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Is JUDAISM the Religion of Moses? 51

many of THE PRIESTS HAD PROVEN UNFAITHFUL GUARDIANS OF THE LAW, they
would not entrust to them the religious life of the people" (Lauterbach, Rabbinic Essays, p. 209).

Thus, many of the priests joined with, or rather comprised the sect of the Sadducees, which,
in all principles, rivaled the Pharisees. The origin of the priestly sect of the Sadducees was actually
prompted as a reaction to the Pharisees' taking over much of the religious control of the Jewish peo-
ple. The Sadducean sect was not formed because of any endeavor on the part of the priests to return
to the original Law of Moses; nor did the priests attempt to gain the people to accept only the Scrip-
tures as Law. This sect evolved as merely a reaction to the assumption of power by the lay Phari-
sees.

Many Priests Continue in Hellenism

After assimilating much of the "higher culture and enlightenment" of Hellenism, the priests
were not altogether ready to disengage themselves from it. Even after the religious anarchy, many
of the priests retained their love for the culture.

The Sadducees actually represented the division of the Jews which continued a reverence
for the ETHICAL VIEWS of Hellenism. It is true that they did NOT hold to the many RELIGIOUS
DOCTRINES of the pagan cults of Hellenism, but they did retain many of the social aspects of the
culture. It was almost imperative that they did, so the Sadducees thought, for they were in constant
contact with the political powers in Jerusalem who found it necessary to adhere to much of the Hel-
lenistic beliefs in order to carry on matters of state with the other countries around. Thus, many of
the priests did not completely repent of their secular Hellenism, even though on the religious side
they acknowledged the Scriptures as the only Law.

"They [the Sadducees] made, however, THE OPEN DOOR THROUGH WHICH GREEK
INFLUENCES CAME BACK INTO THE LAND, and, as another has tersely said, 'the antagonism
between them and the Pharisees was really A SECONDARY VERSION of the old feud
BETWEEN THE HELLENISTS AND THE HASIDEANS'" (Riggs, A History of the Jewish Peo-
ple, p. 111). The Hasideans were those Jews of the Maccabean Revolt who maintained a zeal for re-
ligion, and, of course, the Hellenists were the Jews, many of them priests, who had no interest in
religion.

It is clear that this comparison is correct. The Sadducees were simply the remnants of the
Hellenists who cared nothing for religion, while the Pharisees were descendants of the religionists
-- the Hasideans.

"Politically, the Sadducees were, as a party, OPEN TO FOREIGN INFLUENCES, and it
was through them THAT HELLENIC CULTURE SPREAD IN ISRAEL" (The Cambridge
Companion to the Bible, p. 134).

In other words, the Sadducees were really secular Hellenists. Their acceptance of the Scrip-
ture as the only code of Law, even though they rejected much of its teachings, was really out of spite
to the Pharisees who accepted the so-called traditions of the elders. The Sadducees saw no need of
being overly religious by the acceptance of burdensome customs and rites.

The Berean Voice March-April 2003