Bible conspiracy theory
Encyclopedia
A Bible conspiracy theory is any conspiracy theory
that posits that much of what is known about the Bible
is a deception created to suppress some secret, ancient truth
. Some of these theories claim that Jesus
really had a wife and children, or that a group such as the Priory of Sion
has secret information about the true descendants of Jesus; some claim that there was a secret movement to censor books
that truly belonged in the Bible, etc.
This subject should not be confused with deliberately fictional Bible conspiracy theories. A number of bestselling modern novels, the most popular of which was The Da Vinci Code
, have incorporated elements of Bible conspiracy theories to flesh out their storylines, rather than to push these theories as actual suggestions.
and Christianity
were created by members of various secret societies, mystery schools and religions to unify the Roman Empire
under one state religion
, and that these people drew on numerous myths and rituals which existed previously and then constructed them into Christianity that exists today. In the 1930s British spiritualist Hannen Swaffer
's home circle, following the teachings of the native-American spirit "Silver Birch", also claimed a Jesus-myth.
believers consider that Jesus
taught reincarnation
but the Christian Church
suppressed it. Geddes MacGregor in Reincarnation in Christianity (1978) suggests that Origen
’s texts written in support of the belief in reincarnation somehow disappeared or were suppressed.
are that:
The Sang Real The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, by Michael Baigent
, Richard Leigh
and Henry Lincoln (1982) is seen by many as the source of that plotline in the Da Vinci Code.
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
that posits that much of what is known about the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
is a deception created to suppress some secret, ancient truth
Truth
Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...
. Some of these theories claim that Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
really had a wife and children, or that a group such as the Priory of Sion
Priory of Sion
The Prieuré de Sion, translated from French as Priory of Sion, is a name given to multiple groups, both real and fictitious. The most notorious is a fringe fraternal organisation, founded and dissolved in France in 1956 by Pierre Plantard...
has secret information about the true descendants of Jesus; some claim that there was a secret movement to censor books
Censorship by religion
Censorship by religion is a form of censorship where freedom of expression is controlled or limited using religious authority or on the basis of the teachings of the religion. This form of censorship has a long history and is practiced in many societies and by many religions...
that truly belonged in the Bible, etc.
This subject should not be confused with deliberately fictional Bible conspiracy theories. A number of bestselling modern novels, the most popular of which was The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
, have incorporated elements of Bible conspiracy theories to flesh out their storylines, rather than to push these theories as actual suggestions.
Jesus-myth theory
Some proponents of the Jesus-myth or Christ-myth theory consider that the whole of Christianity is a conspiracy. American author Acharya S in The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold (1999) argues that JesusJesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
were created by members of various secret societies, mystery schools and religions to unify the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
under one state religion
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
, and that these people drew on numerous myths and rituals which existed previously and then constructed them into Christianity that exists today. In the 1930s British spiritualist Hannen Swaffer
Hannen Swaffer
Hannen Swaffer was a British journalist and drama critic.Swaffer was educated at Stroud Green Grammar School, Kent.He joined the Daily Mail in 1902. He was editor of Weekly Dispatch and helped develop the Daily Mirror into a popular newspaper. In 1913, he initiated "Mr Gossip" for the Daily Sketch...
's home circle, following the teachings of the native-American spirit "Silver Birch", also claimed a Jesus-myth.
Church supression of reincarnation conspiracy
Some New AgeNew Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
believers consider that Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
taught reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
but the Christian Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
suppressed it. Geddes MacGregor in Reincarnation in Christianity (1978) suggests that Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
’s texts written in support of the belief in reincarnation somehow disappeared or were suppressed.
Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail
Some common hypothesesHypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...
are that:
- Mary MagdaleneMary MagdaleneMary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
was one of the apostles of Jesus, possibly even the only discipleDisciple (Christianity)In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
, but this was suppressed by the early Church. - JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
had an intimate relationship with Mary Magdalene which may or may not have resulted in marriage, and/or children; their continued bloodline is then said to be Christianity's deepest secret.
The Sang Real The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, by Michael Baigent
Michael Baigent
Michael Baigent is an author and speculative theorist who co-wrote a number of books that question mainstream perceptions of history and the life of Jesus. He is best known as co-writer of the book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail....
, Richard Leigh
Richard Leigh
Richard Leigh is the name of:*Richard Leigh , Catholic martyr*Richard Leigh *Richard Leigh , co-author of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail...
and Henry Lincoln (1982) is seen by many as the source of that plotline in the Da Vinci Code.
Books
- The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in HistoryThe Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in HistoryThe Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History is a book by author Michael Baigent published in 2006. Providing his detailed history of Jesus' life and crucifixion; using papers that, according to the author, were covered up...
, Michael Baigent (2006) - Jesus the Magician: Charlatan or Son of God?Jesus the Magician: Charlatan or Son of God?Jesus the Magician: Charlatan or Son of God? is a 1978 book by Morton Smith arguing that the historical Jesus was a magician who "sprang from a Galilean strain of Semitic paganism" .-Background:...
, Morton Smith (1978) - The Jesus Dynasty, James TaborJames TaborJames D. Tabor is Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he has taught since 1989. He previously held positions at Ambassador College , the University of Notre Dame , and the College of William and Mary .-Background:Tabor was born in...
(2006) - Jesus the Man: New Interpretations from the Dead Sea ScrollsJesus the Man (book)Jesus the Man: New Interpretations from the Dead Sea Scrolls is a 1993 book written by the Australian biblical scholar and theologian Barbara Thiering...
, Barbara Thiering (1993) - The Jesus ScrollThe Jesus ScrollThe Jesus Scroll was a best-selling book first published in 1972 and written by Australian author Donovan Joyce. A forerunner to some of the ideas later investigated in The Da Vinci Code, Joyce's book made the claim that Jesus of Nazareth may have actually died in 80 AD at Masada in Israel during...
, Donovan Joyce (1972) - Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln (1982)
- The Templar RevelationThe Templar RevelationThe Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ is a book written by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince and published in 1997 by Transworld Publishers Ltd in Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand...
, Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince (1997) - The Jesus MysteriesThe Jesus MysteriesThe Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God? is a 1999 book by British authors Timothy Freke, a philosophy and religions scholar, and Peter Gandy a classics scholar...
: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God?, Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy (1999) - The Jesus Conspiracy: The Turin Shroud and the Truth About the Resurrection, Holger Kersten and Elmar R. Gruber (1994)
- History of the first Council of Nice : a world's Christian convention, A.D. 325 ; with a life of Constantine, Dean Dudley (1880)
See also
- Gospel of JudasGospel of JudasThe Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel that purportedly documents conversations between the Disciple Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ.It is believed to have been written by Gnostic followers of Jesus, rather than by Judas himself, and probably dates from no earlier than the 2nd century, since it...
- Tiberius Iulius Abdes PanteraTiberius Iulius Abdes PanteraTiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera was a Roman solder whose tombstone was found in Bingerbrück, Germany in 1859.Historically, the name Pantera is not an unusual name and had been in use among Roman soldiers in the second century....
- Jesus myth hypothesis
- Zeitgeist, the MovieZeitgeist, the MovieZeitgeist: The Movie is a 2007 documentary film by Peter Joseph. It asserts a number of conspiracy theory-based ideas, including the Christ myth theory, alternative theories for the parties responsible for the September 11 attacks in 2001 and that bankers manipulate the international monetary...
- The Two BabylonsThe Two BabylonsThe Two Babylons is an anti-Catholic religious pamphlet produced initially by the Scottish theologian and Presbyterian Alexander Hislop in 1853. It was later expanded in 1858 and finally published as a book in 1919...
- PanbabylonismPanbabylonismPanbabylonism is a school of thought within Assyriology and Religious Studies that considers the Hebrew Bible and Judaism as directly derived from Babylonian culture and mythology...
- DesposyniDesposyniThe term Desposyni refers to alleged blood relatives of Jesus. The term was coined by Sextus Julius Africanus, a writer of the early 3rd century. Some scholars argue that Jesus' relatives held positions of special honor in the Early Christian Church...
- Jesus bloodlineJesus bloodlineA Jesus bloodline is a hypothetical sequence of lineal descendants of the historical Jesus and Mary Magdalene, or some other woman, usually portrayed as his alleged wife or a hierodule...
- Holy GrailHoly GrailThe Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
External links
- History of the first Council of Nice : a world's Christian convention, A.D. 325 ; with a life of Constantine(Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
) by Dean Dudley