Changes

==Doctrines==

==Doctrines==

===Josephus' statements===

===Josephus' statements===

The account given of the doctrines of the Pharisees by Josephus is clearly influenced by his desire to parallel the Jewish sects with the Greek philosophical schools.  He directs special attention to the Pharisaic opinion as to fate and free will, since on this point the Stoic and Epicurean sects differed greatly.  He regards the Pharisaic position as mid-way between that of the Sadducees, who denied fate altogether and made human freedom absolute, and that of the Essenes, who believed that "all things are left in the hand of God."  He says "The Pharisees ascribe all things to fate and God, yet allow that to do what is right or the contrary is principally in man's own power, although fate cooperates in every action."  It should be noted that Josephus, in giving this statement of views, identifies "fate" with "God," a process that is more plausible in connection with the Latin ‘’fatum’’, "something decreed," than in relation to the impersonal ‘’moira’’, or ‘’heimarmene’’, of the Greeks. As Josephus wrote in Greek and used only the second of these terms, he had no philological inducement to make the identification; the reason must have been the matter of fact. In other words, he shows that the Pharisees believed in a personal God whose will was providence.

The account given of the doctrines of the Pharisees by Josephus is clearly influenced by his desire to parallel the Jewish sects with the Greek philosophical schools.  He directs special attention to the Pharisaic opinion as to fate and free will, since on this point the Stoic and Epicurean sects differed greatly.  He regards the Pharisaic position as midway between that of the Sadducees, who denied fate altogether and made human freedom absolute, and that of the Essenes, who believed that "all things are left in the hand of God."  He says "The Pharisees ascribe all things to fate and God, yet allow that to do what is right or the contrary is principally in man's own power, although fate cooperates in every action."  It should be noted that Josephus, in giving this statement of views, identifies "fate" with "God," a process that is more plausible in connection with the Latin ‘’fatum’’, "something decreed," than in relation to the impersonal ‘’moira’’, or ‘’heimarmene’’, of the Greeks. As Josephus wrote in Greek and used only the second of these terms, he had no philological inducement to make the identification; the reason must have been the matter of fact. In other words, he shows that the Pharisees believed in a personal God whose will was providence.

====Conditional reincarnation====

====Conditional reincarnation====