Gnosticism, the DaVinci Code, and the Holy Grail

Some Questions About the Code:

1) Were Jesus and Mary Magdalene really married, and are they the ancestors of the Merovingians?

There is no conclusive evidence that Jesus and Mary M. ever tied the knot. References in various scriptures do indicate a special relationship between the two, and certainly point to Mary having a special status.

There is no evidence linking the Merovingians to the bloodline of Jesus. This idea was a creation of Pierre Plantard and his Priory of Zion. Plantard and crew, who, as pro-fascists were particularly prone to fantasies about bloodlines and racial superiority

Many Gnostics venerate the Magdalene, and some believe that Jesus and MM were literally married. Others believe that they were fulfilling an archetypal role as the Divine Couple, like Simon Magus and Helen, Isis and Osirus, and many others.


2) What is the Priory of Zion?

The Priory of Zion was created in 1956 in France by an anti-Semitic, pro-fascist named Pierre Plantard, pictured at right. The organization had nothing to do with guarding any bloodline; it was formed to advance a right-wing political agenda. For more information, see The Priory of Sion Hoax.


3) What is Opus Dei?

Opus Dei is a Catholic religious order founded in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá, a Spanish priest and attorney. The organization was closely linked to the regime of fascist General Franco, and several members of the order held key cabinet positions.

Opus Dei has supported other brutal regimes, particularly in Latin America, where the order played a key role in suppressing liberation theology within the church.

For more information see:

Islam isn't the only religion to spawn deadly sects. Look at the Roman Catholic Church and Opus Dei

The Unofficial Opus Dei FAQ

Ancien régime meets high finance in Opus Dei


4) What is the Holy Grail?

There are many possible answers to this question. Some have described it as a stone, others as a platter or cup. There is no known tradition linking it to a secret bloodline.

To a Gnostic, the Holy Grail is gnosis itself, direct experiential transformative knowledge of the divine.

from Reject the Bloodline...

"Even if I thought it possible that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had started a family, without incontrovertible proof, I will never support the idea. There is a sinister subtext here that is rarely discussed. Think of it this way: Jesus was the Son of God, and he fathered a child, who then carried his “divine” blood. This bloodline then spread throughout Europe (where else?), giving some people of European heritage yet another reason to think themselves superior. We have a word for this, people. It’s called 'racism.'
Does this really happen? Yes." full article


5) Who are the Gnostics? Are they still around?

Gnosticism is a pre-Christian syncretic religious tradition defined primarily by the belief that salvation comes through gnosis, or knowledge, rather than through obedience or belief. Gnosticism spread throughout the Near East and Mediterranean world at the same time as Christianity, and there was much overlap between the two traditions. Many of the classical gnostics, like Valentinus and Basilides, considered themselves to be Christians.

But what they meant by Christianity was very different from what we know of as Christianity today. For them, salvation wasn't through the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross, it was through knowledge--gnosis. The primary problem was not sin, it was ignorance, and the remedy was gnosis.

Gnostic schools and communities varied so widely that Irenaeus of Lyons (c.180 CE) wrote that there were as many systems gnosticism as there were Gnostic teachers. But they shared the same basic principle, that gnosis - the intimate, direct, and experiential knowledge of oneself and the Divine - is the primary and defining requirement of salvation.

Most Gnostics believed that the visible or material was created by a lesser being called the Demiurge, who was an imitator of the real God. Many identified the Demiurge with the God of the Old Testament, and saw the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve to disobedience as a liberator.

As Christianity grew, forces arose within the Church who were opposed to the Gnosis. They created an oppressive, imperial hierarchy and a dogma of guilt, repression, and violence. Gnostics were persecuted and driven out of the church, branded as heretics. Their gospels were burned, and they only survived in underground, isolated circles.

Gnosticism came back on the scene publicly with the Bogomils and the Cathars, who were brutally massacred by the Roman Church. It also survived in the hermetic traditions of magicians and alchemists, and surfaced in the works of artists like William Blake.

In the latter part of the 19th century, several Gnostic churches were founded, particularly in France by individuals involved in the occult revival.

In 1945 in northern Egypt, Muhammad 'Alí al-Sammán and his brothers discovered an earthenware jar containing thirteen papyrus books, bound in leather. These were fifty-two texts from the early centuries of the Christian Era--including a collection of early gospels, some previously unknown. These included, among others the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of Truth, and the Gospel to the Egyptians, which identifies itself as "the [sacred book] of the Great Invisible [Spirit]." Other texts included writings attributed to followers of Jesus, such as the Secret Book of James, the Apocalypse of Paul, the Letter of Peter to Philip, and the Apocalypse of Peter.

With the eventual publication of theses texts, new interest in Gnosticism grew. Recent works of pop fiction, including Holy Blood, Holy Grail and The DaVinci Code, have engendered new enthusiasm about this ancient tradition. There are now numerous websites and blogs discussing Gnosticism and a growing number of Gnostic churches with a wide variety of approaces. The Gnostic Center is a neo-classical Gnostic community with circles forming in several cities in the U.S., England, and the Philippines. The Palm Tree Garden has a directory that includes most Gnostic communities and many Gnostic blogs and websites.

The following links are to key resources in learning about Gnosticism today:


Fantastic Planet

Homoplasmate

Path of Gnosis

Pop Occulture

Gnostic Society Library

Ecclesia Gnostica

Church of Gnosis (Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum)