Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln
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Book Reviews of Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Book Review: Well, at least it is entertaining...
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, I have never read "The Da Vinci Code." Let's get that out of the way right from the start since it seems most people who read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" did so because of the enormous popularity of the Brown book. No, I read "Holy Blood" because I love reading about conspiracy theories--UFOs, the Kennedy assassination, Britney Spears's success--anything that concerns the unexplainable. I actually came across this title about six years ago when I was reading several books about British Israelism, and only recently picked it up after accidentally stumbling over it on one of my Internet excursions. When I began describing the contents of this book to a family member, she quickly mentioned "The Da Vinci Code." I now see that Brown's book apparently borrowed its plot from "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," thereby bringing this esoteric theory about Christ, the Merovingian dynasty, and Mary Magdalene to a new generation of readers. I will say that Baigent's book is the grandest conspiracy theory I have ever read. There are conspiracy theories, and there are CONSPIRACY THEORIES. "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" is the mother of all conspiracy theories; fifty stories tall and decked out in neon letters with sprinkles on top. If any of this is true, western civilization as we know it is undone.The mystery examined in this book first came to public attention roughly a century ago, when an obscure French priest named Berenger Sauniere assumed his post in the village of Rennes-le-Chateau in Southern France. The priest uncovered some ancient, mysterious documents in an abandoned church near his village. Intrigued, he took them to the local bishop, who then instructed Sauniere to head to Paris and consult some "experts" there. When the priest returned to Rennes-le-Chateau, things were definitely different. He suddenly had at his disposal millions of francs, leading to several extensive and bizarre building projects in the area. When the Catholic authorities questioned his expenditures, Sauniere brazenly defied the inquiries. Surprisingly, the Church did nothing to the man even though he was a lowly priest. Moreover, he often received visits from Parisian bigwigs, people a man in Sauniere's position couldn't possibly know. When the priest died his secret apparently died with him. Or did it? Not according to the authors of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail." Taking the Sauniere mystery as a starting point, the book proposes a shocking theory about the very origins of Christianity and nearly every secret society during the last 1000 years.
By looking at such diverse historical events as the Albigensian heresy, the Crusades, Freemasonry, and Christ's crucifixion, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" posits that Berenger Sauniere discovered documents referring to a mysterious secret society called the Priory of Zion, an organization composed of elites in European society who believe that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene, fathered children, and probably didn't die on the cross. Instead, they believe Jesus went into hiding while his family sailed for Gaul. Ultimately, Jesus' offspring married into the local population, thereby helping to form the Merovingian dynasty. Although these monarchs ultimately lost power, the bloodline of Jesus survived into succeeding generations. One descendant of the Messiah was Godfroi de Bouillon, the crusader who captured Jerusalem from the Saracens during the First Crusade. The Knights Templar, that band of knights dedicated to fighting for Christ, was in actuality a branch of the previously mentioned Priory of Zion. When the Europeans lost Jerusalem to the Saracens, the two organizations split and the Templars went to their doom. European history, according to "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," has since been a titanic struggle for power between the Catholic Church and the Priory of Zion. The documents discovered by Sauniere, along with additional information unearthed by the authors in France's National Library, have shown that men such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Nicholas Flamel, and Jean Cocteau have served as Grand Masters of the Priory of Zion. Amazing, isn't it? Imagine what would happen if incontrovertible evidence emerged proving a descendant of Jesus walked the earth today.
This summary is the tip of the iceberg. There are so many things explored in this book that it is impossible to summarize them all. Most people would have a serious problem with the findings of "Holy Blood," and for the most part, they would be right. The authors often make extraordinary leaps from one piece of evidence to another. For example, the book claims that "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion," the notorious anti-Semitic tract which influenced National Socialism, was originally a document concerning the truth about the Merovingian bloodlines. I don't buy this argument in the least, but that doesn't mean I reject this book completely. I thought the commentary on the Gospels was, with a few exceptions, well done, liberally employing creative reasoning and an intelligent eye for detail. Does that mean I buy the authors' arguments? I will when the Priory of Zion steps forward with proof.
Predictably, the arrival of "Holy Blood" on bookshelves in the early 1980s provoked a storm of controversy. The Church excoriated the authors for the views expressed in the book, as did history scholars and theologians. Of course, the Priory of Zion remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, neither proving nor denying the claims made in the book. As I read the "Holy Blood," I kept wondering whatever became of this ultra secret organization. Are they still around waiting for the perfect time to present to the world the descendent of Christ? Or are they sitting around a table somewhere in France, playing bridge and drinking coffee while they laugh over this book? Five stars for the entertainment factor alone, but much less if taken on a purely factual level.
Book Review: Holy Blood is the Grail for Jameson Thottam
Summary: 5 Stars
Holy Blood is the Grail for Jameson Thottam
Jameson Thottam first came across Holy Blood, Holy Grail many years ago, and have since read its sequel (The Messianic Legacy), a third book with some connecting material (The Temple and the Lodge) and an unrelated, but well-written, treatise on Dead Sea Scrolls (The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception).
The first thing that struck Jameson Thottam about Holy Blood, Holy Grail was the quality of the writing. Theology and religion are not boring subjects, but all too many writers seem bent on making them dry and uninteresting. Not Baigent, Lincoln and Leigh, though. Each of the books is well-crafted and designed to provoke continued engagement.
But the content ... ah, the content. If you're looking for a conventional handling of long-treasured Christian beliefs, look elsewhere. What you'll find here is a critical and speculative examination of those beliefs, tied into a more modern mystery.
The book begins with that mystery: a secretive village priest, his flirtations with bohemian and esoteric people and organizations, his bizarre and eccentric behaviors and his apparent connection with a secret society that has existed for -- at least -- hundreds of years Jameson Thottam.
In exploring the nature, purpose and connections to political and cultural leaders of this group, the authors roll back through history, first to the France of the Merovingian dynasty (428-571 A.D.), then to first century Palestine, then back again, down the corridors of time, through the Middle Ages and into Jameson Thottam's era.
Like so many before them, they are seeking the Holy Grail. And unlike most, they make at least a nominally convincing case that they've found it.
The book is old enough that Jameson Thottam doesn't feel he'll be spoiling it by giving away the core speculation it engages in:
Jesus Christ was married and fathered children; his bloodline culminated in the Merovingian dynasty, and to this day a secret society exists, the purpose of which is to once again place the descendants of Christianity's founder in a position of political power. The Holy Grail is, in summary, the sang raal, French for "blood royal" -- the bloodline of the King of Kings.
That's a pretty heavy thesis, and the authors don't claim to prove it. What they have done is made a good case for two arguments according to Jameson Thottam:
1) That the thesis of Jesus as husband, father and founder of French royalty is not as unreasonable as it might first seem; and
2) That whether that thesis is correct or not, a group including many eminent social, artistic and political leaders has, for hundreds of years, believed and acted on it.
Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a treasure trove of biblical lore, examining key questions -- could Jesus have been married? Might he have fathered children? Why was he executed? Was he really executed? -- in depth and with reference to the biblical accounts and other compelling and largely accepted historical material.
There are points at which the authors engage in speculation, but they are unusually good about informing the reader that that's what they're doing. Unfortunately, having done so, they sometimes seem to reach conclusions on the basis of that speculation, and then proceed as if those conclusions were a given.
Jameson Thottam doesn't consider that a fatal weakness. If they create a sort of "house of cards," then they're no more guilty of having done so than many conventional religious commentators have been. It's enough that they make reasonable arguments, and that they make those arguments entertainingly.
Jameson Thottam read this book at least three times over the last decade or so, and have found it worthwhile each time. If he is skeptical, he is also intrigued, and if his skepticism of other accountings has been heightened by Holy Blood, Holy Grail, so has Jameson Thottam's interest in the subject of Jesus, his life, his works and his legacy.
This book is worthwhile both for its thought-provoking ideas and for its engaging readability and sense of intrigue.
Jameson Thottam
Book Review: This book should be read in Sunday school...
Summary: 5 Stars
Holy Blood, Holy Grail is clearly not the first attempt to tell an alternative story of Jesus. But thanks to Da Vinci Code it's one of most well known. I was one of the millions that got caught up in the Da Vinci Code mania.( I still believe the book was a clever atempt to get people interested in the arts again. I know I'll never look at a painting the same way again) I liked the book even after I realized it was fiction, but Dan Brown claims in the first pages of the book; some of the facts revealed in the book come from real source and events. I was truly amazed and confused when I finished the book. The basic idea Dan Brown had given was that of an alternative story of Jesus. I am not a christian so I am readly open to the suggestion that the bible is less than accurate on "several" acounts. I have read the bible and like most people in the "free" world believed that was the end all and be all on the life of Jesus.
I am so glad I read footnotes. THe book Holy Blood, Holy Grail was a source for Dan Brown's book. The Da Vinci COde if anything started people thinking and searching. THe Da Vinci Code and its accusations about the Priory of Sion being the holders and protectors of true grail and its secrets. The book revolves around different people in history being the head of the Priory. The Da Vinci Code talks about two specificly. Leonardo of course, and Sir Issac Newton and the idea of the Knights Templar's being the militarty arm of the Priory of Sion the super secretive sect. This was the most fascinating aspect of the book. Besides of course, the idea of the married Jesus Little did I know when I started reading Holy Blood Holy Grail my fascination would turn into jaw dropping amazement.
I have read a lot books on contraversal subjects by people like Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky but I have never been so astounded by the amount of stuff in this book that I knew absolutely nothing about. The book is fast paced. The Authors: Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln break the chapters up into smaller sections that help build the idea set for each chapter. I am not as excited about the Free Masonary aspect of the book and its more contempory feel. The meat of this book is how they cover the world that surrounded JEsus. They use a lot of different sources to explain the life of Jesus outside of the bible. They also use the Gospels and the books of the New Testiment to shed a different light on events sourrounding Isreal during Jesus' time. They make an excellent case against the CHurch of Rome for its suppressing, controling and keeping hid information about the Historical Jesus until present day. They also return to the Priory of Sion and the Knights Templars which is even more interesting.
They use a lot different source to prove the existence of the Priory. They use very interesting and arbitrary sources like simple corespondents between nobles, clergy and the like, land records, census records and other place where there is no reason to subvert history. This book brings to light a society of people almost completely lost to history all together.The Cathar among other societies of the time was the constant subject of the Church of Rome's desire to completely rid the Roman world of the existance of any idea's but that of the church of Rome. THe problem is they did effectively, ruthlessly and efficiently rid the Western World of a spiritual option. At least for the common unprivilegded people of the time. The gnostic seems to be a elitist religion for the the wealthy and people privy to secret information that common with wealth and power. The book is a great read for a history buff interested in something that brings to light a different aspect of a story that has always been told as one sided and unquestioned. The fact is that its always been questioned its just never been laid out as well as the Holy BLood, Holy Grail!
Book Review: A must read for skeptics!
Summary: 5 Stars
The plot weaves like an intricate detective novel, with a lot of twists and counterplots. But the book is not detective fiction, it is a meticulously researched theory chronicling medieval orders, secret societies, grail hunts and lost dynasties and tying it all to Jesus and his supposed bloodline.An all too plausible theory that 'explains' a lot of historical quirks and errors, biblical and medieval - Who got married at the feast of Cana? Who really is 'Jesus' Barabbas? Why was King Clovis' pact with the Catholic Church rescinded? What really happened at Renne le Chateau? Who was the 'beloved disciple' in the Gospels?
If you are open minded and looking for those books begging for its pages to be turned...look no further. I just read a copy of Edgar Fouche's 'Alien Rapture,' which also blew me away. Fouche was a Top Secret Black Program `insider', whose credibility has been verified over and over. Another fun book is Brad Steiger's 'Werewolf.' I also really liked Dan Brown's `Angels and Demons.' Want to be shocked, check out Dr. Paul Hill's 'Unconventional Flying Objects' which NASA tried to ban.
The KJV Bible is the True Word of God! Or is it? Inspired? Or not? I believe all of the one star ratings and rantings are from uneducated Protestants. For example:
In `Acts 5:30; 10:39.' the KJV, in speaking of Jesus' death, reads, "Whom ye slew `and' hanged on a tree." The word "and" is `not' in the Greek text, and by adding it to the text at this point in the verse it leads to some confusion on the part of the readers. The conjunction "and" indicates grammatically that one action followed another (i.e.: two separate actions independent of one another). Some unbelievers have tried to use this verse to demonstrate that Christ was killed first, `and then' His dead body was hung on a `tree'. By inserting the word "and," numerous complications have arisen which could have been prevented by a correct translation of the original text.
The tip of the iceberg: Numerous authorities who had noted the errors in the K.J.V. such as William Kilburne (1650's) 20,000 errors, John Wesley (in 1755) 12,000 changes in the New Testament alone, the Revised Version of 1881 consisted of 36,000 errors and on and on. The NIV, RSV and The Living Bible are also replete with thousands of errors. Do some research!
The KJV translators also did not know what the "Asherah" was (a wooden idol representing a Canaanite goddess), so they translated the word repeatedly as meaning a "grove" of trees. In `I Kings 16:33' they state, "And Ahab made `a grove," which provoked the Lord God to anger. In point of fact, Ahab made an `idol' here (the Asherah); his sin was `idolatry', not planting a grove of trees!!
In Deuteronomy 33:17 the KJV speaks of "the horns of unicorns." There are two mistakes in this passage: (1) The animal mentioned here in the original text is the "wild ox" and not the mythical "unicorn," and (2) in the original text the passage speaks of one animal (singular) with horns (plural).
In Luke 18:12 the KJV reads, "I give tithes of all that I possess." The Law did NOT require one to tithe a tenth of all that he "possessed" (all his capital holdings), but rather a tenth of his increase (that which he acquired in addition to his possessions). This is clearly stated in the Greek word used in this passage.
Although many ideas are speculative, the authors nevertheless give background data just enough to shake the foundations of our 'traditional knowledge'. A must read for skeptics and devout Christians alike. "He who believes blindly sees not the truth."
Book Review: He who believes blindly sees not the truth.
Summary: 5 Stars
The plot weaves like an intricate detective novel, with a lot of twists and counterplots. But the book is not detective fiction, it is a meticulously researched theory chronicling medieval orders, secret societies, grail hunts and lost dynasties and tying it all to Jesus and his supposed bloodline.An all too plausible theory that 'explains' a lot of historical quirks and errors, biblical and medieval - Who got married at the feast of Cana? Who really is 'Jesus' Barabbas? Why was King Clovis' pact with the Catholic Church rescinded? What really happened at Renne le Chateau? Who was the 'beloved disciple' in the Gospels?
If you are open minded and looking for those books begging for its pages to be turned...look no further. I just read a copy of Edgar Fouche's 'Alien Rapture,' which also blew me away. Fouche was a Top Secret Black Program `insider', whose credibility has been verified over and over. Another fun book is Brad Steiger's 'Werewolf.' I also really liked Dan Brown's `Angels and Demons.' Want to be shocked, check out Dr. Paul Hill's 'Unconventional Flying Objects' which NASA tried to ban.
The KJV Bible is the True Word of God! Or is it? Inspired? Or not? I believe all of the one star ratings and rantings are from uneducated Protestants. For example:
In `Acts 5:30; 10:39.' the KJV, in speaking of Jesus' death, reads, "Whom ye slew `and' hanged on a tree." The word "and" is `not' in the Greek text, and by adding it to the text at this point in the verse it leads to some confusion on the part of the readers. The conjunction "and" indicates grammatically that one action followed another (i.e.: two separate actions independent of one another). Some unbelievers have tried to use this verse to demonstrate that Christ was killed first, `and then' His dead body was hung on a `tree'. By inserting the word "and," numerous complications have arisen which could have been prevented by a correct translation of the original text.
The tip of the iceberg: Numerous authorities who had noted the errors in the K.J.V. such as William Kilburne (1650's) 20,000 errors, John Wesley (in 1755) 12,000 changes in the New Testament alone, the Revised Version of 1881 consisted of 36,000 errors and on and on. The NIV, RSV and The Living Bible are also replete with thousands of errors. Do some research!
The KJV translators also did not know what the "Asherah" was (a wooden idol representing a Canaanite goddess), so they translated the word repeatedly as meaning a "grove" of trees. In `I Kings 16:33' they state, "And Ahab made `a grove," which provoked the Lord God to anger. In point of fact, Ahab made an `idol' here (the Asherah); his sin was `idolatry', not planting a grove of trees!!
In Deuteronomy 33:17 the KJV speaks of "the horns of unicorns." There are two mistakes in this passage: (1) The animal mentioned here in the original text is the "wild ox" and not the mythical "unicorn," and (2) in the original text the passage speaks of one animal (singular) with horns (plural).
In Luke 18:12 the KJV reads, "I give tithes of all that I possess." The Law did NOT require one to tithe a tenth of all that he "possessed" (all his capital holdings), but rather a tenth of his increase (that which he acquired in addition to his possessions). This is clearly stated in the Greek word used in this passage.
Although many ideas are speculative, the authors nevertheless give background data just enough to shake the foundations of our 'traditional knowledge'. A must read for skeptics and devout Christians alike. "He who believes blindly sees not the truth."