Tussen myDiAlfa en ~Omega als Scylla en Charybdis?

The scrolls thus do not negate the world as such. True, the Manual of Discipline asserts that the world "has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the domination of injustice", but it is not inherently
a source of impurity. G d established it as a place for the spirits of light and darkness, and even "created
man [in his image] to rule the world". Moreover, the wondrous secrets of creation and the immutable laws
governing the universe are proof of G d's greatness and singular will. Indeed, these laws of righteousness only serve to highlight the nullity of mankind. The view expressed in the Hodayot and the Manual of Disci-pline, according to which man is a base, defiled and impure creature, is organically tied to the passive ver-sion of devine predestination. According to this doctrine, everything is determined in advance solely accor-ding to G d's will, this being the sole source of all being, for "by his knowledge everything shall come into being, and all that does exist he establishes with his calculations and nothing is done outside him". Thus,
G d has foreordained a particular individual to be righteous and one of G d's elect, since from "G d's hand
is the perfection of the path". It appears, then, that by the Community's account, man's corrupt nature prevents him from becoming righteous through his own agency, for man is a creature of "evil and unfaith-ful flesh", and his workd are bereft of value. Man is a base creature, helpless to raise himself up if not for G d's will: 'I am dust and ashes, what can I plan if you do not wish it? What can I devise without
your will? How can I be strong if you do not make me stand? How can I be learned if you do not mould me?' When G d's unique and absolute will decides to elevate one of his elect from the guilt and defilement that is otherwise his lot, when G d decides to bridge the yawning chasm that divides him from helpless mankind, this divine judgment is not contingent upon human merit - for indeed there is no such thing - but rather upon the mercy and grace of the beneficent deity: 'I know that no one be-sides you is just. I have appeased your face by the spirit which you have placed in me, to lavish your kind-ness on your servant forever, to purify me with your holy spiirit, to bring me near by your will according to the estent of your kindness'. The elect's knowledge that he has been blessed with G d's grace,
fills him with confidence & provides him with inner fortitude: 'But when I remembered the strength
of your hand & the abundance of your compassion I remained resolute and stood up to be counted];my
spirit kept firmly in place in the face of affliction. For I leaned on your kindness & the abundance of your
compassion. For you atone iniquity and cleanse man of his guilt through your justice'. "The a-bundance of your compassion": an ellipsis of "your heart and your compassion" in Yeshayahu 63:15. The
'divine grace' through which G d designates His elect. The doctrine of man's election through preordained divine grace seekt to clarify the means by which an individual merits becoming one of the elect. It is a doc-trine that reflects a religious sensibility that is concerned with individual salvation, which apparently domi-nated the Yahad at that time. According to this doctrine, the Community is the sum total of all the indivi-dual elect: 'ALL THE SONS OF YOUR TRUTH YOU BRING TO FORGIVENESS IN YOUR PRESENCE, YOU
PURIFY THEM FROM THEIR OFFENCES BY THE GREATNESS OF YOUR GOODNESS, AND BY THE ABUNDANCE OF
YOUR COMPASSION, TO MAKE THEM STAND IN YOUR PRESENCE FOR EVER AND EVER. FOR YOU ARE AN E-TERNAL G D AND ALL YOUR PATHS REMAIN FROM ETERNITY!' In die zin blijkt de geboorte & dus ook de dood en alles wat daartussenin plaats heeft gevonden ineens 'verklaarbaar'? Alles wat men alleen
nog maar hoeft te doen is 'gehoorzamen aan g ds wil'. Net zo'n contradictie als tijd & heelal, keuze & doel!

Het heeft geen zin om die tegenstellingen te ontkennen of te verdoezelen: maar kiezen moeten we wel ...