Theological Assertion Scorned

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32351, 17 July 1970, Page 14

Theological Assertion Scorned

A British scholar who asserts that Jesus, Moses, and Abraham never existed has indulged in “utter fantasy,” according to an English professor of Old Testament Studies at the University of London.

Professor P. R. Ackroyd, who has been selected as Selwyn Lecturer for 1970. said last evening that John Allegro had written a book which was almost entirely a matter of fantasy and not worth taking seriously. “To those who have studied the book it is clear that it is utter nonsense," he said. “Allegro is indulging tn any kind of attack on theological scholarship. He has attacked Jewish, Christian, and to some extent the Islamic faiths. He began as a useful scholar but now

Mr Allegro claimed tn “The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross” that the names of Abraham, Moses and Jesus were variations of a Sumerian word for mushroom and were part of an

elaborate code used to record the secrets of an ancient religious cult centred on fertility worship. Mr Allegro is a distinguished philologist who has made important linguistic discoveries in ancient scrolls.

He is the British representative of the international editing team for the Dead Sea Scrolls and also an adviser to the Jordanian Government on the scrolls. From 1954 to 1962 Mr Allegro was a lecturer in comparative Semitic philosophy and Hebrew at the University of Manchester. He was appointed lecturer in Old Testament and inter-testa-mental studies in 1962 but resigned earlier this year. Mr Allegro has written “The Dead Sea Scrolls” and several other books related to the scrolls and has also contributed articles on Semitic philology to learned journals In an interview printed in the “Sunday Times" on May 17, Mr Allegro asked why there were no Jewish professors of Old Testament studies in British universities. Asked to comment on this Professor Ackroyd said that staff at British theological faculties were mostly Christian, “but not necessarily so.” “There is no kind of religious test applied for people appointed to such positions,” said Professor Ackroyd. Jewish Scholars “I don’t think that there is anywhere where a Jewish scholar has been employed, but there is no barrier to this from the point of view of University regulations. I don’t really think that there has ever been any Jewish applicants,” he said. Professor Ackroyd emphasised that there was the closest co-operation between Jews and Christians in the scholarly world. Referring to the involvement of the Church in politics, Professor Ackroyd said that the Christian religion was concerned with all of life. “There is no area where it can't show concern, therefore politics can’t help but be one of these areas of concern,” he said.

Professor Ackroyd will give two lectures this morning at Christchurch College. On Sunday he will travel to Dunedin where he will give the Selwyn lectures there.