Ever since the Dead Sea Scrolls were unearthed in 1947 a small group of scholars has exerted a jealous control over access to the originals This policy has hindered understanding of these priceless texts Now expert Robert Feather exposes a shocking conspiracy at the heart of biblical and archaeological studies and shines a bold and sure to be controversial light on the Scrolls linking the isolated Essene cult at Qumran with Jesus Christ and the Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten founder of monotheism Black Holes in the Dead Sea Scrolls The Conspiracy The History The Meaning The TruthRobert Feather s recent book 2012 consolidated a strong suspicion I held for almost sixty years that monotheism had its roots in ancient Egypt In the library of Cotham Grammar School in Bristol in the early 1950s I read of Pharaoh Amenophis IV who changed his name to Akhenaton and founded the new religion of the worship of the One God Aton at his newly built capital near modern Amarna All I knew at that time was that Akhenaton died about 150 years before Moses led the Jews out of Egypt and that the memory of the Great Hymn to Aton was preserved in Psalm 104 of the Bible To these bare bones Robert Feather has added flesh in such abundance that one is tempted to believe that the suspicion is confirmed but we are warned that it may be many decades before mainstream scholarship overcomes its plethora of vested interests to rewrite history along these lines. As the book title suggests Robert Feather focuses his work on understanding the position of the community of Essenes at Khirbet Qumran as revealed in the Dead Sea Scrolls He accuses mainstream scholars of refusing to answer many basic questions which he calls black holes This is perhaps an unfortunate designation because the black holes of astrophysics attract all matter in their vicinity whereas the unanswered questions raised by the Dead Sea Scrolls seem to repel potential investigators Nevertheless Feather is justified in his criticism of scholars who retained control of the scrolls and delayed translation and publication for half a century Even now a new generation of academic experts refuses to accept what appear to Robert Feather and I suspect to most of his unbiased readers as obvious deductions. Robert Feather maintains that the Qumran community was the preserver of the ancient religion of Aton from the time of the Maccabees in the 160s BC to the war with the Romans in the 60s AD He admits that there are important gaps in linking Qumran all the way back to Akhenaton in 1350 BC but provides numerous clues and gives the prophet Ezekiel 6th century BC a major role in preserving the memory of Aton at the time of the exile of the Jews in Babylon He also shows quite convincingly that the temple remembered so often in the books of the Bible is often the temple built by Akhenaton at his capital Akhetaton than the temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. Robert Feather s excellent book suffers from an ambition to be both popular and scholarly His choice of a popular style of writing with references to an alternative view as a crackpot claim to non believers as sceptics and with chapter headings like How Potty Can You Get suggest a book for the general reader but one is reluctant to believe what one reads in the tabloid press. On the other hand Feather s choice of two academics to support his arguments suggests the book is also aimed at people with a special interest The Foreword by Dr J H Ellens and the interview with Professor Geza Vermes only serve to show the reluctance of established scholars to committing themselves to a minority opinion Professor Vermes does shed some light on why the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls was so long delayed but he fails to endorse any of Feather s views on a connection between Qumran and Akhenaton No mention of Akhenaton is made by Ellens One is forced to wonder why these gentlemen were troubled. Robert Feather shares with other authors holding a firm religious opinion such as Richard Dawkins a tendency to follow a strong argument with several weaker ones as though the weak can further strengthen the strong However having accomplished so much research and having been a voice crying in the Judean wilderness for so long it is easy to understand why Robert Feather wants to tell us all that he has found in preparing the way of the Aton 244.