what religion was jesus?

Well it depends on how you look at it, the Jewish leaders themselves didnt see the Essene movement as being part of it. Here's some generic info for you and you can decide for yourself.

The Essenes were a religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE. Being much fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the other two major sects at the time) the Essenes lived in various cities but congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism, voluntary poverty, and abstinence from worldly pleasures, including sex. Many separate but related religious groups of that era shared similar mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. These groups are collectively referred to by various scholars as the "Essenes."

The accounts by Josephus and Philo show that the Essenes (Philo: Essaioi) led a strictly celibate and communal life — often compared by scholars to later Christian monastic living — although Josephus speaks also of another "rank of Essenes" that did get married (War 2.160-161). According to Josephus, they had customs and observances such as collective ownership (War 2.122; Ant. 18.20), elected a leader to attend to the interests of them all whose orders they obeyed (War 2.123, 134), were forbidden from swearing oaths (War 2.135) and sacrificing animals (Philo, §75), controlled their temper and served as channels of peace (War 2.135), carried weapons only as protection against robbers (War 2.125), had no slaves but served each other (Ant. 18.21) and, as a result of communal ownership, did not engage in trading (War 2.127). Both Josephus and Philo have lengthy accounts of their communal meetings, meals and religious celebrations.

After a total of three years probation (War 2.137-138), newly joining members would take an oath that included the commitment to practice piety towards "the Deity" (το θειον) and righteousness towards humanity, to maintain a pure life-style, to abstain from criminal and immoral activities, to transmit their rules uncorrupted and to preserve the books of the Essenes and the names of the Angels (War 2.139-142). Their theology included belief in the immortality of the soul and that they would receive their souls back after death (War 2.153-158, Ant. 18.18). Part of their activities included purification by water rituals, which was supported by rainwater catchment and storage.

The Church Father Epiphanius (writing in the fourth century CE) seems to make a distinction between two main groups within the Essenes[3]: "Of those that came before his [Elxai, an Ossaean prophet] time and during it, the Osseaens and the Nazarean." (Panarion 1:19). Epiphanius describes each group as following:

The Nazarean - they were Jews by nationality - originally from Gileaditis, Bashanitis and the Transjordon... They acknowledged Moses and believed that he had received laws - not this law, however, but some other. And so, they were Jews who kept all the Jewish observances, but they would not offer sacrifice or eat meat. They considered it unlawful to eat meat or make sacrifices with it. They claim that these Books are fictions, and that none of these customs were instituted by the fathers. This was the difference between the Nazarean and the others...
(Panarion 1:18)
After this [Nazarean] sect in turn comes another closely connected with them, called the Ossaeanes. These are Jews like the former ... originally came from Nabataea, Ituraea, Moabitis and Arielis, the lands beyond the basin of what sacred scripture called the Salt Sea... Though it is different from the other six of these seven sects, it causes schism only by forbidding the books of Moses like the Nazarean.
(Panarion 1:19)
If it is correct to identify the community at Qumran with the Essenes (and that the community at Qumran are the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls), then according to the Dead Sea Scrolls the Essenes' community school was called "Yahad" (meaning "unity") in order to differentiate themselves from the rest of the Jews who are repeatedly labeled "The Breakers of the Covenant".

Since the 19th century attempts have been made to connect early Christianity and Pythagoreanism with the Essenes. It was suggested that Jesus of Nazareth was an Essene as many of His teachings directly correspond to similar teachings held by the Essenes. This leads to the concept that Christianity evolved from this sect of Judaism, with which it shared many ideas and symbols. According to Martin A. Larson, the now misunderstood Essenes were Jewish Pythagoreans who lived as monks. As vegetarian celibates in self-reliant communities who shunned marriage and family, they preached a coming war with the Sons of Darkness. As the Sons of Light, this reflected a separate influence from Zoroastrianism via their parent ideology of Pythagoreanism. According to Larson, both the Essenes and Pythagoreans resembled thiasoi, or cult units of the Orphic mysteries. John the Baptist is widely regarded to be a prime example of an Essene who had left the communal life (see Ant. 18.116-119), and it is thought they aspired to emulate their own founding Teacher of Righteousness who was crucified. However, J.B. Lightfoot's essay (On Some Points Connected with the Essenes) argues that attempts to find the roots of Essenism in Pythagoreanism and the roots of Christianity in Essenism are flawed. Authors such as Robert Eisenman present differing views that support the Essene/Early Christian connection.

all above information taken from Here

 

And Ukr-Cnd: please, what in the world does this mean - that Protestants "deny the vaildity of the Papcy"?

 

I think its sad that more people DONT think about it.
I think we will surely end as a collective race if we dont start
treating each other better...
In short I think its sad, I dont see it evolving quick enough.
It takes a long time to change the world..

 

Indy Hippy, I feel much enlightened in regards to "what/who" the Essene's were; but not so much on what I thought I knew.

 

The papacy is the right of the pope, it refers to his legitimacy and righteousness before God, protestents in general, being a sect derived from the Roman Catholics, that had a seperation and falling out with them, are very against the Pope and all he stands for, due to the fact that he is seen as man's modern intermediate between them and God. The protestants believe the bible literally when it says -Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.- John 14:6 (ISV).

 

Ok now, I am going to ask a very stupid question; but I've just got to:

Do Roman Catholics think they Must go through the local equivalent of the pope or even the pope himself to get to heaven?
I cannot imagine them reading the bible and believing any differently than you just stated. Why it's literally all through the NT - that one must have a personal relationship and inner private, personal faith and believe in Christ. It certainly sets up No Man on this earth to "get" them into the kingdom. If one does not otherwise "deserve" it, does the Pope supposedly hold the clout to get them admitted?!

 

The Roman Catholic church teaches that you can commune with God through the pope or the cardinals, now I don't know if they still specifically teach that but it is common place I do know. Sometimes religion is twisted to make man appear to have power with God, but I figure they all have it wrong anyway so what ever makes em happy

 

When I was a child - seriously, about 7 yrs old it started, I would have questions about God, life and things of that nature.
I was taught that when no body would tell me the answers I needed/wanted -
to Read for Myself.
That didn't always do much good for the (stupid) teachers; but a lesson I learned early that I find still works- reading the bible myself, using references, tools etc. I am always led to an answer I can live with.
Many people in this day and age have no desire for true answers, but are more than happy to be told to say this, do this, bla bla and it'll all be fine. For many of them, it probably will be, huh?
Oh well, thanks for the conversation.

 

Yeah I myself am a taoist, but I was raised in a Christian house hold, as a matter of fact my father is a pastor, I just chose to begin asking questions and searching for my own answers, I could give multiple reasons why I don't believe in Christianity but that'd take all day and make some people mad.

 

My point was that the Essenes denied the sacrificial system as it was taking place in the Temple in the First Century. They are still a Jewish Religious sect. Protestants deny that the Pope has any sort of authority, they are still Christians.

No, you do not have to go through the pope or clergy. some sacraments need to be administered by a cleric (Confession for example). The Church teaches that there is no sure way to salvation, and that "knowing" you are going to heaven is a sin. I agree, you cannot know God's will.

Are Popes guaenteed heaven? Not necessarily, they are human and sin and some are not canonized (such as Pius XII).

 

One point that I've made before but I think needs to be said again. All this stuff about the Essenes is highly speculative. It's hard enough to establish that Jesus existed, let alone that he was an Essene. As I understand it, the main evidence Indy is putting forward for this is that his folks came from a part of the country where the Essenes seem to have been active. I come from a part of the country where Christian fundamentalists are hyperactive. After I die, and people hold their debate on the thread "What religion was Okie?" I guess some people might conclude I was a Bible thumping Christian Evangelical fundamentalist, based on where I lived. Man, would they ever be wrong! There have been books written showing that Jesus was an Essene, but others have been written showing he was really a Pharisee of the Hillel school, and that the Pharisees he was attacking all the time were Shamai-school Pharisees. Crossan argues that Jesus was basically a Mediterranean Jewish peasant, influenced by, or at least similar to, the Greco-Roman Cynics who would be called, in modern terms, hippies--only he took to the countryside instead of staying in the cities the way they did. He hung out with his cousin, John the Baptist, probably a Nazorean, for awhile, and then set out on his own distinctive ministry, trading faith healing and exorcism for meals shared in common with people of all social classes--a subtle attack on the social hierarchy. His message of peace, love, and understanding, especially for the outcasts of society, was different from the Essene-Nasorean emphasis, although consistent with the tradition of the Jewish Prophets. Of course, there are other views, as well. My favorite is John Allegro's thesis that Jesus was a mushroom, psychedelic of course. That could easily be tied into Crossan's hippie theory. I'm sure a lot of these theories describe aspects of Jesus (maybe not the mushroom), since there were a lot of influences mixing around in the cauldron of first century Galilee. To use a familiar analogy, this is like the proverbial blind men trying to describe an elephant in terms of whatever appendage of the animal they happened to grab onto. I find all these theories fascinating, but to me the important thing is what Jesus did, preached, and stood for. I think we do him a disservice to try to pigeonhole him or reduce him to "just another Essene".

 

I agree and would also add that if Jesus was what he actually said he was, that he was the son of God and had a pre-human existence with God before being born on earth, then he wouldn’t need human doctrines to guide him, he would speak straight from his heart the things he learned at his Fathers knee, so to speak.

(Matthew 7:29) for he was teaching them as a person having authority, and not as their scribes
(John 7:46) The officers replied: “Never has [another] man spoken like this.”