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The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ
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Music Books > Blind Guardian > Item 1
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The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ
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by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince
Sales Rank: 19330
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List Price: $15.00
$10.20
At Amazon
on 12-29-2007.
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Features
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Touchstone; 1st Touchstone Ed edition November 12, 1998
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0684848910
ISBN-13: 978-0684848914
Product Dimensions:
8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
Product Review
Colin Wilson
Author of Atlas of Holy Places and Sacred Sites
One of the most fascinating books I have read since The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
Product Review
Colin Wilson Author of Atlas of Holy Places and Sacred Sites One of the most fascinating books I have read since The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
This book is exciting because it is a real follow-up to the theories presented in Holy Blood, Holy Grail (by Baigent, Lincoln and Leigh), the all-time best of the "alternate history" books. It was the earlier book that caused many Christians to shed their naivete about the origins of their religion and to question whether Jesus had, in fact, died on the cross. Since that book, other writers have joined the fray and put forward theories of Jesus surviving the crucifixion. Like the Holy Blood, Holy Grail authors, Picknett and Prince say Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, but unlike the previous work, they do not say the two went together to the south of France. They concentrate instead on Magdalene and the many legends of her presence in France. They too allude to an explosive "secret" preserved by that shadowy organization known as the Priory of Sion. In this ambitious and controversial work we find much more on the legends of France concerning Mary Magdalene and her possible connection to Jesus and the Christian Church. The authors also delve into the mystery of Rennes le Chateau, the story which originally inspired Baigent, Lincoln and Leigh to do the investigation which led to their theory of a Jesus who was married and whose descendants founded the Merovingian dynasty. Since that time, other books have also questioned the standard story of Christian beginnings, and have even revived the idea that historical Jesus did not exist. I recently visited a wonderful exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls that came to the Grand Rapids (Michigan) public museum which featured actual pieces of the scrolls along with many representations of the Essene community at Qumran, thought to be the origin of the scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls are important because they they shed light on the religious and political ideas of the time just prior to Jesus' public life. Some of the material from the scrolls seems "Christian" but actually predates the Jesus movement. This, like the material in The Templar Revelation, seems to show that the central ideas of Christianity were not new. Other authors have shown that the "suffering savior," the "dying and resurrected god" and "eating the divine flesh and blood" themes were present in many pagan religions of the era. Picknett and Prince take the idea further and show that the roots of Christianity could be, not in Judaism, but rather in the Egyptian religion, especially the cult of Isis and Osiris. For instance, Osiris was killed on Friday and resurrected three days later by the power of his wife Isis, who then conceives their son, Horus. Even more parallels with Christianity can be found in the basic beliefs of the Isis religion, which emphasized repentance and confession. It was not Jesus who originally brought these ideas (both Egyptian and Gnostic) to the Jews, but another character who figures prominently in occult circles, John the Baptist. John is seen by the authors as a rival of Jesus who founded a substantial movement that continued to exist and even exists today. His followers have never believed Jesus was devine. The most exciting part of this book is the material the authors collected in their travels though France. They found numerous churches dedicated to Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist and the mysterious Black Madonna. The devotion to the Magdalene is especially interesting, since the legends of her presence in this area are so common and there are numerous claims by local townspeople to have her remains or some relic of her. The shrines to Mary Magdalene are frequently at sites formerly associated with Isis. However, after laboriously providing many examples of these themes, the authors never quite pull it all together. They show what seems to be a connection with the Hermetic tradition embodied in the Knights Templar and the Freemasons, but fail to produce any "smoking gun." What was the secret knowledge of these organizations that caused them to hold John the Baptist and the Magdalene in higher regard than Jesus? It was, they say, the knowledge of the Female principle once so important to ancient religions. They devote a whole chapter to the history of "sacred sex" and show how it was practiced in Egypt and persisted through the undergound stream kept alive by organizations like the Templars and Masons. They tell us nothing about the political agenda of these organizations, or the reason for the continued secrecy (after all, there is no more Inquisition). While I find much of the material illuminating, the book is ultimately disappointing. They tell us that Jesus was a rival of John; he was a practitioner of magic and/or the Egyptian religion. His message was altered by the male-dominated Church which covered up the truth about the important role of Magdalene. The authors constantly point out how ignorant most Christians are about the origins of their own religion. Since Christianity emphasizes "faith" (belief with no proof), why should the existence of proof that Jesus survived the crucifixion and was married and had children make any difference? It's interesting how these books, no matter how persuasive, seem to change nothing. I was hoping to finally learn the agenda of the Priory of Sion and the secret of Rennes le Chateau. I want to know what really happened to Jesus. The books waltzes tantalizingly around all these topics, but never delivers the goods. It does not reveal any Great Truth. But of course, that was always too much to ask.
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The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ
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