This article explains how religious extremism in the Essenes, causing faithfulness to teachings on cleanliness, led to illness and greatly decreased life expectance.
According to Tabor, however, poor health might have had its own place in the cultural thinking of Qumran.
"As a group the men of Qumran were very unhealthy, but I think this would have been likely to have actually fed the Essenes' religious enthusiasm," said Tabor. "They would have seen their infirmities as punishment from God for their lack of purity and then have tried even harder to purify themselves further."
I could not have been a successful Essene, becuase no way could I have adhered to the following practices:
Josephus, in talking about the Essenes, mentions it as a point of admiration or piety -- he says that these people are so holy, that on the Sabbath day they won't even use the toilet, because on the Sabbath one can't go outside the settlement," he said.
This is an example of the necessity of the scientific method. Pure reasoning often leads one to faulty conclusions, because of lack of knowledge.
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