Bloodline of the Holy Grail: the hidden lineage of Jesus revealed
By Laurence Gardner
Element 1996 (US edition: Barnes & Noble 1997). 489 pages
ISBN 0 7607 0735 9
A German scholar has published a book suggesting that Jesus was a member of a secret order, the Essenes. They stage-managed his miracles, culminating in the Resurrection - or rather Resuscitation.
But there is no hurry to respond. The book appeared in 1782. It was one of several considered by Albert Schweitzer near the beginning of his classic The Quest of the Historical Jesus (1906) under the heading 'The Earliest Fictitious Lives'. Every mainstream theological student can read about it.
Fictitious lives have always been an attractive proposition for publishers. At least one in recent years has issued both an account of the 'post-mortem' Jesus dying in Kashmir and a clairvoyant vision of the same body being immediately dematerialised after the crucifixion.
Authors can do well too. Millionaire Graham Hancock, who first became a best-seller after he 'found' the lost Ark of the Covenant, told the Daily Mail on October 23 1998: 'I'm extraordinarily rich.'
One of the most effective Christian critics of this industry is Douglas Groothuis, whose 1990 book Revealing the New Age Jesus has just been revised under the title Jesus in an Age of Controversy (Kingsway, 1998).
Torrent of old heresies
But, in general, it is difficult for Christians to keep up with the torrent of new versions of old heresies. There are a few specialist bodies like the Christian Research Institute in the States, which issue both journals and monographs.
Often, however, the material needed to understand the context of a particular book is itself of dubious value from a Christian point of view and will not find a place on the shelves of a Christian library
The book here under review illustrates several of these points. No conventional information about the author's qualifications or origin is given, though he appears to be well connected with the House of Stuart.
In view of the problems facing our reigning House of Hanover, some may look kindly on the Stuarts - though were they not in the end fatally infected with Papism?
The reality, as here portrayed by Gardner, is worse. They were apparently privy to the secret of the bloodline of Jesus and the essential falsehood of orthodox Christianity.
The Essenes
Jesus, it seems, was an Essene, and he was (with the help of colleagues) revived after the crucifixion. For his account of the life of Jesus, Gardner relies heavily on Barbara Thiering, the Australian Dead Sea Scrolls scholar who has detected a code in the New Testament, a code not perceived by other biblical scholars.
Jesus was also married to Mary Magdalene and she gave birth to a son, also called Jesus. A second son, Josephes, is identified by Gardner as significant in the origin of the Grail legend and the Arthurian literature.
By now, we are well into the territory of Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982) and its successors. The special message of this book is that the House of Stuart, which formerly ruled Scotland and England, is descended from that bloodline.
'So what?' one might respond. Knowing the Lord Jesus no longer after the flesh, neither fact nor fiction about his family are of significance. The Lord has answered the question: 'Who are my brethren?'
But along the way, there is a consistently anti-Christian message. The Scriptures cannot be understood except by those who know the code to interpret them. A wedge is driven between the original Jewish church and that of Paul. Indeed, the Jerusalem church never taught the Resurrection(!), and Paul's encounter on the road to Damascus was with the resuscitated Jesus. But if there is no death of Jesus, there cannot be any atonement in the terms of Scripture, and the New Testament writers are part of a gigantic fraud.
As we move through the centuries, past the regulars in such books, the Cathars, the Templars and the Rosicrucians, there is a special twist to the Jacobites. They were not really Roman Catholic. James II, who triggered the Glorious Revolution of 1688, was a proponent of religious freedom. But this picture can only be sustained by omitting a range of pro-Catholic actions by James II.
If you missed this book, don't worry - there will be another one along in a minute. From the bones of Jesus to the Turin Shroud, from the Templar Legend to the hidden key to masonry, they emerge every few weeks, with ancient astronauts behind and cosmic catastrophes ahead.
They are the mirror image of the biblical message. Because people will not endure sound doctrine, all manner of myths are propounded among us (2 Timothy 4.3).
The Christian response
The Christian response first is to acquire a knowledge of Scripture. It is precisely this, of course, which is generally lacking even in evangelical churches. Without it, there is no standard against which to set the latest novelty. Many Catholics do not know what Scripture really says about the various Marys of Scripture, and neither today do many Protestants, though they loom large in such writers as Gardner.
Some knowledge of Christian history, especially the beginnings, is also necessary. The writings of Josephus, the Jewish historian were formerly in the library of many believers - now even his name may be unknown.
Although Josephus had his failings, what he had to say about Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots and the Fall of Jerusalem is an invaluable help to our understanding.
Leslie Price
Leslie Price has at various times investigated Essene manuscripts, Kashmir tombs and alleged misdatings held (wrongly) to throw light on Scripture.
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