I'm currently halfway through the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and I must say I am reading the section where 2 characters are explaining what the Holy Grail actually is (not the cup Christ drank out of at the Last Supper!) and was completely blown away. I was hoping someone might be able to shed some light on the truth, whether or not what the book talks about is true or not. If you haven't read this book, you must go buy it, its an excellent read that incorporates a fictious story around historical fact (I think). It talks about Mithras and other various religions that Christianity has borrowed from. Also it talks about Constantine and how there were many gospels for the bible but Constantine, in an attempt to convert the pagans to Christianity, had a meeting (the name of the meeting eludes me now) and actually decided on which gospels to put in the bible! They had to gather and burn the other gospels that made Christ out to be human and not a divine being. Also there was a vote at this time to determine how divine Christ should be! This is amazing info I've never heard of before. Can someone shed some more light on this? Pat Go read Da Vinci Code
This sounds like typical sensationalized history. You are referring to the Council of Nicea, right? There were a few such meetings, of which this was the first recorded, but certainly not the last. The truth is - no "gospels" were lost, they were just not included in the generally read Canon of the Bible. And even then, more material was included than was normally accepted. All the "apocryphal" and "pseudogryphal" books are still readily available if you wanted to read them. To get an idea of what was available and what needed to be reviewed, have a look at these websites: Ancient versions of the Canon The rest of the site is about the formation of the different Canons, and you can see short summaries on some of the books and why they were omitted (The Biblical Canon) and a very comprehensive but unformatted text file (this will make you think): Table of Canons of the Bible To be clear: Christ is portrayed as human in the even the most conservative selection. If they wanted to portray Christ as not divine, they would have had to burn the whole New Testament. The Nicene Creed established the doctrine that Jesus and God was "consubstantial". Jesus was fully man and fully God.
I shall go out and buy this book! I have read the same theories many times. Constantine was supposed to have dictated what was to be in the bible. Many texts that recorded Jesus's TRUE life were destroyed or hidden. Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, for example, the Gospels of Philip, Thomas and Mary Magdalene, discuss Jesus' married life and children. Jesus' brother James and the other disciples hated Paul with a passion. Paul created Xianity, not Jesus. Xianity is a myth. Thanks for your post. You and I are on the same page.
I'm sure if you actually read any of these texts you will find them to be trash. There is nothing in the <a href="http://reluctant-messenger.com/gospel-magdalene.htm">gospel according to Mary Magdalene</a> that shows that Jesus married her. Just because in the fake <a href="http://reluctant-messenger.com/gospel-of-philip.htm">Gospel of Philip</a>, Mary and Jesus kissed does not make them husband and wife. Justin describes christians greeting each other with a kiss. You have to be joking. Here is the end of the gospel of Thomas. "Simon Peter said to them: Let Mary go forth from among us, for women are not worthy of the life. Jesus said: Behold, I shall lead her, that I may make her male, in order that she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who makes herself male shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. "
Jesus married Mary Magdalene I suppose you've never heard of the wedding at Cana where Jesus performed his first magical trick. That was his wedding to MM. Some accounts say Justin was Jesus and Mary's firstborn son. okinrus, you read your trash and I'll read mine, but don't come crying when you finally figure out that Jesus didn't die for anyone but himself, and heaven is right here and now. Instead of waiting with false hope for salvation and believing you'll see the face of god when you die, go take a good look in the mirror and start believing in yourself before its too late. The only god there is is the one right there inside of you right now. The one you're hiding from, and the one you're hiding from the rest of your world. THIS is where you will find salvation. Not later. Not ever. Right now.
This was not a magic trick. It was Jesus' first public miracle under the direction of his Blessed Mother. Not only that, Jesus says in John 2:2:4 Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." No it could not be the wedding of Jesus unless if Jesus invited himself. John 2:2 Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding." No your not even reading your own trash. How can you be a feminist and find "For every woman who makes herself male shall enter into the kingdom of heaven" not trash. You just keep reading your secondary sources. What you say is dangerous. No one should do this without God. Salvation is now. This does not contradict my belief that we have eternal life and we die we will be resurrected.
I wonder where Medicine*Woman's contempt comes from. A lot of what she says is ultra-feminist, but this does not explain why she believes conspiracy theories about Bible corruption. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain more information about the Bible than any other find. It certainly confirmed the accuracy of more mordern Biblical texts. They weren't hidden because of Jesus, but to prevent their destruction by the Romans who sacked Jerusalem. All of the books of the Bible are represented in the The Dead Sea Scrolls collection except Esther. Since the latest dating of these manuscripts is before 70 AD (when Jerusalem was destroyed), I don't see how Constantine (306-337 AD) or any other person after 70 CE could supposedly corrupt (not to even mention write) these books. Making wild statements without checking the facts says a lot about what you want to believe...
