The Messianic Legacy - Tapa dura

In 1982 the publication of The Holy Blood and he Holy Grail caused a worldwide sensation. The controversial bestseller disclosed what was regarded by many as the single most shattering secret of the last two thousand years. This is the sequel. This time the quest begins with the origins and spread of early Christian thought and the discrepancies between that though and what we call Christianity today. Indeed, Jesus himself proves not to have been the founder of Christianity, and there may even have been more than one Christ. Of paramount importance, however, is the idea of the Messiah and what that meant to Jesus' contemporaries. What emerges is a principle of Messiahship strikingly at odds with what filtered down through Christian tradition through the centuries. But how might any concept of Messiahship be relevant today? How is it understood by those who promulgate it? In order to answer this question the authors embark on a far-ranging survey of the Western world's contemporary malaise; the disintegration of meaning and the quest for new meaning; the values often taken for granted; the spectrum of surrogate religions; and the failure of organized religion to fulfill the needs of its congregations. The authors examine alternative sources of meaning, from Jung and the arts to the institution of royalty, which can all serve a crucial function in holding together a fragmented world. They argue that religion can have a vital role to play in the future of Western society but it must transform itself in order to do so. Yet the enquiry does not end here. For the authors, as for many readers of The Holy Blood and the Holy grail, mystery still surrounds that elusive secret society of the Prieure de Sion, 'the guardians of the Holy Grail.' What is the Prieure doing today? How powerful is it? What kind of resources does it command? What kind of individuals comprise its membership? Answering these questions entails a gripping modern-day adventure story involving phantom journalists, forged signatures, doctored documents and a web of carefully disseminated information. An important American bank, for example, and a respectable British insurance company both figure prominently in the investigation. The reader is drawn into the murky underworld of contemporary European and American affairs where politics the Vatican, high finance, freemasonry and other secret societies, neo-chivalric orders an various intelligence agencies meet and conduct their clandestine transactions. The Messianic Legacy is at the same time a work of biblical detection, a profound study of modern values, and a baffling up-to-the minute thriller that will appeal to anyone interested in the history of religion, the problems besetting the modern world and the activities of institutions and nations. It is, even more than The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, a work of urgency and significance.