The
1982 book HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry
Lincoln, speculates that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and they
had a female child. Mary Magdalene and the child fled to southern France after the crucifixion where the
descendents of Jesus eventually established the Merovingian Dynasty (447-751) in
France
and were protected by a secret society called the Priory of Sion. It further
asserts that the Roman Catholic Church attempted to eradicate the remnants of
the Merovingian Dynasty and their guardians, the Knights Templar, during the
Inquisition (1184-1834).
In
1998, a book titled THE TEMPLAR REVELATION, by Lynn Pickett and Clive Prince, agrees
with the above scenario and claims that the Knights Templar was a secret organization
protecting the true account of Christ (married to Mary Magdalene who fled to France
with Jesus' child, etc.). It also delves into the Priory of Sion and identifies
its succession of Grand Masters, including Victor Hugo, Sir Isaac Newton and
Leonardo Da Vinci.
According
to Pickett and Prince, Leonardo Da Vinci was often contracted to do paintings
for the Roman Catholic Church but, as the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion,
was actually a secret foe of the church, thus he included subtle clues in his
works to champion his sentiments.
For
example, in Da Vinci's famous painting of The Last Supper (Jesus and the 12
disciples), the disciple to Jesus' right is clearly a woman, supposedly to
signify Mary Magdalene as equal to the other disciples and close to Jesus. The
lack of a wine goblet at the table is considered to be a clue that the Holy Grail
is not an object at all but rather the holy bloodline of Jesus and Mary
Magdalene.
Using
these two publications as a source of reference, author Dan Brown wrote a novel
(fiction) in 2003 titled THE DA VINCI CODE, which became a bestseller, about a conspiracy
by the Catholic Church to suppress the true story of Jesus Christ (the holy
bloodline through Mary Magdalene) and Da Vinci's attempt to expose the truth.
The
novel's hero (professor of religious history) stumbles upon the true story of
Jesus after he discovers a dead body in a French museum. He, along with the granddaughter
of the head of the Priory of Sion, must escape an assassin from a devout
Catholic sect attempting to suppress the truth, the discovery of which would
destroy the foundations of Christianity.
It's
basically a suspense/thriller with a theoretically-historical religious theme.
THE
DA VINCI CODE was subsequently made into a movie by Columbia Pictures, directed
by Ron Howard, starring Tom Hanks. Needless to say, since it has a religious
theme that questions popular beliefs, there was plenty of righteous indignation
over this film.
By
their very nature, religions are divisive. They separate the "true
believers" from the "heretics" by demanding a blind faith and
loyalty of their particular beliefs, and consider all others to be
unenlightened (inferior).
Unfortunately,
all too often, religions worship the messenger and ignore the message.
History
is replete with violence in the name of religion. Arabs and Jews have been
clashing for centuries. During the Holy Crusades and the Catholic Inquisition, many
thousands were tortured and/or killed. In Ireland, it was Catholics against
Protestants. In Africa, Muslims attacked
Christians. In Tibet,
Buddhists were slaughtered. And so on.
These
days, Islamic extremists are compelled by their religion to murder non-Muslims.
Even a cartoon in a Danish newspaper causes bloody riots in various Islamic nations.
In certain countries ruled by Islamic law, a Muslim who converts to another
religion is subject to the death penalty.
There's
no end to religious bigotry.
Faith
is an act of trust in the unknown -- one person's faith is another person's
version of self-righteous ignorance. And when a person's faith inspires hatred
and leads to bloodshed, it becomes a form of insanity.
In
the end, all we can do is follow our own spiritual path, respect other points
of view and protect ourselves from deranged fanatics.
If
you resent the premise of THE DA VINCI CODE, you can get angry and attempt to
force everyone to adopt your belief system -- or you can embrace the virtue of
tolerance and forgiveness.
Who
knows, it may even be correct.
___________
Quote for the Day -- "The power of intuitive understanding
will protect you from harm until the end of your days." Lao Tzu
___________
Bret Burquest is the author of 8 books, including THE REALITY OF
THE ILLUSION OF REALITY, ORB OF WOUNDED SOULS and PATH TO FOURTH DENSITY
(available on Amazon). He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy
Lee and the spirit of Red Sonyah.
___________
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