Sunday, June 18, 2006

The Da Vinci Code
...or Opus Dei and the Knights (Templar)


I finally got around to taking my son to see The Da Vinci Code. At 12, he is a voracious (dare I say precocious?) reader, and after reading the book, he was quite anxious to see the movie.

Now, I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so both of you out there who haven't seen the movie or read the book STOP READING NOW!

OK. To summarize, the story involves several threads revolving around the premise that Jesus was married to Mary Magdaline, and she bore Him a daughter after the crucifixion. This certainly interferes with the concept of Jesus' divinity, and so the Vatican has tried mightily over the years to suppress this, whilst the Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar attempted to protect Jesus' descendants. Got all that? I'm really simplifying things here. The movie goes on to implicate a strict Catholic order, the Opus Dei, in several murders designed to quash the Priory once and for all.

There are probably a thousand web sites out there that dissect the arguments, and the "facts" of the movie in tremendous detail, and I won't even try it here. Suffice it to say that the movie is enjoyable in a plodding, mystery-story fashion, and it was fairly true to Dan Brown's book. I would recommend you read the book first to be able to follow the plot-twists.

The book and movie have caused great consternation, or at least a lot of discussion in the Christian community, and I can understand that. Coming from the Jewish viewpoint, I don't find the concepts particularly offensive. Judaism does not accept the divinity of Jesus in the first place; rather most of us consider Him to have been a great rabbi, perhaps the first Reform rabbi, and possibly a Prophet in His own right. You will notice very few bachelors among the Jewish characters of the Old Testament; it was tradition for the best and brightest to marry and have lots of children (be fruitful and multiply, as they say), and so it would not be surprising for a rabbi or great teacher to have done so. Think of this as the world's first eugenics program: you want to breed your best stock. I can only speculate as to why the Catholic Church took the exact opposite approach with their clergy.

I guess I can't comment with any great passion on how the "truth" as concocted in the Da Vinci Code would affect Christianity. Much evil has been done in the name of Christianity (the Inquisition, the Crusades, for example), but I would be so bold as to say that overall the good deeds over history outweigh the bad. Nobody is keeping score as far as I know. I realize that the divinity of Jesus is a fundamental tennant of modern Christianity, but even if it were not the case, His teachings would probably still be relevant. Basically, they were a softening of the fairly harsh version of Orthodox Judaism practiced in His day, and one could almost say that we Reform Jews are closer in spirit to what Jesus taught than anyone else. How about that?

I have tried and tried to tie this whole thing into PACS, and I'm coming up short. Maybe we could use the Cryptex to enter our passwords?

3 comments :

Seven Star Hand said...

Hello Sam and all,
Here's some detailed insight into the backstory and subplot of the DaVinci Code and related books and texts.

Most have totally missed the point that the Gnostic texts and others are making. First, they refer to symbolic males and females, hence the philosophical masculine and feminine nature and character. All the Gnostic texts are philosophical and symbolic treatises, not literal narratives. When you try to interpret any of these ancient texts (including the Bible) as literal, you will always come to the wrong conclusions.

You will not initially agree with everything I reveal, but please be a little patient with my long-winded presentation of what I have waited a very long time to be able to say. I promise to amaze and enlighten.

Contrary to those who strive to assert that the DaVinci Code created the term, symbology is an ancient philosophical technology and I am a real life symbologist. Likewise, the upper-level members of secret societies such as Freemasons, Rosicrucians, Illumanti, and the Vatican are symbologists. Keeping their "craft" secretive and misunderstood is a purposeful ploy designed to hide the truth about ancient wisdom and the symbology used to model, encapsulate, and encode it. The title "mason" is itself a symbolic allusion to those who work with the "Philosophers' Stone" which is the symbolic name given to an ancient body of symbology, hence "Masons" are workers of "stone."

Read Proverbs 9:1 below to better understand this allusion.

Wisdom has built Her house. She has carved out Her seven pillars.

Notice that "wisdom" is referred to as "Her" and "She", as in Sophia and Miriam (the Magdala), and that "She" has "hewn" "Her" "seven pillars" (of stone)? Read my Home Page to see what those seven pillars of "stone" have always referred to, contrary to what religions and mysticism have said for millennia.

Here is the key to understanding what the Vatican and Papacy truly fear...

Pay close attention, profundity knocks at the door, listen for the key. Be Aware! Scoffing causes blindness...

Here's a real hot potato! Eat it up, digest it, and then feed it's bones to the hungry...

There's much more to the story of the Vatican's recent machinations than meets the eye. It's not the DaVinci Code or Gospel of Judas per se, but the fact that people have now been motivated to seek out the unequivocal truth about an age of deception, exactly when they expect me to appear. These recent controversies are spurring people to reevaluate the Vatican/Papacy and the religions that Rome spawned, at the worst possible time for them.

Remember, "I come as a thief..." ?

Read verse twelve of the Gospel of Thomas to understand who I am...

The DaVinci Code novel and movie are no more inaccurate as literal versions of history than the New Testament. The primary sub-plot involved purposeful symbology being used to encode hidden meanings, exactly like the Bible and related texts. In other words, none of these stories represent the literal truth. This is the common and pivotal fact of all such narratives about ancient Hebrew and Christian history. Debating whether the DaVinci Code, Gnostic texts, or the Bible are accurate history is a purposeful ploy designed to hide the truth by directing your inquiry away from the heart of the matter.

There is a foolproof way to verify the truth and expose centuries-old religious deceptions. It also proves why we can no longer let the Vatican tell us what to think about ancient history or much else. It is the common thread connecting why the ancient Hebrews, Yahad/Essene, Jews, Gnostics, Cathars, Templars, Dead Sea Scrolls, DaVinci Code, and others have been targets of Rome’s ire and evil machinations. The Vatican and its secret society cohorts don’t want you to understand that the ancient Hebrew symbology in all of these texts purposely encodes and exposes the truth about them. Furthermore, the structure of ancient wisdom symbology verifiably encodes the rules to decode messages built with it. This is what they most fear you will discover.

If the Bible represented the literal truth or even accurate history, there would be no need for faith in the assertions of deceptive and duplicitous clergy and their ilk. It is undeniable the New Testament is awash with ancient Hebrew symbolism and allegory. The same is evidenced in the Old Testament, Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic texts, biblical apocrypha, Quran, DaVinci Code, and other related sources. All ancient religious, mystical, and wisdom texts have been shrouded in mystery for millennia for one primary reason: The ability to understand their widely evidenced symbology was lost in antiquity. How do we finally solve these ages-old mysteries? To recast an often-used political adage: It’s [the] symbology, stupid!

It is beyond amazing that the Vatican still tries to insist the Gospels are the literal truth. Every miracle purported for Jesus has multiple direct symbolic parallels in the Old Testament, Apocalypse, Dead Sea Scrolls, and other symbolic narratives and traditions. Recasting the symbolism of earlier Hebrew texts as literal events in the New Testament is one of the central deceptions associated with Christianity. This is part of the secret knowledge held by the ancient Gnostics, Templars, Cathars, and others, which is presented with dramatic effect in the DaVinci Code. None of these narratives or stories were ever intended as the literal truth. This fact is the key to unraveling many ages-old mysteries and exposing the truth about the Vatican's long-term deceptions.

Moreover, the following Washington Post article (The Book of Bart) describes how many changes and embellishments were made to New Testament texts over the centuries, unequivocally demonstrating they are not original, infallible, or truthful. When you combine proof that the New Testament Gospels are not wholly literal with proof that these texts were heavily reworked in the early years of Christianity, you are left with only one possible conclusion. The Vatican has long lied to everyone about the central tenets and history of Christianity. This revelation also proves they are not the Creator’s representatives but Her long-time opponents. The recent hoopla over the Gospel of Judas and DaVinci Code demonstrates they are still desperately trying to deceive the world and obfuscate their true nature and activities.

It's no wonder the Vatican fears the truth more than anything else. As further proof of these assertions, seek to understand the symbolic significance of my name (Seven Star Hand) and you will have proof beyond disproof that Jews, Christians, and Muslims have long been duped by the great deceivers I warned humanity about over the millennia. What then is the purpose of "faith" but to keep good people from seeking to understand the truth?

Now comes justice, hot on its heels... (symbolism...)

Not only do I talk the talk, I walk the walk...
Here is Wisdom!!

Revelations from the Apocalypse

Peace...

Anonymous said...

How can I email you? Can you provide your email address as I have an unrelated question.

Thanks.

dicomhl7@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm not sure what ole' 7 star is saying, but I would like to make a small CS Lewis point in here vis a vis Jesus as a 'prophet'.

The problem with that position is that Jesus-- by all accounts-- claimed Divine status. Thus he's either correct, or insane.

I have not come to a conclusion as to which I personally believe. But I think Mr. Lewis has phrased the choice accurately.

-- Awbnid

PS: Love the blog. It lightens my work day without qualifying as complete shirking since it helps me know the market better.