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.
Common theories
Jesus-myth theory
Some proponents of the Jesus-myth or Christ-myth theory consider that the whole of Christianity is a conspiracy. American author Dorothy M. Murdock aka "Acharya S" in The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold (1999) argues that Jesus 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.
Church suppression of reincarnation conspiracy
Some New Age believers consider that Jesus taught reincarnation but the Christian Church suppressed it. Geddes MacGregor in Reincarnation in Christianity (1978) suggests that Origenâs texts written in support of the belief in reincarnation somehow disappeared or were suppressed.
Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail
Some common hypotheses are that:
- Mary Magdalene was one of the apostles of Jesus, possibly even the only disciple, but this was suppressed by the early Church.
- Jesus 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, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln (1982) is seen by many as the source of that plotline in The Da Vinci Code.
Books
- Advent, David Miller (2013)
- The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History, Michael Baigent (2006)
- Jesus the Magician: Charlatan or Son of God?, Morton Smith (1978)
- The Jesus Dynasty, James Tabor (2006)
- Jesus the Man: New Interpretations from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Barbara Thiering (1993)
- The Jesus Scroll, Donovan Joyce (1972)
- Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln (1982)
- The Templar Revelation, Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince (1997)
- The Jesus Mysteries: 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
- Christ myth theory
- Gospel of Judas
- Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera
- Jesus myth hypothesis
- Zeitgeist, the Movie
- The Two Babylons
- Panbabylonism
- Desposyni
- Jesus bloodline
- Holy Grail
References
Further reading
- Atwill, Joseph (2005). Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus. Berkeley, Calif.: Ulysses. ISBNÂ 1-56975-457-8.Â
- Bushby, Tony (2001). The Bible Fraud: An Untold Story of Jesus Christ. PacificBlue Group. ISBNÂ 978-0-9579007-1-4.Â
- Cooke, Patrick (2005). The Greatest Deception: The Bible UFO Connection. Oracle Research Publishing. ISBNÂ 978-0-9724347-3-7.Â
- Doherty, Earl (2005). The Jesus Puzzle: Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ? Challenging the Existence of an Historical Jesus. Age of Reason Publications. ISBNÂ 978-0-9689259-1-1.Â
- S, Acharya (1999). The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold. Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBNÂ 978-0-932813-74-9.Â
- Harpur, Tom (2005). The Pagan Christ:Recovering the Lost Light. Toronto, Canada: Thomas Allen Publishers. ISBNÂ 0-88762-195-3.Â
- Phillips, Graham (2001). The Marian Conspiracy. Pan Books. ISBNÂ 978-0-330-37202-2.Â
- Faber Kaiser, Andreas (1977). Jesus died in Kashmir: Jesus, Moses and the ten lost tribes of Israel. Gordon & Cremonesi. ISBNÂ 978-0-86033-041-7.Â
- Thompson, Thomas L. (2005). The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David. New York: Basic Books. ISBNÂ 0-465-08577-6.Â
- Wells, G. A. (1999). The Jesus Myth. Chicago: Open Court. ISBNÂ 0-8126-9392-2.Â
External links
- History of the first Council of Nice : a world's Christian convention, A.D. 325 ; with a life of Constantine(Internet Archive) by Dean Dudley
