Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Like Mary said, “Come again?”

To “you” who opposes the release of just another movie. I will repeat myself, in the briefest way possible.

Da Vinci Code the movie may be delayed, and most likely never see the light of day in India. But don’t you realise that by opposing it, you are just drawing attention to the movie? It’s a work of historical fiction, dammit! The Eyyala in return wonders if the Vatican controls the country through St.Sonja. You would do good to look up Karunaidhi’s oft quoted expansion of the acronym AICC. Now coming back to the issue at stake, it’s just another viewpoint dammit. 40 million people have already read the book as per published figures. That does not includes the millions and millions more who have read it in pirated copies and through PDFs circulated worldwide. How much more damage, if any, can the movie do?

Also, under the guise of being secular, you are just acting so damn orthodox and ultra-conservative, not to mention insecure. The notion/theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene is not anything new. It has been around for ages, centuries even before Holy Blood, Holy Grail or the Templar Revelation or even The Da Vinci Code came out. Ha! How long do you think it is before Holger Kersten’s Jesus Lived in India catches the world’s imagination? How long before the publishers of Prof. Hassnain’s A Search for the Historical Jesus realise that they can capitalise on this controversy you have created yourself. Or for that matter The Second Messiah or Freke & Gandy’s Jesus and the Goddess. Imagine John Allegro’s publisher bringing his book into the spotlight again. And you know what the book says? Let me summarise it for you in one sentence – Jesus was a magic mushroom.

You say The Da Vinci Code will tarnish the the religion’s image? Wake up! Nobody could or can tarnish the religion’s image any more than you yourself and your predecessors have done. The countless genocides, the complete destruction of many cultures, forced conversions, through the centuries, across the world. All in the name of Christ who preached love. Do you honestly think that this did or does credit to your religion? To Jesus the Christ. And you say a movie will “tarnish” the image! Sir, if you truly believe that just a piddly movie can tarnish your religion's image, I don’t think you have too high an image of your religion in your own head.

Theologically speaking, you have put one too many eggs in a none-too-big box. And what is happening now is just the logical flow of history. And it will continue. Of course with the collective IQ of the world falling, may be not. Maybe your numbers will increase. All the best. Go man, read Baigent’s The Jesus Papers, that does more damage than a well-written pulp book like Da Vinci code can ever can.

Tell me, do you honestly think that a true Christian will stop being a Christian once he sees this movie? No, you say. Then why do you bother? Oh! I forgot, you need numbers, not believers or true followers. Is that the case?

Let me ask you this? Is the firm belief in Christ’s celibacy / single-man status a prerequisite for me to believe that he was The Son of God? Does the fact that he was married take away anything at all from what he said in The Sermon on the Mount? Think not. Yes, you may have some cause for concern say if somebody came out and said “Hey look at me, I am the descendant of the person who sprung from Jesus’ loins.” a la the Princes Anastasia case.

So let the movie release with all its fanfare. Don’t worry. The Christ you hold in your heart will still be the same. The Christ that you so adore will not change. Believe in your delusions, but don’t get in the way. Please. We need our mindless entertainment, thank you.

Hah! But in the end, all I can say is “Oh Lord! Protect me from your followers.”

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Touche Brother!

- Vinay

Anonymous said...

There is a way to verify the truth...

Hello Shenoy and all,

Yes, the DaVinci Code is a novel and its version of history is no better than that in the New Testament. In other words, neither is the literal truth, and that is a key point of the story. The primary sub-plot was about purposeful symbology being used to encode hidden meanings, just like the Bible and related texts.

Want to know why we can't let the Vatican succeed at telling us what to think about ancient history? There is a way to verify the truth and that is precisely what the Vatican doesn't want you to understand. If the Bible represented the literal truth and 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 framed by symbolism and allegory. The same is evidenced in the Old Testament, Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic texts, biblical apocrypha, and other related texts. 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's amazing the Vatican still tries to insist the Gospels are literal truth. It is beyond obvious they are replete with ancient Hebrew symbology. Every miracle purported for Jesus has multiple direct symbolic parallels in the Old Testament, Apocalypse, Dead Sea Scrolls, and other symbolic narratives and traditions.

Likewise, the following Washington Post article ( The Book of Bart) describes how many changes and embellishments were made to these texts over the centuries, unequivocally demonstrating they are not original, infallible, or truthful.

What then is the purpose of "faith" but to keep good people from seeking to understand truth and wisdom? It's no wonder the Vatican fears the truth more than anything else. Now comes justice, hot on its heels... (symbolism...)

Revelations from the Apocalypse

Here is Wisdom!!

Yasmine Claire said...

You should read come very interesting lit. on the bible,Jesus Christ, etc etc-The last temptation of Christ, The dead sea scrolls, Jesus lived in India, The gospel according to Jesus Christ,Gospel of Barnabas, and tons more....the Vatican has kept supressed for thousands of years what could crumble the whole foundation of Christianity

Shenoy said...

hey yasmine, i have. most of them at least. and not just the books mentioned in my post. you being you should read Jesus and the Godess. you will like it.
but so much has been read on this, one of my areas of 'specialisation' but there's still a long way to go.

and yes, the crumbling has begun.

Yasmine Claire said...

Jesus and the Goddess?....wow...author, publisher please!

Shenoy said...

It was mentioned in the post :) Anyway, it's "Jesus and the Goddess:The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians" by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy (Harpercollins, ISBN: 0007145454)

And while we are on the topic of Women and the Chruch, here's something you would most definitely like, given your natural inclinations. with a nice preamble/hardsell
So, the Church's hostility towards women, the origins of the misogynistic theology that still holds sway. is the chruch/religion the business of bachelors and celibates, and even then men only? why is it that there are only Church Fathers as in, the founders and no Mothers? Was this intended by Jesus? Or was it just hijacked tpo meet (Pauline) Christianity's narrow goals? Why did the Church give, and continue to give woemn a Raw Deal?
To know more, read "Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven" by Uta Ranke Heinemann (Penguin Books, ISBN: 0140165002)

for a clue as to what the title refers to, please do look up Mathew 19:12

PS: If copies are not easily obtainable, please feel free to contact the Shenoy.

Yasmine Claire said...

see Shenoy, on of the things about me is that i am blind though I have perfectly good eyesight....i see and yet dont see...reason why i am called an ultra snob by my friends...SO..oops..missed the Jesus n Goddess entry on your post.

hmm...about the church and its treatment of women...that came from St.Paul for sure...the Jesus we know through the church is very different from the Jesus the man...

i will go get the books this weekend...thx! :)

did you get the Marie Louise Von Franz books?(Jung)

Shenoy said...

no. not yet. the quest is on.