Customer Reviews

The Virgin Mary Conspiracy: The True Father of Christ and the Tomb of the Virgin

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book when it was first published in England and I cant wait for this new edition. It is exceptionally well written and involves the author's personal quest to discover the truth about the Virgin Mary. In addition to discovering what may have been her grave, Graham Phillips offers a beautifully described journey through the Holy Land to rediscover the life of Mary from her infancy in Jerusalem, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and her days married to Joseph in Nazareth. The author not only introduces his reader to the historical sources that survive concerning life in first-century Palestine, he also visits the sites associated with Christ's family and followers, accompanied by archaeologists who reveal the latest findings regarding the Gospel stories. Graham himself starts his journey as a sceptic but as his adventure continues he finds compelling evidence to show that Christ and his mother where historical figures (something that many modern historians have questioned).

This book has to be read by anyone who doubts the Bible story is true and also by Christians, as it is a wonderful guide book to the sites associated with the New Testament and the latest archaeology that has been carried out at them. They should not be put off by the word "conspiracy" in the title. This refers to a conspiracy that the author suggests took place in the Vatican to conceal the whereabouts of the Virgins "true" tomb. This is not your usual conspiracy theory book.

There has been a great deal written about Mary Magdalene recently, after the success of Dan Brow's Da Vinci Code, but very little has been written about the other biblical Mary - the mother of Christ. For anyone who wants to learn about the history of the Virgin Mary in Christian tradition, this book is a mine of information. It is also an informative guide to the people, places and events of the Gospels. I'm not too sure if Dan Brown fans will agree with Mr. Phillips' suggestion that the Grail legend was tied up with Jesus' mother, but it is a new angle on the enigma that I have not come across before. There are quite a few leaps of faith in this book, but to his credit the author does admit that this was a personal quest rather than an academic exercise. It is a well written, though speculative book that proposes some original and fascinating ideas.

The most off-putting aspect of the gospel stories of Jesus' life is that they are so badly scripted. In Sunday school, I remember watching wretchedly produced movies of "The Life of Jesus" in which an Aryan actor would posture in front of a bunch of extras who seemed to have been herded onto the set. They stood around like commuters, stuperously waiting for the bus while God's gift to a sinful world orated like a man hawking newspapers. This can't be real I suspected then, at age 15, because none of what these people did in them seemed real. If he were the savior, then his followers would be entranced. But in those films where they were entranced, they should not look like Soviet Workers poster children.

In one of several masterpieces of historical deduction, Graham Phillips, has blown off the clammy fog of hagiography and described the Jesus legend in a way that rings instantly authentic. His first stunning discovery is the biological father of Jesus; his source for this revelation is the gospel accounts themselves. How could a poor humble carpenter win Pontius Pilate's agreement that "there is no fault in him" to Jesus' otherwise suicidal claim to be King of the Jews? There is only one possible answer: Jesus was the son of Antipater, who himself was the son of Herod. And Herod had been appointed King of the Jews (i.e., ruler of Palestine) by no less than Augustus, Emperor of Rome.

As Antipater's son, Jesus was not a humble carpenter's apprentice, but of royal blood. Antipater's wife, Mirimne (Greek for Mary) was also of high stature. (This startling recasting of their actual origins also explains why Jesus' brother, James, could be the high priest of the Temple in Jerusalem.)

Phillips leaves the astonishing implications of Jesus' high-born lineage rather too quickly, because he is on another spur. But that alone is certainly fodder for an entire recasting of the gospel stories (See, for example: http://www.velocitypress.com/pages/Religion.php )

By skillful reading and brilliant exegesis, Phillips seems to have discovered that after the crucifixion, Mary and her second husband Joseph left the Middle East and traveled to England. This sounds a fantastic claim, but travel to all of Europe was well-established even then, and England was a major mining land, selling lead and iron to much of the world. The records show that St. Augustine traveled to Britain, and reported back that a thriving Christian community existed there, including several references to a mysterious Holy Grail. Unlike the myriad fabrications (e.g., Holy Blood, Holy Grail, The DaVinci Code) Phillips sticks to the facts. His central thesis: Mary, the mother of Jesus, traveled to Britain and died there. Her grave site is now known but as yet unexcavated. No one seems particularly interested to put the question to the test. No Catholic is interested because their 19th Century dogma asserts that Mary, too, ascended bodily into heaven, and you are not permitted to believe otherwise.

Phillips' great strength is not in amassing large lists of footnotes-all the charlatans have discovered that trick. His skill is in thinking about what facts mean, rejecting those that don't fit, and placing the rest in the correct order. The result is so startling, the Orthodoxy will not even arch an eyebrow of interest. Meanwhile, the rest of us have an intellectual feast of epicurean proportions.

If you have read any New Testament studies or even general histories of the period, this book may come as a shock. If you haven't, it was made for you.

Following a tip from his mole in the Vatican who hinted that the Virgin Mary was the Holy Grail and that knowledge of her earthly burial place had been suppressed by the Church, Mr Phillips headed to the Holy Land for one of his trademark hands-on investigations. His first discovery, on which all the rest hinges, is that Jesus was King Herod's grandson. The proof is as follows. Pilate asks Jesus (Synoptic Gospels, Good News version): "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus replies, "So you say." Pilate pronounces, "I find no reason to condemn this man." The Fourth Gospel has Jesus add, "My kingdom does not belong to this world." What can this mean but that Jesus was Herod's grandson? This remarkable exegesis eluded everyone until Joseph Schreiber thought of it fifty years ago.

After the Crucifixion, Mr Phillips discovered, Mary traveled with her younger son Joseph of Arimathea to Britain where they converted the Druids to Christianity. This explains why Nero ordered his legions to destroy the Druids a generation later, if indeed he did. Mr Phillips conducted another hands-on investigation and duly located the Virgin's grave in North Wales (if you don't know the area, about half the villages there are named after Mary). Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to dig it up.

Elsewhere he has related how he found the Holy Grail (not the Virgin Mary, another one), unearthed one of the tablets of the Ten Commandments, solved the mystery of the Plagues of Egypt, and revealed the true identities of Shakespeare, Robin Hood and King Arthur. If wishes were horses, any one of these would be a Derby winner. What next? "The Royal Scroll and the Royal Soul: Decoding the Violin Score of Old King Cole." No, that wouldn't sell even to people who lap this sort of thing up. Would it?

For what it is it's quite well done, apart from a rambling digression on 1st-5th century history which seems to belong in a different book, possibly "1066 and All That". 3 stars for entertainment value.

--the supposed relationship of Mary of Nazareth and Agrippa, son of Herod the Great, dig up a novel written in the early 1950's, I think, by Robert Graves. It's called KING JESUS. Whether the theory is true or not, Graves will give you a much more educated version of it than this writer. In fact, when in need of a great novel to read, look up most of what's left of Robert's Graves novels. He is too soon forgotten, while people read second and third hand dreck like this -- although for those who haven't heard of Graves, this is simpler and entertaining.

There has been a great deal written recently about the life and times of Christ. The whole thing having been started by the success of The Da Vinci Code. Most of it, however, has left me just about as confused as I could hope to be. This book, though, I have found a great and easy to understand guide to the history of early Christianity. Whether or not Mary was buried in Britain as the author believes, I am not sure. All the same, this is a really exciting investigation into one of the Bible's many unsolved mysteries.

Graham Phillips is on an odyssey to search for answers the Bible does not give us. He has written a fascinating book in which he finds tidbits in the Bible to help back up his ideas. They may be controversial for some people, but they start to actually make a lot of sense when one thinks about it. If people are happy with Jesus as the dying and resurrecting god of myth, they may not like this book at all. If they do think Jesus was an extraordinary man who had a wonderful message to preach, this is right up their alley.

The Catholic Church venerates Mary as a Goddess, but they aren't overly explicit about it. She has the title Queen of Heaven and is represented by the Moon. Mr Phillips went back to look for evidence to find out how and when Mary was venerated to her very high vault today. First, he had to find out a little about her life. The Catholic version of Mary being a maiden of the Temple of Jerusalem is historically false as women were not allowed in most parts of the Temple. Also, the Temple where she resided in was not built until a bit after the birth of Jesus, as they found a coin with the head of Tiberius under the stones.

The veneration happened by the Greeks, who turned Mary into the Goddess Artemis, a Moon and fertility Goddess of the hunt. Diana was the Roman version, so Mary was identified with her also. The works of art in the second and third centuries also depict Mary much like the Moon Goddess, and it was easier to change the name of the Goddess than their practice of her worship.

Did Mary move to the British Isles after the death of her son? Was she venerated like the Moon and Spring goddess Eostre? Mr Phillips looks for the evidence Mary's remains might be buried in Wales.

The evidence to support these allegations is strained in parts, but as one looks at history back then it makes a lot of sense. As Mr Phillips points out, many persons went to the British Isles as many tribes lived there independently of Roman rule. They also have one of the oldest forms of Christianity, which was started a few centuries before the Christianity of Constantine. This does show that some early Christians moved to the early Britain, and Joseph of Arimathea has long been believed to of moved there. Why wouldn't he take his mother, Mary?

I liked this book even though Mr Graham keeps finding new meanings for the Grail. He also avoids any talk of Jesus being married referring Mary Magdalene as a friend. I would figure he would weigh in on that controversy as he is creating quite a stir with the idea that Jesus is the son of Antipater. The story of who Jesus' physical father is also makes sense when one looks at how the birth of Jesus was treated and why Herod wanted him killed. The passages of the Bible during Jesus' trial also give vital clues as to the truth of this statement. Jesus was the son of Antipater and Mary lived her last years out in Wales and is buried there. But nothing on Mary Magdalene? Maybe there will be another book on his speculations of who she was.

Mr Phillips is a very good writer who does his research. His books read like a detective story, and he always entertains. Whether his facts are straight or not, I think the reader needs to decide.

I picked up this book thinking it yet another Da Vinci code trash read, as I confess I have a weakness for these, but I soon realized it was much, much better than that, a keeper. Phillips follows his intuitive guesses about Jesus' mother, her life after the crucifixion, and her possible grave in Wales, and unlike many other speculative authors, he hits pay dirt again and again. He drags one reluctant archeologist after another to various old churches and has to twist their arms to get them to investigate, and lo and behold, they find what he thinks they ought to find. I hate to say more and spoil your fun in reading. Phillips is both sceptical about various church teachings about Mary, and respectful of what really might have happened. I couldn't put the book down! I really must read his other books now, not to mention go back to Britain and check out the places for myself.

avery good book... rather a pageturner i recommend it to all interested in religion/history

This is a very informative book about the politics and history, surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ, and his family. The book tries to reconcile the myth and science between the Virgin Birth. Very thought provoking.