Since their discoveries in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been a source of constant controversy. Scholars still argue over the meaning of the fragmentary texts-especially what they say about the Jewish roots of the first Christian communities. Discovering that the scroll fragments date Mark's gospel much earlier than once believed, Carsten Peter Thiede claims that the scrolls establish links between the two great faiths, and that they literally revolutionize our understanding of the Bible.