Customer Reviews

Jesus after the Crucifixion: From Jerusalem to Rennes-le-Ch?teau

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This was a bombshell of a book -- it goes way beyond The da Vinci Code (book) and since I have personally investigated the Rennes-le-Chateau issue for several years, I was amazed at the accuracy of his info and also pleased that he didn't compromise the remaining secrets that need to be protected to this day. Eventually the Truth will come out, however, and this book will help prepare people to accept (via a better understanding) what has really been going on.

Related issues, truthfully handled, are Gnosticism, Cathars and the Knights Templar (who you will find are involved with that Tomb of Jesus' Family 'revealed' in March on the Discovery channel -- but you have to read the corresponding Tomb of Jesus book to see that). He even explains how the rumor got going that Jesus died in Kashmir -- but he neglects to point out that Jesus had a twin brother (see person 2nd from the left end of the table in Da Vinci's painting The Last Supper... Because he had a twin, it was necessary to pay someone to point him out -- the authorities did not want to arrest the wrong man.)

A fascinating book that is a great source for anyone wanting to research

this subject more deeply. The connection with Egypt and France is quite well documented, as well as where Jesus could have gotten his 'training', as well as the marriage with Mary Magdalene, and her ministry. It may make some people angry, but this is NOT a woo-woo book containing wild speculations! Enjoy.

Jesus didn't die on the cross: instead he survived and went to southern France to live with wife Mary: this radical and thought-provoking idea proposed by researcher Graham Simmans offers up a new reason for the spread of Christianity - by Jesus himself. Chapters consider Jesus's survival of the crucifixion and use Coptic and Jewish sources to examine Christian philosophy and how it spread through Europe.

The subject is touchy for many people, but if you are not one of them then I recommend this book. Simmans brings a lot of scholarship and research into the question of Jesus' early life, His possible marriage, His possible survival of crucifixion. That said, Simmans doesn't force the reader to wade through pages of esoteric data complete with comparisons of Egyptian, Greek and Hebrew hieroglyphs to make his points. He cites his references, but he impresses with his ability to meld the thoughts of various scholars with his own "on-the-site" insights. I found him to be the most plausible of all the writers currently being published regarding this somewhat implausible subject. Worth reading if you have an interest in this field.

unfortunately this is the last book from Mr. Simmans to be published.

he died too soon and unexpectedly.

i happened to know Mr. Graham Simmans for almost 3 years.

and still remember the discussions we had with Mr. Simmans being a good listener and a wonderfull person to have dfiscussions with.

i rate his book with 5 stars not because i knew him - but because it is a great book.

some day all secrets and what is hidden will be revealed - when the time is right.

I felt the book was well researched and well presented with regard to references and bibliography. At a time when the traditional truths are under scrutiny, this was a well reasoned and thought provoking book.

This is just one more of those glossy New Age Jesus conspiracy books that titillate the curiosity but, in the end, leave you feeling empty because they're founded upon bogus research and the whims of the author. I consider the production of these books a racket. It is a falsehood that generates alot of money. Legitimate, unbiased scholarship is not as lucrative.

The authors of these books play this game called "wouldn't it be neat if...?" For example, wouldn't it be neat if Jesus was a Pythagorean Gnostic Kabbalist who was trained in Egypt or India? Wouldn't it be neat if Jesus and Mary Magdalene were secretly married and hid out in France so we could uncover this big Vatican conspiracy like in The DaVinci Code?

I can't figure out if the authors of these books are gullible enough to believe their sources or if they deliberatey pull a con job to sell more books to a following that wants to believe this stuff.

The only thing I can credit this author for is denying the Priory of Sion hoax perpetrated by Pierre Plantard which became the basis for Holy Blood Holy Grail and The DaVinci Code. However, he perpetrated alot of other myths. Some of hs sources included the following: Robert Eisenman, who believes Jesus was a god-man created by pro-Roman gentiles to undermine the Jewish resistance movement (forget about all the gentile Christians who were martyred by Romans); the so called Akashic Record which conjures up Jesus in past lives ie Edgar Cayce; Ahmad Osman who suggested that Jesus could have been King Tut - OH PLEASE!!!; Nicholas Notovitch who discovered that Jesus was in India and was considered an incarnation of Buddha (Buddhist monks later had a good laugh when they admitted to some tourists that they pulled a fast one on some westerners); The Gospel of the Holy Twelve supposedly discovered by a clergyman who later admitted that it was given to him by revelation. In other words, he made the whole thing up.

The author was convinced that Jesus didn't die on the cross and he used the 8th century Quran and 9th century anti-Christian Muslim literature to try to prove his point. Forget about the New Testament and second and third century testimonies of martyrs who staked their lives on their belief that Jesus died and was raised again. This is an example of putting the cart in front of the horse.

The author made sweeping assumptions without considering historical facts. The author was convinced that Jesus was a gnostic and that the Nag Hammadi writings are more credible than the New Testament. Most credible scholars would agree that the New Testament is much older than these writings and that the gnostic gospels were parasitic in regard to the canonical gospels. This is another example of putting the cart in front of the horse.

The author claimed that very few scholars believe that Peter was ever in Rome. Clement of Rome, who composed one of the oldest writings outside the New Testament dated at the end of the first century, wrote that both Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome. I'll take his word over these so-called "scholars".

The author included the "Nestorians" among those groups who don't believe in the divinity of Christ. The term "Nestorian" was given to the Holy Apostolic and Catholic Church of the East. I have observed their liturgy and they revere the Apostle Paul and read his epistles as well as recite the Nicean Creed. Saint Pachomius and the Coptic Egyptian desert hermits, who the author lauded in this book, were ultra-orthodox Christians and would be appalled at some of the claims made in this book.

The author parroted the same tired old Paul and "Paulinism" versus the original Nazarene community in Jerusalem theme. The Nazarene Christians accepted the apostleship of Paul and supported his mission to the gentiles. I highly recommend Nazarene Jewish Christianity by Ray Pritz who did an in depth study of the Nazarenes based on the oldest and most reliable sources. The so-called Ebionites who disparaged Paul didn't arise until the second century and were most likely the heirs of the Hellenist faction who Paul persecuted and were driven out of Jerusalem prior to Paul's conversion (see Marcel Simon's St. Stephen and the Hellenists in the Early Church).

If Jesus survived the cross and hid out in France leaving his followers to suffer the most horrific persecutions for proclaiming him to be the risen Lord and Saviour, he would have been the greatest con-man and humbug who ever lived. His disciples and other apostles, including James and Paul, would have been among the most gullible and stupid men who ever lived.

Do you really believe that?