Rating: 
Summary: Determined to Make a Point
Review: The authors set out with an agenda to discredit Christianity, a popular diversion these days. They fail and miss the entire point of Christianity.
Rating: 
Summary: A starting point on a long journey.
Review: After finishing "the Da Vinci Code" , I was sufficiently intrigued by the topic to acquire some follow up reading material , and this was one of the works that seemed most relevant to the "sacred feminine" topic raised in Dan Brown's book. I also purchased the "Gnostic Gospels" at the same time , but have not made much progress on that front.I read the entire book over the period of a week, and re-read several of the chapters selectively. The first impression one takes away is the individual chapters seem to be somewhat disconnected , but by the end of the book everything starts to fall into place better. Then a selective re-reading seems to reveal the true focus of this study. Those with a strong Christian set of beliefs will have alot of difficulty in accepting many of the authors' assertions , since a great deal of the "occult" information presented is , by traditional standards , heretical. The authors take a somewhat slow paced journey through the John the Baptist and Mary Magdelene stories , and attempt to link the Black Madonna shrines in southern France with the Egyptian Isis cult. Much of what is presented is conjecture , but a great deal of rather scholarly thought and logical eveidence is presented to make a compelling case for their hypotheses. Later chapters deal with the Knights Templar , the Rosicrucians , the Masonic lodges , and the Priory of Sion (Zion). Reference is made to the "documents secret" found recently in France that indicate the historical Grand Masters of the Priory of Sion were all brilliant and otherwise famous men in intellectual disciplines. Leonardo da Vinci , Robert Boyle , Sir Isaac Newton , and Claude Debussy are a few of the well known names included. The authors also raise the issue of the Inquisition and the supression of heresy as a political matter. In the early days of the Christian belief , other groups were competeing for the hearts and souls of men besides the Church of Rome. It also lends insight into the male dominated hierarchy of the early church , which felt itself threatened by the Gnostics and the cult of Mary Magdelene. I rated this book only 4 stars based on the following : subject matter and content of the work 5 stars ; presentation in a readable form 3 stars. Not an easy book to read , but worth the effort : 4 stars overall. I recommend that this be viewed as a starting point for those truly interested in the occult or supressed religeous viewpoints of the "heretics". It might just startle you! Just for grins , have an art book of Leonardo da Vinci's works at hand , you will definitely find it helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: Conjecture, Claims, Leaps of Imagination, Silliness
Review: The authors must have been paid by the word. It is not sensational or new or compelling. It is a pop faux history book with some rather thrilling leaps of imagination and conclusions. It is a dull rehearsal of a fascinating topic. Still, it is worthwhile in that it challenges us to examine what true Christian history might mean. Don't expect much in the form of real conclusive history here and you won't be disappointed. Even more tedious than Holy Blood Holy Grail.
Not recommended.
Rating:
Summary: HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL: The Hollywood Remake
Review: If you're intrigued to read some more background on the revelations and secrets spilled in the DAVINCI CODE, this is the book to get. They freely admit to basing their book on HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL but that's actually a good thing. TEMPLAR is a well-paced, easy to read book versus the dense and wandering HOLY BLOOD ... They also bring in some other players of the secret societies - all intriguing. While there are obviously many philosophical and religious points that some people might find difficult to believe either outright or based on the 'evidence' they provide - this book is not really anti-anyone's POV. TEMPLAR REVELATIONS gathers many points of data - including actually traveling to many of the sites and presents certain conclusions but it's scholarly without being strident. They do not pretend that their evidence based on heresay and collected stories are factual - just a collection of info and data points where they have drawn a conclusion that you can agree or disagree on. For people who were entertained and intrigued by DAVINCI CODE, this provides some factual basis for many of revelations in the book and some intriguing details. Ultimately you will believe what you wish to believe, however - knowledge, information and analysis should never be feared and one should also not take everything so seriously.
Rating:
Summary: Trash
Review: What a bunch of baloney! Do these people have no awareness of how ridiculous they appear? Look, just read Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting as a possibiity, but not probability
Review: This is a fascinating book, tough not the easiest read. Having read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" before having read this was a huge help since the former is quoted on almsot every other page. The facts contained here are interesting, and the 2 seperate conclusions arrived at are also. However,they do not fit together. While the conclusion about Mary Magdalene is interesting and , in view of everything else written on the subject, believable, and so is the conclusion about st. John the Baptist, together, these do not flow. it seems that one fo these must be true, but not both.
In general, this book is well-researched but vague. One has to have prior knowledge of some of th subjetsfor them to make sense. Some subjects are given too manty pages and turn out to be largely irreevant, while others are brushed over very quickly. on the whole though, the book is mostly very believable, and the information is accurate.
Rating:
Summary: Templar Revelation Refuted
Review: With Brown's Da Vinci Code release, this baseless controversy has once again resurfaced. For a scholarly refutation of the "Sacred Feminine" go to: http://www.answers.org/issues/davincicode.html If you are in denial after reading the above link, please research big bang cosmology. It only points to God. Would it really be so hard for the Creator of the universe to reveal Himself to man? I would suggest reading "Reasonable Faith" by William Lane Craig, available here at amazon.com. I say this in love. May the truth be revealed to you.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing but trying to make money.
Review: Anybody who actually buys into this book is a very weak minded person who is very impressionable. The thing that really gets me is how come it's taking this long for someone to come up with all this information? I mean, last time I checked Jesus was around 1,000's of years ago. So it's taken this long? C'mon, they're just trying to sell a book and make money to people who are lost in their own lives and have no direction at all. You want to read a real book with true histor... Try reading the Bible!
Rating: 
Summary: Thought Provoker - Whether Atheist or Born-Again
Review: I was watching the History's Channel's story about the "Lost Books of the Gospel" and after the show searched Amazon and came across this text. I was raised a Baptist, was very uncomfortable with formalized religion all my life, and hated the thought that women were so 'low' in the hierarchy of any of the organized religions. Now I know why.
I believe in a higher being / creator spirit, and felt it had to be a female, and this book has actually validated my inner beliefs.
What I find interesting about this book -- the authors have documented and foot-noted, and appendixed it beyond the call of duty. If either author makes a statement or supposition in the text, they back it up with anywhere from 1 - 3 various other publications, authorities, and/or writings and documentations from other sources.
The authors don't come out and say "Jesus was a fake." But, the more I read, the more I feel that the Christian church has pulled one of the biggest con games in history. If they aren't pulling a con, then let the Vatican open up it's library to the public and prove the authors and the public and the Templars wrong!
Chapter One and Two of this book are fascinating -- I can see the 'true' details of the story plot used by the author of "The DaVinci Code" and information he may have lifted directly from the Templar Revolution book (in fact some passages seem almost word-for-word duplicative).
The rest of the Chapters in the book are very scholarly in their detail, but with effort one can follow along the logic and suppositions the authors draw from their research.
The last chapter is the mind-blower, when all their conclusions are summarized - their theory - Jesus was a usurper of John the Baptist, quite possibly from Egypt, a magician, Mary Magdeline was either Jesus' wife or consort/priestess, and the possibility that Jesus' rise to the top was politically motivated to include murder to get that one last obstacle out of the way to his reaching the top of his preaching pinnacle. (Although the authors only theorized this possibility, didn't agreed or confirmed that theory.)
Although I normally stick with fiction, this book held my fascination throughout the end -- even the appendix and footnotes have interesting tidbits.
The only negative thing I can say is the detailed French related research, with (to me) obscure French names were difficult to wade through and keep straight.
Kudos to the authors -- I'd love to read more of your research!
Rating:
Summary: Poison
Review: There were alot of interesting things written in here. That was the only good thing about the book. I don't have a problem with the fact that Jesus may have been married to Mary Magdalene because He is still my Lord and Savior regardless; but I have a huge problem with the book calling Him One Who practiced the Egyptian religion: that is utter blasphemy! The Son of the Father practicing religion of the gods of the Egyptians?? He just then broke the 1st Commandment: "Thou shalt have NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME." Well, according to my Bible, Jesus Christ always did what was pleasing in His Father's Sight and kept all the laws without fault and did good deeds on the Sabbath which were not a sin in themselves. He never practiced the Egyptian religion: that is ludicrous. This book seeks nothing else but degrading Him into anything but God and making Him into a sinful Man; but then, what else is new because this book was written and researched by people who's eyes are spiritually blinded to the truth of Jesus Christ: He is God Incarnate Who died for sinners--John 3:16. What I find extremely interesting is that Jesus Christ predicted the Fall and Destruction of Jerusalem and it's temple because the religious leaders of that day rejected Him and eventually crucified Him. That prediction came true in A.D.70. Have any of the gods of this world ever done anything like that? Jesus Christ was the Seed promised to Abraham according to Genesis 17. He was the Prophet greater than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15). He has fulfilled ALL of the prophecies of the Old Testament as the True Messiah Who is also the God/Man. John the Baptist was NEVER against Christ: He said about Christ when He saw Him coming down to the River Jordan, "Behold, the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29). That doesn't sound like someone who hated Him but extolled Him instead. If you want to find the truth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, read the Bible from cover to cover. The more you study the Bible, the more you'll realize that books like this that talk degradingly of God Incarnate is nothing more than a crock of rot. :)
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