God’s kingdom through the use of force.

 The Essenes ignored culture altogether, retreating from society where they could seek mystical encounters with God in monkish privacy...

And so we see that sectarians love God but fail to love their neighbors,

 And so we see that sectarians
love God but fail to love their neighbors, 
              while syncretists love their neighbors,
               but fail to love God."

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Read more on each from Ray Van DerLaan :

MOVEMENTS OF JESUS’ DAY

POSTED IN: PEOPLE, RELIGIOUS GROUPS, MOVEMENTS OF JESUS DAY

Ray Van DerLaan :

Four views of Judaism

In Jesus' day, there were varying philosophies within the Jewish faith.  While some Jews embraced the Roman rulers, others resisted with violence.  And whereas some Jewish believers lived a simple, isolated lifestyle, others enjoyed a lifestyle of wealth and influence. 

Four predominant religious groups emerged:  Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots.  During his ministry, Jesus' likely interacted with them all, touching the hearts of some, and sparking violent hatred among others.

Pharisees

Origin
Descended from Hasidim freedom fighters of the Maccabee era

Membership
Middle-class merchants numbering about 6,000

Beliefs
-Believed in entire Old Testament as law
-Accepted oral interpretation of the Old Testament
-Believed study of Torah was the highest act of worship
-God's desire was for his people to keep the law
-Believed in bodily resurrection and life after death

Practices
-Supported synagogues for Torah study and interpretation
-Strict, detailed obedience to oral and written law
-Accepted Rome as a necessary evil as long as they were allowed to practice their beliefs

Sadducees

Origin
Descended from Solomon's high priest, Zadok, and became a faction around 200 B.C.

Membership
Priests who were wealthy, aristocratic, and often Hellenistic

Beliefs
-Only accepted the Torah as God's law
-Rejected oral traditions
-Believed the Temple was the only path to God
-Did not believe in bodily resurrection

Practices
-Ran the Temple and all its ceremonies
-Dominated the Sanhedrin-the religious ruling council
-Lived a Hellenistic, affluent lifestyle
-Received Roman support

Essenes

Origin
Registered Maccabees' claim to the high priesthood in approximately 170 A.D.

Membership
Possibly dissident Sadducees or Pharisees; preferred isolation in wilderness to participation in Temple services led by corrupt priests.

Beliefs
-They needed to withdrawal from corruption
-Believed true priests descended only from Zadok
-Believed in rigid adherence to the Torah
-Believed they had been chosen to prepare for imminent arrival of kingdom of God

Practices
-Worked at copying and studying the Torah
-Lived in isolated communities
-Share property and communal meals
-Practiced ritual cleansing

Zealots

Origin
A movement formed against a Roman census in 6 A.D. and led by Judas the Galilean

Membership
Extreme Pharisess and religious Jews living primarily in Galilee

Beliefs
-Theology resembled that of Pharisees, however, they believed only God could rule
-Slavery was the worst evil
-Taxes were due only to God
-Hated the rule of Romans

Practices
-Practice terrorism against Romans
-Refused to pay taxes

-Adhered carefully to Torah interpretation   link

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What does the Upside Down book  (p, 64) say is the WATERSHED DIFFERENCE between Pharisees and Sadducees??
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