By: Phil Ferguson

The Sadducees were one of the three major religious sects of Judaism and were active until the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. They were an aristocratic sect that had little to do with the common people. They were composed mainly of high priests, priests and wealthy and powerful people. Most priests, but not all, were Sadducees.

The Sadducees believed only the written law (the Torah) and did not recognize the Oral Law. Many of their beliefs were directly opposed to those of the Pharisees. Among their beliefs was free will, that man was master of his own destiny. They also rejected the ideas of immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead.